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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: daigong on April 16, 2005, 01:22:01 AM

Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: daigong on April 16, 2005, 01:22:01 AM
http://homepage.mac.com/rondavis/iblog/C791896557/E850830230/

A woman calls 911 to say her 12-year-old daughter is out of control. The dispatcher asks: "OK. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?"


The dispatcher apologized and immediately told his supervisor, who disciplined the employee. But that's not good enough for the mom with the wayward child -- she wants the dispatcher to feel more pain.

Oh, but she's not willing to let a newspaper print her full name.

From the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

Lori came home to find her daughters fighting that Monday evening. Her 12-year-old had kicked a hole in the door, and the girls were hitting and throwing things at each other. She feared one or both would be seriously hurt.

She called 911 and asked for help. Her 12-year-old daughter was out of control, she told the call-taker.

"OK. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?" the dispatcher asked, according to a recording released this week. For five seconds, the line went dead.

"Are you there?" the call-taker asked.

"Excuse me?" Lori said.

Mike Forbess, a dispatcher of five years for the Watauga Department of Public Safety, then told her he was joking and apologized. But Lori cannot get his comment out of her head.

"This is a slap in the face that my child was not important enough, my call for help, my 911 call was not important enough that he had to make a joke about it," Lori said Monday. She asked that her last name not be used to avoid identifying her daughters, one of whom has emotional problems.

Forbess immediately told his supervisor about the call. He received a letter of reprimand two days later. Forbess received a second letter of reprimand from Chief David Van Laar on Monday, the same day the Star-Telegram obtained a copy of the 911 call recording, and of Forbess' disciplinary records.

The mother, however, said her faith in the 911 system remains shaken. She said she plans to file a formal complaint.

"I do not have words to tell you how shocked I am that someone is allowed to do this," she said. "You don't do people like this, and then get a slap on the wrist."

In his letter to Forbess, Van Laar wrote: "This type of response cannot be tolerated, and this letter shall serve as notice that any future unprofessional responses while answering the 911 line will be cause for termination."

But the reprimand is not enough, the mother said.

The next time she has an emergency, she said, she won't feel safe calling 911.

"This man does need to be disciplined," Lori said. "How can a person in this line of work be so unfeeling that he asked a person who needed help, 'Would you like us to come over and shoot your child?'

"That's an interoffice disciplinary action," she said of the reprimands. "That doesn't do anything."

Van Laar made no excuses for the dispatcher.

"The reason I didn't take tougher action is, he immediately owned up to his supervisor and said he made a mistake," Van Laar said. "He's a good employee. He just made a severe mistake which is inexcusable. ... This is not something you should hear on the other end of a 911 call."

In an interview Monday, Forbess said he is sorry for his comment to the woman. In five years with the department, the dispatcher has never been disciplined for his handling of 911 calls.

Forbess has received two commendations from community members for his work. He was disciplined once with a written warning for working an unauthorized shift for a co-worker.

"I am so sorry for what I said to that lady, and I can never make it up to her," Forbess said. "I'm ashamed of my actions, what I said and what I did. I would take it back if I could, but I can't. I'm just very sorry that I did it. It was a poor choice of things to say."

Forbess said that he sometimes tells jokes or changes his tone of voice to ease the stress of a caller. In this case, he said, his words made the situation worse.

"I admit what I did. It was stupid, it was inexcusable and I'm sorry," Forbess said. "I know it's not enough for her or for the papers or for the rest of the world. I've taken the punishment that they gave."
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 16, 2005, 01:28:06 AM
Very bad taste.  Being a 911 call-taker, one should know that joking with panicky, scared callers is NOT acceptable.  Stupid? Yes.  Inexcusable? Definitely.  Should the guy be punished?  I think he should be fired, or at the very least suspended indefinitely without pay until he gets re-acquainted with proper procedures and goes through some type of sensitivity training.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Purpus on April 16, 2005, 02:47:54 AM
Quote from: TheQuickening
I think he should be fired, or at the very least suspended indefinitely without pay until he gets re-acquainted with proper procedures and goes through some type of sensitivity training.


Indeed.  The correct reply should've been, "Do you want us to come over and kick her little misbehaving ass?"  Now that would've shown proper sensitivity.

