Bean dad sparks internet fury
One of the biggest debates of 2021 so far has sent social media site Twitter into a furious divide – and it all started over a humble can of beans.
Earlier this week US man John Roderick was met with fierce backlash after he took to Twitter share his own parenting story that involved making his nine-year-old daughter starve for six hours until she was able to open a can of beans.
The man has since deleted his Twitter account, but screenshots last forever.
In a series of tweets, he recounted how horrified he was to discover his young child did not know how to use a can opener.
He instructed her to “study the parts” and “study the cans” which left her struggling with the can for six hours in order to open the can.
Hours later, Mr Roderick says his daughter had been left defeated.
What was meant to be a hilarious parenting anecdote, a number of people did not see it that way.
Nicknaming him “Bean Dad”, the father has been slammed for not helping his daughter, and insisting she starve instead of assisting her.
The debate became even more heated when a series of racist and anti-Semitic tweets penned by Mr Roderick resurfaced.
He promptly issued an apology for his “poorly told” parenting story.
“I framed the story with me as the asshole dad because that’s my comedic persona and my fans and friends know it’s ‘a bit’,” he said in a statement.
“I was ignorant, insensitive to the message that my ‘pedant dad’ comedic persona was indistinguishable from how abusive dads act, talk and think.”
In standard Twitter fashion, a number of users took the odd story and turned the parenting lesson into a parenting test.
Writer Caroline Moss shared a screenshot of a text conversation between her and her dad where she wrote: “If I was eight and didn’t know how to open a can with a can opener, how would you suggest I learn.
“Take a can, an opener, start the opening, let you finish. Give you another can let you start yourself. Help if necessary,” Caroline’s dad replied.
Soon others were sharing their responses from their dads, which had a number of hilarious responses.