Parents Own Their Children?!?

So says James T. Harris, one of those right-wing talking heads from over at WTMJ620. In a recent blog entry, Harris seems to equate fatherhood with slavery, with himself as slave master. Here’s what he has to say:

As some of you know, I’ve got a little girl. She is the baby of three kids and the only girl I have. That’s right, I said “have”; she is mine. My child. My girl. I own her.

She is not free to do as she pleases.

Not now, not ten years form now, not until the day that she leaves my house as a married woman, will she be “free” of me.

Do you know what that means? That means that I have a say in what she wears, eats, plays with, watches, listens to and sings along with. Every aspect of her life is and will be controlled by me. If I don’t like it, it doesn’t happen. If I don’t desire it, it will not be done. If I don’t choose him, he will not be chosen.

I am her father.

Evidently, Harris isn’t content to simply “own” his daughter; he wants to control every aspect of her life as well, including dictating who she’ll marry. Now I’m the parent of a little girl, and while I certainly worry about the decisions she’ll make when she gets older, I’m also confident that my wife and I raised her to make good decisions, as opposed to ingraining in her the belief that a man should make her decisions for her. As someone who works with domestic violence offenders and their victims, I’ve come to understand that it’s the kind of misogynistic viewpoint James T. Harris supports that allowed women to be treated as property by their husbands for so many years, even in the face of brutal abuse at the hands of their husbands, because outsiders believed women belonged to their men, and thus, had no room to complain.

As a father, I know I don’t own my daughter, but I am confident I raised her to be an independent, smart young woman who will no doubt be able to make good decisions both on her own and with the guidance and support of her parents. Evidently, James T. Harris doesn’t seem to have the same confidence in his daughter or in his abilities as a parent.

capper over at Whallah! is talking about it, and I think his entry is worth taking a look at.

And for those who are interested, here’s a link to the original entry on James T. Harris’ blog.