Look for Chris Rock to steal my joke at a comedy routine near you.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: street bastard on April 16, 2005, 06:30:46 AM
Why the hell was that wench calling 911 anyway? That ain't no damn emergency!? Whup your freakin' kid's ass and be done with it ya stupid bitch. Geez, maybe if she woulda sacked up on her kids like she did the 911 opreator she wouldn't be having this problem!
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 16, 2005, 07:07:44 AM
Yet another example of a whipped, left-wing thinking yuppy parent who can't keep her kids in line because they don't believing in corporal punishment.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Purpus on April 16, 2005, 07:13:00 AM
Quote from: TheQuickening
Yet another example of a whipped, left-wing thinking yuppy parent who can't keep her kids in line because they don't believing in corporal punishment.


Stop fronting...we know you're Canadian, Q.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 16, 2005, 07:23:30 AM
Yep, but it's not about being Canadian.  My opinion here comes more from the fact that kids from recently immigrated families tend (notice I said tend, not always) to be better behaved than kids from families who have lived in North America for several generations.  This, of course, is just from my general, personal observations of kids in public situations and how thier parents deal with them.

Being the child of an immigrant parent, I got my ass whupped if/when I misbehaved.  Children need to fear their parents a little bit, IMO.  That way they know the limits of what they can/can't do without risking getting a beating.  When you know behaviours A, B, and C will get you a parental ass-whuppin' and behavious D, E, and F will get you parental praise and/or rewards, 99 times out of 100 (the one odd time referring to when you are a complete dipshit) you're gonna do D, E, and F and avoid A, B, and C.  Ok, maybe you may not do that at first, but over time, and several ass-whuppin's, you get the picture.  Hell, it didn't take me long to figure it out.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Gimme Dem Junks on April 16, 2005, 08:00:23 AM
That was completely inappropriate but people should learn to discipline their own children.  The kid is 12 and her mother can't do anything about her?  I get that she kicked a hole in the wall and everything...but still...yeah.  

I'm sorry.  I don't mean to be really opinionated about this issue (rofl) but I've had a bad experience with irresponsible parents getting their kids ARRESTED without cause.  It seems unnecessary.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Purpus on April 16, 2005, 08:03:58 AM
Quote
I don't mean to be really opinionated about this issue (rofl)

rofl indeed. roffle em ay oh.
Quote
but I've had a bad experience with irresponsible parents getting their kids ARRESTED without cause.
It would be corny of me to quip, "What'd you do?" so I'll just ask if you could please scan in your mug shot and use it as your avatar.  That would totally rawk.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Gimme Dem Junks on April 16, 2005, 08:06:26 AM
Quote from: Purpus
It would be corny of me to quip, "What'd you do?" so I'll just ask if you could please scan in your mug shot and use it as your avatar.  That would totally rawk.


Nah, I was a good little girl.   :halo:

I'm talking about a friend of my sister's and his prescription drug-popping mom.  She's got some real prize-winning parenting skillz for sure.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: ctz on April 16, 2005, 08:24:57 AM
Children need more discipline if they start to kick holes in a wall. But if their parents are incapable, maybe it's better to call help. But 911 would be the last place where I would call.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 16, 2005, 08:23:46 PM
Quote from: Gimme Dem Junks
...people should learn to discipline their own children.  The kid is 12 and her mother can't do anything about her?

I'm sorry.  I don't mean to be really opinionated about this issue (rofl) but I've had a bad experience with irresponsible parents getting their kids ARRESTED without cause.  It seems unnecessary.


