EQUALITY FOR ALL!

Why do I support equality?

WHY SHOULN'T I?

As a family bringing up 3 very small children about to discover who they are and who they will become, equality is paramount.

I'm not saying I wish my children to be gay or straight. That's for them to discover, not for me to decide. I can say I don't wish them any struggles in their discovery. What they find will truly be their own.  I am their father and will stand with them on their journey through life. I'll help them up when they fall and I'll praise them for their successes. I don't want my kids to hide who they are but celebrate who they are. It's a long journey and they shouldn't have to make it alone.

The reactions of people to the ruling on Friday showed me there is still intolerance in this world. Seeing the reactions I was amazed at the negativity mixed with the rainbows. Love Wins wasn't everywhere but it was there and mixed with the rainbows like a rainbow of freedom. If you don't support equality that's your decision and I can respect that, but it doesn't make your archaic views correct. 

I applaud you SCOTUS on equality for all. Equality for the future and a chance to make us a better more tolerable country. 

  

Don't Let Dads Be Left Behind

I am Marc Mitchell and I am a not a man. Well, good thing I don't believe everything I read on the Internet. Why was I called this? Because I expressed a desire for change. What change could be so wrong that I got insults hurled at me? I am a member of a group of Dad bloggers and we are asking amazon.com to change its discount service for childcare products from Amazon Mom to Amazon Family. Wow,  just like it is in every other country.

Image Courtesy of Chris Routly of Daddy Doctrines

 Why on Earth would it matter to me what they call it?  It's a great program and I should just shut up and take the discount. Well here's the problem, if it’s was called Amazon Dad would Moms have a problem with that? You bet they would. However it's not even as petty as that sounds. Amazon is also subtlety saying moms should take care of the kids. That it is your job, Moms, so here have our discount. The more complex argument is that every family doesn't have a Mom or Dad. Why can't it just be family? Every family, after all, is a family no matter the dynamics.

Why the sudden urge for change? It's about one man, Oren Miller, who brought together over one thousand Dad bloggers and inspired us to be better men, fathers, and writers. Sadly, Oren passed away over the weekend after a vicious battle with lung cancer at the young age of 42. We have taken up a cause he was passionate about. We fight for change in his honor.

Amazon has been absent from the campaign and ignored every tweet, email, and phone call. Today I called because I wanted to know. Why the different names?  First, I spoke with a gentleman in customer service who was unable to answer my question.  I asked to be transferred and was sent to a supervisor. The supervisor told me a bunch of noncommittal rhetoric about Amazon Mom being for everyone. I then struck a nerve with my response. "It’s like me, a Dad, being told that I can use the changing table in the ladies room." That's the point when I was no longer speaking to Amazon Service; I was speaking to a parent. She agreed with me. Her boyfriend had run into the same problem. She then told me something very interesting. There is a reason the United States is the only country using “Amazon Mom”.  Government policies in other countries prevented it from being called “Amazon Mom”.

So I urge you to sign the petition, be heard and demand change. You can find the campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with #AmazonFamilyUS. I look forward to Amazon Family. Lilo said it best “Ohana" means "family." "Family" means "no one gets left behind." So let’s not leave Dads behind.

 

Dads 4 Oren

I sit here looking at the blank foggy screen contemplating how to approach the subject. Cancer. Hearing it mentioned sends shivers down my spine. Every family has a story, and some have multiple. My wife and I used middle names as tributes to family that meant a lot to us. Sadly all three middle names have a story. 

My online family has a story as well. It's a tale about a man, he was a blogger and a father. Oren Miller was, is and will forever be an inspiration.  Although I never met him we interacted in SAHD groups as well as the group he created for dad bloggers. He united the masses from worlds away in a group one thousand fathers strong. 

Back in June he discovered he had the fight on on his hands. Stage four lung cancer. He scrapped and clawed at it bravely and gracefully for 8 months. He succumbed last night and we morn today in honor of him. He leaves behind a wife and two kids that will forever be in our hearts for sharing a great man with us. We will honor him with how we treat or spouse and parent our kids. Coca cola poured coke on a the Internet to spread good vibes, Oren pour himself on the Internet with his words and inspired others to do the same. 

My online family has shed tears and memories are pouring forth. Oren Miller you are a rare bird. On that note Oren enjoy a movie with my awesome Aunt Robin, a drink with my Uncle Jim and dinner prepared by my grandparents, but watch out it may not by kosher. 

The Blind Side

I am a huge sports fan and an even bigger movie fan. I loved the movie The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock. If you haven’t see it the story revolves around Michael Oher an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. In the movie, he learns to protect the quarterback. The most important person on a football team is the starting quarterback and if he isn't properly protected it can really hurt a team. The Blind Side is aptly named because it is the side in which the quarterback cannot see where his tacklers or attackers are coming from.

Jay Cutler is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He had a tough season and was the primary recipient of the criticism for the losing season. His season has been over for a while after being benched and his team failed to make the playoffs. His performance is still getting criticism but it's not for football. It's for his skills as a parent.

An offensive lineman is usually there to protect his blind side but in the offseason he has no blockers for what is coming. He was blindsided by an Instagram post calling into question his skills and desire as a parent. Off the field he is just a dad. Dads get a lot of heat from everyone butone person shouldn't attack his blind side, and that is his wife and parenting partner, aka mom.  His wife publically shared screenshots of text messages he sent to her while dealing with the kids for a day. What followed was considered by most to be hilarious.

Reading through the comments on the Instagram post I became appalled at the amount of people attacking him. I myself, became his sole protector, protecting his blind side. I called his wife out for dad shaming so much so that I was quoted in an article. Then later, the sporting world started sharing the story as well and mocking him for a lack of being able to handle the pressure in the pocket. All of this negative character attention could have been avoided if his wife simply thought before sharing.

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/nfl-stars-frantic-text-need-u-home-asap-all-109210455632.html
 

The Jay Cutler incident came on the heels of another dad scandal. By now you have no doubt seen the new commercial from Similac showing parenting groups facing off in a park like The Sharks and the Jets in West Side Story. While including dads and moms of various beliefs they all unite to chase a runaway stroller which is ironically caught by a dad. While finishing with a seemingly beautiful sentiment they forgot all about dads and left them unprotected to ultimately be sacked in the tag line of Sisterhood of Motherhood. Then an amazing devout group of dads took to Facebook on Silmilac's thread promoting their new awesome commercial to complain about the tagline.  They were hit with a seemingly low blow by the Similac representative that stated that dads were also welcome to the sisterhood of motherhood. Well thank you very much for the dose of emasculation.

 

http://youtu.be/Me9yrREXOj4

We live in a world where it is seemingly okay for mom to call out dad. Some dads are called women because they don’t fit a certain ideal held by closed minded people. Hell, I myself have been called a babysitter which is impossible because I'm their dad. We need to stand up for ourselves and stand up for each other. We are members of the Partnership of Parenthood, not just sisters or mothers. We should recognize that we are a team and need to protect each other's blind side.