hehe, does working for parents count?

(like at their office or whatnot)

My thought exactly! That guy is really scary.  He has no control of his anger at all, and I can understand with a temper like that, where his baby girl got her attitude.  Kids learn what is modeled for them.  This guy is just reaping what he's sown. 

He should have taken the laptop away and made her get a job to buy it back from him.

Maybe it's self-selection, or Stardock attracts a certain type who is more likely to get the jobs?

For the common masses, it's changing.

For the common masses, it's Soylent Green....

I've had several jobs prior to my current situation but at the moment I am jobless as there isn't any work available (since i can't drive) I'm unable to travel far as where I live public transport isn't an option due to the times that most companies require you to work (7-9am) I have to call a service called Interconnect to come collect me and take me to my workplace but as mentioned due to the times required for work I'm unable to use this service. So I'm really at a stand still for work It's not always so easy. There are people willing to work such as myself but no jobs available in that criteria. Don't get me wrong there are some lazy barstewards out there but on the other side of the coin there are a lot of people who want to work and employers seem to dismiss that completely.

Reporting for duty, sir!!

When I got certified in my architecture coursework in 2006, the word on the street was you'd have three employers trying to hire you right when you graduated with all sorts of cool things like... insurance. Then 2007/2008 happened, I graduated and have only gotten actually close to an architecture job once. Strangely enough, it was a place I applied to through craigslist.

In the meantime I'm working at a service job at a great place, but unfortunately just pays the bills and the occasional smelly/tasty/pretty thing for the g/f. I get to watch all my friends with engineering degrees buying houses and new cars and stuff. My architecture degree feels like some sort of pariah stamp... too artsy for the engineering firms and too nerdy (as in, "I can do math") for any sort of extroverted job. I've been trying to branch out and find anything that I can get my foot in door with (like say, drafting/CAD stuff for the Navy or Aerospace industry) but no such luck.

I'll be honest and say that I'm not the hardest worker out there. Other architecture friends have found real jobs (well, two of them) that if I really, really, really wanted I probably could've gotten... if only I volunteered at Builders without Borders and got better grades in college. I make up for my lack of super awesome hard work ethic by getting things done faster and more efficiently. Unfortunately that approach doesn't cut it when looking for jobs. I also get really bummed out if I put in a lot of work on something and get nothing in return; like the last 3 years of looking for arch jobs. I've stopped looking for the time being, maybe I'll get enough strength to start looking again when I hear things are better. It's probably also a problem that I work at a super awesome place (albeit making little money) that I don't want to leave. Maybe I should just quit... I know I'd be a lot more motivated to find a real job if I did.

Money was not the point, despite his mention of repayment.

My My, how did those of us over 50 EVER make it this far without the benefit of public whining and the support of the Dr Phil's and Oprah's to sniffle over us.

You can bet your collective asses that I would have had my rear fanned with a good ol fashion green switch had I took out a newspaper article with language like that, aimed at my parents. 70 or more years ago a kid would have gotten worse ( and rightfully so ).

That father made a PERFECT example. This kid does not need sympathy in any fashion. Maybe after a cool down period from her she will wake the hell up and take some accountability for her own actions. Something that isn't taught to kids anymore by far too many parents.

Am I the only person here that thinks there's a real problem where you have a red-neck with attitude.... some recalcitrant brat....and a GUN?

From the it-only-could-happen-in-America-Dept.

In the 'civilized world' Child Services would be removing the kid....

Indeed. She may be a brat, but as of now needs to be taken into protective care.

Also, is not discharging a firearm in public an offence? It is here and the police would be looking at that video closely

First, it's difficult to classify him a Redneck. Why? This wasn't some ignorant backwoods yocal going off.

This was a well thought out response. 

Here is a father who has had to face this issue before with the daughter. He told her what would happen the next time she pulled this stunt. In the interim, he went as far as to update/upgrade her laptop ($130.00 he spent) , which to me says he was trying to show he trusts her and wanted to move on.

He wasn't yelling  and cursing at the camera. He was very controlled, articulate, and he explained himself well. Then, he also isn't your typical redneck in that he is divorced and on speaking terms with the mother (which is rare). He defended the mom and step-mom. I think the clincher in all of this for me was the part where he said he had spoken to the girls Mom, told her what was going on and her response to him was to 'put a bullet in it for me.' As ludicrous as that may sound, it seems they have ALL tried to work with this ungrateful little brat and have had enough.

It's not like he put the laptop in a skeet shoot and was taking pot shots at it with a rifle. He was out in a field, away from people. Evrything about his response was measured and controlled to me. I think the guy knew what he was doing and how it might look and went the extra mile to minimze cries of 'He's out of control. He has rage issues.'

Could he have donated the laptop to a needy cause or anything else? Yes. But it was his money and his choice. Personally, I think the visual is more effective.

For every parent that thinks this guy is crazy, I'm willing to bet there are five that wish they had the balls to do what he did to their kids laptops, PS3's, Xboxs, and smartphones. Of those five, probably only one or two have ever even gone as far as to just remove the items from the home.

Who knows what this guy is like in the home, but he didn't do one thing that would deserve his child being removed from the home if your going to base that decision solely on the video.

Discharging a firearm to 'make a point' is NOT 'controlled'.

A SANE response with the same result.....turn it on and stick it in a bucket of water.

No, he probably WASN'T some brain-dead dip-shit which only makes his whole response all the more SCARY.

What's his next move.....shoot the brat....or what?

I'm siding with Dad on all counts (except maybe a few very minor points, like making her pay you back for the $130 in software or cussing and putting it on her Facebook for other kids to see).   We used to explode explosives more powerful than dynamite on our land.  Perfectly legal.  But we freaked out the neighbors in the neighboring trailer park (and ourselves, one time), so we didn't do it anymore.  And we were just blowing up stuff for the sake of blowing up stuff.  This dad had much more purpose than that.  Shooting a .45?  Come on.  It may be a waste of a good laptop, but you know, it's his laptop, and if that's what he wants to do that's his right.  

Ah....the mature response to a childish act.....shoot something.

I'm not trying to be flip or sarcastic, but is this an anti-gun thing for you?

Would it have been better for you if he did it in a shooting range or similarly more controlled environment? 

Personally, I hate guns. I will probably never own one. I have shot a pistol one time in my life and most likely never will again. I lost a job for turning in the CFO for bringing a gun into the office (Apparently he grew up with the CEO and had dated his sister). I hate guns. I also respect a persons  right to carry one and use it safely.

Either method you list destroys the laptop. An argument could be made for either method being childish. Shoot it. Drown it. I suppose the daughter could shoot or drown the guys dog or cat in response if you want to go that route. To jump the gun and suggest 'shooting the brat' could be the next step could be seen as childish. Now if he tells her he'll shoot her next time (like he warned her he would do to the laptop) I could see your concern but he clearly stated what his next step with her was going to be. Honestly, this guy strikes me as more of a man who is not only thoughtful but a man of his word.  

I don't see it as 'shoot something'. Punks, hoods, criminals, rage-a-holics, etc go out and 'shoot something' as a knee jerk response. This guy's main objective was to destroy and eliminate the laptop (his daughters method of expressing childish behavior) and his method was to use a gun instead of a bucket of water or a trash compactor. 

Holy smokes.  Did you check to see if you had a case for wrongful termination?   If bringing a gun to work is illegal in your state, you were whistleblowing.   Next time you turn someone in like that make you sure have documentation of your whistleblowing.    Come to think of it, it doesn't even have to be illegal, either:  only against written company policy.