Sorry if I gave off the impression that I was actively advocating that parents should beat their kids.  Might have been that I just didn't express my thoughts correctly.  Outright beating up of your kids?  Hell no.  But if the situation warrents it, parents should be able to at least spank thier kids (especially when the kids are younger so that they learn what the limits are early on).  There are a lot of ultra-liberalists out there who are adamant in proclaiming that all physical discipline/corporal punishment is just plain evil and should be made illegal, even be made a criminal offence.  They come up with strategies (usually involving talking or passive techniques) to encourage positive behaviours and discourage negative ones.  Notice that in a lot, if not most of these strategies, parents are NOT supposed to outright TELL their kids "this is wrong/you're not supposed to do this".  They argue that when the kids learn it on their own, they will be more likely to correct their own behaviour and remain as "good" kids.  This is all well and good...in theory.  A lot of these corporal-punishment nay-sayers are Ph.D's and psychologists and experts in their fields, I'm sure.  And I don't doubt that what they talk about has validity to it.  But have you ever noticed that most of these people are child-less?  Many of them do not have/have never had children of their own, as a result they've never actually gone through the parenting experience themselves.  They've never done the 3 am feedings or dealt with the whining/screaming child at the supermarket throwing a temper tantrum because he wants his cookies/candy/whatever, all the while the other shoppers are staring at the whole scene.  They've never dealt with the 4-5 year old who won't eat his/her dinner and instead throws it all over the kitchen because he/she doesn't like brocolli and/or refuses to anything except pizza or chips or some other type of junk food.  Parents in the real world need simple, efficient, effective, and most importantly PRACTICAL strategies to discipline their kids.  And if that means that a parent has to spank their kid once in a while because he/she is being a major brat, then I say more power to them.

When you boil it all down kids need clear, well-defined limits regarding was they can/can't do behaviour-wise.  I personally found out the limits MY folks set by getting my ass whupped whenever I crossed the line.  The fact that this particular parent can't seem to keep her kid in line leads me to think that she did NOT make those limits clear and understood to her daughter.  I'm wondering if she is/was like Ned Flanders' parents in that one Simpsons episode where Ned snaps and checks himself into a mental joint.   Maybe she should put her daughter through that spaking therapy that Ned went through.  At the very least it'd be funny when the kid woudl start talking gibberish.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

And don't feel like you need to apologize if you get opiniated.  This is the type of topic that will illicit strong, opiniated reactions in anyone.  You can't really help but feel strongly one way or another.  Sorry to hear about your experience with the parents who got their kids arrested.  Unless the kids were trying to like, kill the parents, that's over the line.  Doesn't exactly reflect well on the parents either.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: elgie on April 16, 2005, 08:45:34 PM
All the discipline I learnt, I learnt it from my grandma. And she never had to rise a hand against me. My father, on the other hand, beat me the hell out until I left home (and keep in count I left some months ago and I'm 28) and all I learnt was to fear the consequences of my misbehaviour IF I was caught.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Impression151 on April 16, 2005, 10:06:29 PM
haha, did you guys hear the 911 call where this woman was calling the police to deal with Burger King about giving her the wrong burgers?
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 16, 2005, 10:46:15 PM
:shock:  :shock:  :shock:  You've GOT to be kidding!!!   :shock:  :shock:  :shock:
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: shinichi on April 17, 2005, 01:23:22 AM
Quote from: Impression151
haha, did you guys hear the 911 call where this woman was calling the police to deal with Burger King about giving her the wrong burgers?

LOL yeah. That shit is funny as hell, and that woman got owned by the operator too. I loled alot.

edit.
Here's the call. (http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=330WTSS20WJKI10O8TQY73MH31)
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 17, 2005, 01:37:24 AM
Quote from: shinichi
Here's the call. (http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=330WTSS20WJKI10O8TQY73MH31)


*after listening to it* Oh for FUCK's SAKE!!!  I want my 2:28 back.  Seriously, that was too lame and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too stupid to be funny. Good for the operator for putting that dumb bitch in her place.
 :evil: :evil: :evil:
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: kuno_thunder on April 17, 2005, 09:54:27 AM
Hey TheQuickening, mad props on your corporal punishment views, I totally agree with you.  I talk about this alot at work actually, whenever the alarm in the store goes off, and the customer just keeps walking through.  Our managers keep saying like, "How come nobody stopped that guy when he set the alarm off?"  And I'm always like, "Cuz I don't know how to fight, and I'm not paid enough to try, and then just get my ass whooped."

