egad. my son is a birther. seriously.

[mopinko]

sigh. this boy. he is 18, aimless as can be. got a ged after dropping out of high school, but still not going anywhere. playing video games, hanging around the house. but got the short end of the stick in school, fersher.
i always did say he was a genetic warrior. a tough guy at 2. impervious to cold. unbothered by stench or muck of any sort. smart kid, always looking, always spying. but sitting still? fuggitaboudit.
so, i have been as tolerant as possible about his fascination with goofball conspiracy theories and ron paul. seems like what a young warrior should be doing. figuring out who the good guys are, who the bad guys are. but he seems to be testosterone poisoned or something.
i came home the other day and he is watch a video by this guy 'freeman', ranting about the birth certificate, and clones of ancient pharos, and the poster from "stargate". oy.
i did sorta start screaming, unproductive as that is. his big sister tried to be a little more rational. not sure how that turned out, as i had to go.
but i just now gave him a little jab about 'the speech', and he is all on that soapbox also.

damn. what are my choices? he is too old to give up for adoption. he has no prospects that i know of to marry him off. getting a job appears to be out of the question. ditto school. that only leaves.... i guess i better not say more.

the funny thing is that he is a sweet kid, too. kind to small animals, vegetarian, all that. but i just hope this shit starts wearing off pretty soon.

[rug]

1. Tell him he's adopted.

[mopinko]

2. i don't think he could prove otherwise, all things considered.

not sure if that information would cause him to, like, leave.

[Taitertots]

3. Then tell him he is kicked out unless he can prove he was born in America

or stops this birther stupidity.

[Orsino]

4. Well, you're aware of the likely underpinnings of birtherism/Paulism.

If your son is white, and feels left behind in some way, that can be a recipe for some ugly, ugly thoughts. I don't think they wear off by themselves, in the absence of fresh counter-education.

[mopinko]

5. trying to provide that. but

left behind would be the truth. he had a horrible time in school. it was a miserable experience from day one. i have tried as hard as i can to counteract that, but sometimes i think if the schools want to fuck up your kid, you have pretty few choices.

on the other hand, he spent a little time at a buddhist meditation center, and really was touched by it. we bought him a train pass so that he could travel to a few temples around the country but some stuff got in his way. perhaps i could use the above mentioned device of tossing him out until he can prove he was born in the us, and he will go.

[mzteris]

11. remove the tv/games

and block the computer/internet by password.

If he can't sit around on your couch and veg out - then maybe he'll do something - even if it's go play games on someone else's couch.

I'd also give him a time frame - say three months- to start paying rent or he has to move out. No if ands or buts. Don't enable him to continue to contribute nothing and just take take take. It's time he started to grow up.

[mopinko]

15. yeah, i know. but we are not really that kind of parents.

for good or ill, we have always given them the time and space to grow up, as best we can. his 2 oldest sibs went through similar processes, and are coming out on the other side to be really, really fine individuals.
it has been hard in this family. middle child is bipolar, and she honestly wore us out, and made it hard to lay down any laws. that was just not the right tack for her. so, how do you then lay it down for another kid and say you are being fair? even though i think it is fair, it is a tough sell.

his train pass has an expire date, and he has to get into school in january or he becomes uninsured. so, it is starting to come down on him a little anyway.

he is spending a lot of time reading, tho. good stuff and stupid stuff. it is all he spends his money on, really. he will sort it out. or i will kill him, i fear.

[surrealAmerican]

6. Are there any volunteer opportunities in your area that could interest him?

It sounds like he needs to get out more. That could go a long way toward helping him distinguish between rational opinions and utter nonsense.

[mopinko]

9. i have tried to hook him up with several things.

he is interested, but not enough to get off the couch.
we are very disappointed that he hasn't used the train pass we got him. we thought it was the perfect gift. we got it for him when he passed his ged. giving serious thought to the suggestion upthread of making him prove he is a citizen.

[lildreamer316]

7. Tell him you are thinking about agreeing with him/changing your position

and I bet he'll switch up right quick-like, just so he won't be 'just like you'. You know how it goes.

Seriously, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure it's just a phase, but one that will be a huge pain in the arse. Sorry.

