Laptop-shooting father draws raves, reprimands

New York: It's classic parent-teenager strife, revamped for the internet age: A 15-year-old takes to Facebook to curse her parents and complain about chores and the pressures of youth. Her disgusted father videotapes and posts a lengthy rebuttal punctuated by nine gunshots as he empties his pistol into her laptop.

The bizarre tech-xecution has garnered more than 26 million views on YouTube and tens of thousands more on Facebook, touching a nerve with others tired of their kids' attitudes but also drawing backlash from parents who have kept such desires in check, people who believe the father is the one being childish.

"It represents a fantasy scenario for parents," said Anthony Rotolo, a Syracuse University professor who specialises in social media.

The furore began when Tommy Jordan of Albemarle, North Carolina, aired his feelings in the video he posted last week. Sitting in an Adirondack chair on an expansive stretch of grass, Jordan is wearing jeans, a plaid shirt and a wide-brimmed hat, a lit cigarette between his fingers.

Then he launches into his diatribe, quoting from his daughter's Facebook post, in which she told her parents "I'm not your damn slave," "I'm tired of picking up after you," and "You know how hard it is to keep up with the chores and schoolwork? It's freaking crazy."

Disturbing criticism

Jordan is clearly infuriated by his daughter's suggestion that she be paid for her chores and disturbed by her decision to go public with her criticism.

"You don't have to worry about buying a new laptop battery. You don't have to worry about buying a new power cord. You don't have to worry about buying a new camera. Because you won't be using any of them till probably college," he says in the video. "I don't know how to say how disappointed I am in you and how disrespectful you were to every single adult in your life. But, kid, you've got it easy, way easy. It's about to get harder."

Rising from his chair and picking up the video camera, he settles the image on the laptop, set on a patch of dirt among the grass. He shows his .45-calibre gun for the camera, then fires nine rounds into the computer.

"I hope it was all worth this," he says to her.

Jordan has not given any interviews to reporters.

Other parents have been eager to weigh in on his outburst.

Sonia Carballo, 37, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, found herself laughing aloud when she saw the video last week. Her three children — ages nine, 13 and 16 — air similar complaints that their mother is too strict, that she doesn't understand, or that they have too many chores.

"He's a parent after my own heart," said Carballo, an insurance claims processor. Dr David Reiss, a psychiatrist who's interim medical director at Providence Hospital in Holyoke, Massachusetts, said the teen was expressing normal emotions of someone their age.