Like, why don't we have a security guard standing there?  Just pay someone with some sort of physical training who can take someone down if he tries to run?  Or better yet, just give me a gun and hope that people will hear me yelling at them if they try to run.  Like in a lot of other countries, when people get caught stealing, they get shot.  Dead.  Simple as that.  Or in some countries where they're a bit nicer, they'll just cut your hands off.  There's not enough fear around here, so some people just think they can do whatever they want.  I just think about whenever there's a jackoff fucker of a customer, I think "Man, you're lucky you live in Canada, cuz you'd be fucking dead anywhere else."  If their mom and dad beat them at the appropriate times when they were little, maybe they'd know how to respect authority.

Getting back to the original topic though, spanking when needed is the way that generations have raised their children throughout history.  None of this "time to take a timeout" bullshit.  Its like, "Boy, you broke the lamp?  Oh you gonna get it now!  I'll be nice, I'll let you choose - belt, or slipper?"  And man, I'm glad I got beat, and I'm glad I learned to fear my father, it made sure I didn't do anything stupid.  Or, I kept trying to not do anything stupid, that is.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 17, 2005, 09:38:22 PM
Kuno_Thunder,

Totally dude!!! I've never understood how people could actually believe that "time outs" actually work?  All it does is provide a brief break in between the periods of misbehaviour. Kids are like, "Time out for 10 minutes?  Ok then, I'll go read a comic book, take a piss, then it's BACK to drawing on the wall!!!"

On your thing with the shoplifters, fuck yeah there should be security guards, especially if you work at larger, corporate stores that can afford those alarm systems (that people tend to ignore) in the first place.  One of my co-workers is from the Middle East, and he's told me about Islamic law and how you get your right hand chopped off if you're caught stealing.  No choice, it HAS to be your right hand.  Apparently in the Islamic faith the right hand is the "better" hand.  You use it when you eat (no utensils) and stuff, and you're sorta required to keep it very well manicured for when you're out in public and shit. He summed it up by saying, "Right hand for the good shit, Left hand is for wiping the shit from your ass."   :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Say, you're Filipino, right?  Have you been "back home" recently?  Is it true that there are army guys in the malls and they frisk you before you're allowed to enter?  And what's this about 7-11's? My cousin just came bck from a trip back home and said she saw the funniest shit at a 7-11 in Manila but she wouldn't tell me what.  Any thoughts on what she was talking about?
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Carrie on April 18, 2005, 01:02:59 AM
Quote from: TheQuickening
Totally dude!!! I've never understood how people could actually believe that "time outs" actually work?  All it does is provide a brief break in between the periods of misbehaviour. Kids are like, "Time out for 10 minutes?  Ok then, I'll go read a comic book, take a piss, then it's BACK to drawing on the wall!!!"


What some people don't realize is that times outs are actually not supposed to be used as punishment, it's just supposed to be a cooling down period for the kid. (With any punishment/discipline coming later, when the child has calmed down a bit). The kid shouldn't be reading a comic book during one anyways. They are supposed to be in an area where there are NO distractions whatsoever.

I was an elementary ed major and went over all kinds of discipline and punishment (including corporal punishment, although most schools do not allow it). Though, in regard to something said earlier in the topic, we were always told to explain the behavior and why it's wrong and what the correct behavior should be. Kids can learn from the natural consequences of some things, but not always. I think whatever you do in your discipline, the child needs to understand what they did wrong, or I can't see how effective it'll be.

I really think there's just a lack of discipline in general. I know several parents that just don't do anything whenever their children are bad. They sometimes threaten, but it doesn't work as they never follow up on their threat. I know teachers that are the same way. The kids run wild and are little hellions. It's horrid. I'm not sure if they just don't know what to do or don't want to be the "bad guy" or something. Even if they don't want to spank, there are other things you can do to discipline a kid.

When I starting dating my boyfriend, I found that he would actually ground his brother, because his parents just aren't very good disciplinarians. They wouldn't do anything.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: daigong on April 18, 2005, 01:31:09 AM
WORD. I know discipline made me harder, and I thank my pops for beating the hell outta me. My pain threshold is enormous. :lol: now you slap a kid and its fuckin child abuse, off to the foster home. infuckincredible.

