The Father's Rights Movement

For those who are interested in the Father's Rights movement, Amanda Marcotte at Pandragon has provided a good overview of the movement from a critical angle. I think it's well worth reading, particularly as it puts a lot of arguments in one place.

A couple of years ago I was playing Basketball with a bunch of guys and one of them told me, in some detail, about how he had gotten taken advantage of by his wife with the help of the Florida Judicial System. At the time I took the story at face value; he was a pretty good guy, and a good sport on the court. Some of it didn't add up, but I didn't give too much thought about it.

Now it's entirely possible the story he told me was completely accurate. And it's possible he told me a narrative colored by his own interests and frustrations. But for quite a long time I took it at face value, more or less.

Then I joined the Liberal Coalition and started reading Trish Wilson's Blog who writes on these issues in a very cogent manner, and started rethinking my assumptions. I don't want to make it sound like I've come to some sort of miraculous understanding. Instead I feel like I've walked off a pleasant but somewhat fake plateau into a dense fog.

There are a few certainties. The ideal situation any way you slice is for husbands and wives to act as equal and loving partners in bringing up the children and for families to stay together. If that is not possible, the needs of the children should be met first.

Anyway, go read the summary - it's very good.