[mopinko]

8. actually, i happen to agree about several conspiracy theories.

i cannot forcefully argue about his opinion on things like jfk, 9/11, lots of other things that i do agree are not on the up and up. the bohemian grove and the theft of democracy that is the electoral college, not so much.

he is more of the suck up sort, actively looking for things that he can agree with. especially with his dad. i think it is a phase. but i wonder how long that phase is going to be.

[KamaAina]

10. Pay him his allowance in Hawai'i state quarters

this statehood thing has been going on for over a half-century now. :eyes:

[mdmc]

12. He thinks that Obama was not born in the USA?

very odd...

[mopinko]

14. seriously odd, but then again

he thinks that 9/11 was an inside job, and that the cia killed jfk. now, i can't say as i exactly believe these things, but i think both are possible, so....
hard to set a kid on the right path in the midst of such lawlessness as we lived in for the last 8 years. it is a big chunk of his reality. how do i tell him that these other unbelievable things are not true?

[jakeXT]

16. With 911 and JFK he is probably right on the money

Does it matter if he believes the right thing about Obama?

Where is he getting his info radio/websites/ movies ?


I've heard only of Bob Chapman, Webster Tarpley and Phil Berg, who to my knowledge share the same views.

[mopinko]

17. youtube and ron paul

he has a buddy that wastes all his time on this shit, and they bounce off each other.

[jakeXT]

19. A good thing is that he probly won't sign up for the AfPak war,

when he believes it's a fraud.

Is he really interested in finding things out, looking at all sides, reading documents, history etc. ?

Or is he just blindly following whatever someone is saying, without checking it out by himself ?

[datasuspect]

13. did you drop him on his head when he was a kid?

[mopinko]

18. you would think.

he is very different in a lot of ways from my other kids. like he weighed 10 lb, where the others were all 7 something. i had a tough miscarriage a few weeks before he was conceived and we always wondered what kind of hormonal surges/deficits that might have caused. a weirdo from the start.

[tabbycat31]

20. withhold his own birth certificate should he need it

I fought a two year battle with my own parents for mine (not political though)

[Beer on a stick]

21. That's why there's the Marine Corps. Tell him you've bought his bus ticket.

[Brigid]

23. I was just about to post the same thing!

Seriously. Boot camp is just what the doctor ordered for this one. If Marine Corps boot camp can't make him grow up, nothing will. As a former Marine, I know.

[mopinko]

27. don't tempt me.

i think if it was peace time, he would be there. cuz i drove him.
seriously, i absolutely believe that there is such a thing as having a warriors brain. i am holding out some hope that he might follow his big brother's example and join americorp. it would be great for him. he is definitely looking for his tribe.

[vadawg]

22. seems like a normal 18year old finding his own thing

unless you think hes gonna go on a bombing campaign or whatnot then dont worry about it, probuably just needs a girlfriend and you to give him his space.

[mopinko]

28. i do think you are correct.

but damn, these teenagers.

[TK421]

24. 18? Give him time....he'll grow out of it

don't fret.....yet

[EndersDame]

25. If he is into Ron Paul Tell him to Pick himself up by the bootsraps since you are not running

a commune :)

[Iggo]

26. Maybe he'll get better!

[astral]

29. I don't get what the problem is with him being into Ron Paul.

What is wrong with Ron Paul?

[mopinko]

31. like most libertarians, he spouts a philosophy that is impossible to put into

action, because it leads nowhere. it is seductively simple, tho.

[LeftishBrit]

33. 'What is wrong with Ron Paul?'

You mean OTHER than his being a right-wing monster who thinks that health care isn't a right, gay rights are 'heterophobia', the Voting Rights Act was a mistake, and that the government shouldn't be giving people welfare as that's against libertarianism, but it's just fine to have laws against abortion?

I have a mini-essay on my journal for anyone who is really interested in my views on him (and also on why even non-Americans should care).

[krispos42]

30. Ask him for his long-form birth certificate

:evilgrin:

[mopinko]

32. i showed him his own. he thought there was a u.s. birth certificate.

his says cook county illinois. and my dad's says walworth county, wi. and mine says kane county, il.
"oh"

[LeftishBrit]

34. Best wishes to you and your son - I think the chances are that he'll grow out of it.

Possibly a bit of adolescent rebellion against a liberal family viewpoint?

[mopinko]

35. i suspect so.

although i do agree with his basic premise that a lot of what happens in this country goes on behind closed doors, impervious to the democratic process. but the obama part? more than likely. did i mention that i have a regular shrine to obama right inside my front door?