Posted by
Shogrensus on Monday, April 23, 2007 8:54:33 PM
On Alec Baldwin:
The women started the show out with a discussion of the tragedy going on between Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger and their daughter, Ireland.
***
Rosie: Big Weekend in the news too- for Alec Baldwin’s situation- So tragic. The whole thing is tragic.
Joy: Anger management, Alec.
Elisabeth: Did you all hear that? Did you actually- cause you know I had read it first and then I heard it and after hearing it tears just welled up in my eyes just thinking about what that girl had to hear.
Joy: Who put it out? Who, who lets a tape like that go out? That’s not right.
Elisabeth: Do you think that’s worse?
***
Then Rosie discusses how she knows how much he loves his daughter because he flew to see her every time he had a day off. She refers to him as a "tortured father' because of Basinger.
Barbara relates her opinion that this is a classic case of parents behaving in a way that is detrimental to their child.
***
BW: Again it’s two sides and what happens is that neither behaves the way they should
Elisabeth: Some are arguing that her putting it out there is actually worse than him saying it.
Rosie: I think that too
Elisabeth: See I think the other. I think hearing something like that from your father could be potentially the worst thing you could ever hear. It doesn’t matter what everyone else says
Rosie: But having all of your school mates and everyone else in the world have heard it- I don’t know.
Elisabeth: But he is the man that she is always going to see as “That’s my Dad. That’s what he said. He just called me a pig.” That to me is so-
*****
This situation exemplifies the worst in divorce situations.
While none of us can begin to know what has been and is going on in this broken family, Mr. Baldwin's language crossed the line. All he can do now is try to make it up to his daughter by behaving in appropriate ways, in the future.
We don't know how this recording became public. There are suggestions that Basinger released the tape. The court, in this case, should do everything possible to determine who leaked the tape. This is a private cell phone so there are limited people who could have accessed the messaging system.
If in fact Ms. Basinger, or another person acting on her behalf, released the tape the court should deal with her harshly. No matter how embarrassing the call was to Ireland, the public humiliation could only make matters worse. If Basinger released this tape to put public pressure on Baldwin, his attorneys or the judge she should face custodial consequences.
The judge is in a difficult position because the tape suggests Baldwin still struggles with anger issues. No matter how angry he may have been, he should have directed his anger towards Basinger by using the courts. If Basinger did release the tape she could also be seen as having poor parental decision-making skills. She should have simply turned the tape over to the judge along with a motion to reduce phone contact.
When a court orders visitation or phone visits, the custodial parent has an obligation to facilitate those visits. If the child resists, the custodial parent has a duty to support the child through the visits or calls. If the child refuses contact with the non-custodial parent, the custodial parent should document her efforts to encourage the contact and inform the court of the refusals.
It is too easy for custodial parents to either subtly or overtly undermine the other parent's relationship with the child by avoiding calls or missing visits. Courts should be extremely demanding of custodial parents.
There can be no denying the error of Baldwin's ways. He obviously realizes he went over the line. Whether or not his daughter accepts it, he has now publicly apologized.
We should all hope Baldwin and Basinger turn this situation into an opportunity to begin to rebuild relationships. These people will have to find a way to get along because they have a lifetime of experiences ahead of them. For Ireland's sake, they need to find a way to get along.
And Alec should buy and then actually read the book: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker. It might help him to understand how important he really is to his daughter and encourage him to do whatever it takes to turn their relationship around.