MLB player Daniel Murphy took one of his three days of paternity leave, and the sexists came out swinging.
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Dear Boomer & Carton and Mike Francesa,
That’s an incredible amount of ignorance you spewed. And it’s shameful to men and women everywhere.
Your remarks slamming MLB player Daniel Murphy for having the audacity to take one of his three days of paternity leave were so mind-bogglingly clueless it’s hard to believe they were real. SNL couldn’t have scripted a better segment and called it “The Time-Traveling Sexists.”
Where have you been for the last several decades, when America has revolutionized? Today’s dads aren’t just at the hospital for the births of our children. We’re at home, taking care of them, holding them, doing feedings (maybe you’re unfamiliar with breast pumps and formula?), changing them, reading to them in those critical early days of their lives — days that form bonds and a system of caregiving that tremendously affects their lives and the balance of responsibilities men and women take on at home for years to come.
I could overwhelm you with studies and statistics to prove this, but based on the intellectual level of your comments, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t understand them. Or care. Especially given that you, Boomer & Carton, somehow decided there’s a federal law requiring that men get two weeks’ paternity leave. If you’re going to make things up, why not at least pretend that moms get guaranteed paid leave? And your statement that Murphy and his wife should have scheduled a C-section based on his work schedule — who says that? Who thinks that? How much do you get paid for this moronic drivel?
“Get your ass back to work?” Seriously, was this some sort of delayed April Fools joke? But the best part comes when you talk about the role of the man after his wife gets home with the baby. “I got four of these little rugrats. There’s nothin’ to do!” Nothing? Really?
The same goes for you Mike, calling your own company’s 10-day paternity leave policy “ridiculous. What do you need 10 days for? What are you supposed to be doing? Vacationing?” Do you have any idea how offensive this is to both moms and dads? No, of course you don’t.
As I work on my book Stretch Out, I have a tiny section tentatively titled “In Search of Neanderthals.” It’s about how hard it is to actually find guys with their heads dug so far down in the sand (or elsewhere) that they’ve missed how America has evolved. There are incredibly few left, contrary to the stereotype. But thanks to the few with megaphones, like you, the stereotype remains alive and well.
It isn’t too late for you to join the modern world. You can open your minds and learn. Reach out to me or to millions of other dads who can set you straight. In 2014, that would be the manly thing to do.
This post originally ran on Josh Levs’ blog, LevsNews.
Josh Levs is a reporter for CNN and is currently writing a book, Stretch Out, on men and work/life balance
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Just the fact that this open letter had to be written proves that male chauvinism (and stupidity) is alive and well in this country, and really, all around the world. Anyway, I agree. Who -says- those kinds of things? Crazy bosses, I guess, I dunno. Anyway, kudos to the dads who take paid time off to be with their newborns!!! And yes, women should get a -lot- of paid time off to spend at home with their babies — and even their toddlers 🙂
I see the good men project has returned to its censoring ways by stifling the contrary opinion that I posted. If you can’t stand the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen, don’t turn off the stove because then nothing to eat is going to get cooked.
And then there’s NASCAR, the “backwoods redneck sport” where drivers routinely miss races to be there for birth of children, losing potentially 10s-100s of thousands of dollars for themselves and their sponsors, and get praised for it, and for bringing their babies to pre-race events, cold pits, etc.
A few years ago, a driver was racing with his wife due at any time, and commentators were questioning whether or not he should be racing, or whether he could/should finish the race if she went into labor.
These MLB players could take a lesson.