Alec's Shocking Contrast

76. the anger came from a place of hurt. he obviously cherishes the phone time he's allotted with his insensitive kid -- even stops everything to make that call -- and she turns her damn phone off. and obviously she does that a lot. that's just mean.

he definitely has an anger problem, but it's sad that he just wants to be loved and appreciated by his only kid and she won't do it.

and, by the way, what parent doesn't at some point say hurtful things to their kid (and vica versa)? my mom did that. but i turned out okay. and we have a great relationship. sometimes kids just drive you crazy. some people handle it better than others. alec did call after the call to apologize. give the guy a break.

Posted at 1:27PM on Apr 20th 2007 by give the guy a break

77. I feel sorry for the child and for her father. Mom probably bad-mouths the dad with the child and so the child in turn disrespects her dad. Children can be very cruel to parents. Alec was probably fed up of the disrespect by the child and behaved just like any parent would have in the situation. Making the tape public is the mom's and lawyer's way of painting him into a nasty dad. I believe otherwise. How many of you parents out there tolerate disrespect from your own kids? Folks there are always two (2) sides to every story so please do not jump to conclusions.

Respectfully,

Brenda B

Posted at 1:59PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Brenda Burke

78. I have no problem with Alec's tirade. Some kids just don't "get It'. They are inconsiderate, thoughtless,ungrateful..... If there is a prearranged call setup that Ireland continually avoids with no consequence Alec has every right to be angry at her. The language was a bit abusive, however maybe that's the way she has to be spoken to so she understands her Dad is serious...who knows?
If i knew then what i know now about kids.......I'd have stuck with dogs, they're better!

Posted at 1:33PM on Apr 20th 2007 by marland

79. Kim and Ireland run to the hills and never look back!!!!!!!!

Posted at 1:51PM on Apr 20th 2007 by ?

80. As a parent of a teenager, Alec Baldwin resorted to the only option left when you are dealing with spoiled, bratty, unruling kids. I dont blame the poor man for lashing out at his kid, I myself have found myself in a state of rage when I am dealing with my teenager. Kids nowadays dont have the respect for their parents. Come on!!!!! Parents speak up for yourselves!!!! Dallas, Texas

Posted at 1:37PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Mother In Dallas Texas

81. Maybe this is how the call should have gone????

(tip toeing) Ireland honey... I'm really sorry to bother you, this is your daddy calling... I'm sorry that you are unable to answer your phone...you must be very busy.. I'm sorry to keep bothering you and I don't want to hurt your --feelings-- but we did have this appointment... I see you got my checks because they've cleared the bank... Do you think that maybe when you have some
free time you could give me a call back ?? Only if it's not an inconvienence honey. What ever makes you happy..
GIVE ME A BREAK!

Posted at 1:39PM on Apr 20th 2007 by tamiecc

82. DADDY DEAREST!!!

Posted at 1:46PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Tammi

83. 70. When do kids like this go astray? At 6 or 7? I'm just having a hard time believing that kids today are so out of control that their own parents aren't entitled to basic respect.

Posted at 1:48PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Debra

84. Alec Baldwin is a loser. If he wanted to be a part of his daughters life, as he says, he wouldn't live 3000 miles away from her. he's the selfish one.

Posted at 1:59PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Shawn

85. There's 3 sides to every story. his, her's and the truth, and there's a lot of parents who speak negative about each other to their children, and it's wrong if that the case here. The one who suffer in the long run is the kid.

Posted at 1:50PM on Apr 20th 2007 by DLC

86. Money is not everything #71.

Posted at 1:52PM on Apr 20th 2007 by ?

87. This eleven year old girl is a child. Her father, who didn't seem to know her actual age, couldn't have known if she was even in the home when his call came in. Children don't control their own comings and goings. If he believed his ex was behind the unanswered call, why did he blame the child? She IS a child and is under the control of the parent she is physically with. We do not know if the phone call was indeed prearranged. We do not know if the child had had such horrid experiences with previous phone calls that she was scared to talk with her father.

We know little, except for the fact that this grown man called her hurtful names that will raddle around in her head for years to come, called her mother horrid names, something no parent has the right to do--even if the comments are true--and he deteriorated in that phone to behaviors often seen in boys younger than his daughter.

We do know that he was either dumb or completely unable to control his rage, because one of the first things attorneys warn clients in custody battles is never to leave incriminating messages on answering machines.

Posted at 1:53PM on Apr 20th 2007 by rj

88. tamiecc...once again...genius!!! Unfortunately, I'm sure there are a lot of people who would say that's the right way to handle it. What a spineless bunch of people we have become. It's no wonder this world is falling apart...in many many ways... If no one sets these kids straight now, we all surely will suffer.

Is it these spoiled, I don't care about anyone but myself generation that we are going to entrust the world to?? Now more than ever we have to start taking responsibilty. We can't allow ourselves or the generations to come to have that attitude. It is that selfish, greedy attitude that has caused global warming and all the other ills our world is suffering from.

Alec...whoop that girl into shape!! We don't need any more Paris hiltons running around(another girl who, i'm sure, had free reign without discipline)

Posted at 1:55PM on Apr 20th 2007 by NuPicasso

89. high on cocaine.

Posted at 1:56PM on Apr 20th 2007 by joe russo

90. Their should be (unless real abuse can be determined) sole custody, It should be joint with both parents staying in the same state. You can not be a parent over the phone. My husband and I have this same problem, his boys live in another state and their mother keeps them from calling him we had to go to court just to get them to call, 35k the child support we pay does not go towards their living, it pays her rent and her needs, She's a lawyer (he paid for her to go to school) but does not want to work, they come to visit us in the worse clothes, old and too small. They get picked on for this and when we send them clothes or anything we never see it again, we believe she sells it. So don't think that Alec is the bad guy, its the lawyers and the system that allows this to happen. I have one son w/ my husband and I know he needs him, I can not teach him everything, a father's role is important, I think the real abuse here is the tape being released, imagine what her friends are saying, We give 11/12 year olds way too much power, my step son's call when they want money, never to say hey dad I love you.. He is not the same man, he's depressed and he still calls them every night, they call if we are lucky 2 times a week, we could go back to court but what for to make the lawyers wealthier.... The system sucks, plain and simple, KIM YOU ARE a SORRY EXCUSE FOR A MOM i would never use my child like that, we have to stop being their friends and go back to parenting, look at Brittany and Lindsay's, their parents are their friends and live off of them and they haven't turned out so well. I bet if he didn't pay his support Kim would be after him and say he's not there for her.

Posted at 2:05PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Brooklyn