You guys should actually hear the call. I heard it on the radio, and the guy backpedals instantly. He's like "Yeah, yeah, yeah......oh I'm in shit now"
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: maliciel on April 18, 2005, 12:48:36 PM
That was pretty funny. Who the hell calls the cops for something like that? And I meet that guy in person just to shake his hand and say 'That, my dear sir, was fucking gold!', with the Brit accent and all.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: ar-a-mach on April 22, 2005, 03:55:42 PM
lmao i give the ammo hahaha this is totaly my sense of humour
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: daigong on April 26, 2005, 08:58:32 PM
Check it out. Here's the call freshly ripped from The Jim Rome Show:

http://s20.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1FTVJZD7FJSRH14Q0WU7JCAWU4


The long pause is priceless. :lmao: :lmao:
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: kuno_thunder on April 27, 2005, 12:18:34 AM
Quote from: TheQuickening
Kuno_Thunder,Say, you're Filipino, right?  Have you been "back home" recently?  Is it true that there are army guys in the malls and they frisk you before you're allowed to enter?  And what's this about 7-11's? My cousin just came bck from a trip back home and said she saw the funniest shit at a 7-11 in Manila but she wouldn't tell me what.  Any thoughts on what she was talking about?


I went back in 98 for 3 weeks, and in 01 for a month.  I've been back before then, but I was really little.  The funniest thing I saw at 7-11 there was a fully armed guard there.  I'm talking, FULLY ARMED.  Like, he could almost work for Jack Bauer at CTU with the shit he was packing.  Poor guy must have been roasting carrying all that gear tho.

I've got another story for you, but maybe it isn't appropriate to tell it here - I wouldn't want to offend anyone  :halo: .  If I see you in the IRC room later, I'll tell ya all about it.  Oh, and sorry it took me 10 days to reply. :lol:
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Asmodai on April 27, 2005, 05:10:54 AM
When I was on Cyprus the first thing I needed to get used to was teenagers with automatic weapons.

At the airport there's local police, all with machine pistols walking around looking nervous.

Once I got to Nicosia (the world's only remaining divided capital) I had to get used to the Cypriot military's teenagers walking around with automatic rifles and the Argentinian peacekeepers driving around in jeeps with M16s and rocket launchers.

If I went to the north end of town to get ice cream, the Turkish soldiers would stare at you from across a 40 foot no man's land.

I also approached the Israeli embassy when I was site-seeing and forgot I had my backpack on. The result was having 5 soldiers pointing their M16s at me and shouting.  :o

So yeah, once nice thing in Canada is that aside from SWAT the only guns I see are 9mm.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on April 27, 2005, 04:53:51 PM
Quote from: Kuno_Thunder
I went back in 98 for 3 weeks, and in 01 for a month.  I've been back before then, but I was really little.  The funniest thing I saw at 7-11 there was a fully armed guard there.  I'm talking, FULLY ARMED.  Like, he could almost work for Jack Bauer at CTU with the shit he was packing.  Poor guy must have been roasting carrying all that gear tho.

I've got another story for you, but maybe it isn't appropriate to tell it here - I wouldn't want to offend anyone  :halo: .  If I see you in the IRC room later, I'll tell ya all about it.  Oh, and sorry it took me 10 days to reply. :lol:


No worries man.  I can't go online at work, my cubicle is right in front of my boss's office. And unfortunately my computer connection at home is a major piece o' shit.  I'm only on a "LITE" high-speed connection (it's all I can afford right now, cuz I'm still paying off my student loans). Might be about 1/2 the speed of regular Cable modems/ADSL.  That's why when I'm home, I post everywhere at once (in case you haven't noticed), 'cuz my connection's not that great.  Anyway, the connection in my apartment building is slowed down even more b/c there are several other tenants on cable modem, and you know what happens there.   :evil:  :evil:  :evil:   So I didn't bother signing on to the IRC.  Just PM me the story.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: MochaNutz on April 27, 2005, 06:17:01 PM
Quote from: TheQuickening

Being the child of an immigrant parent, I got my ass whupped if/when I misbehaved.  Children need to fear their parents a little bit, IMO.  


I've noticed that most caucasian families don't 'discipline' their kids like this.  I think they should.

I got 'palo' when I was a kid when i misbehaved.  Look at me now!  I turned out great! =D It was my mom who did it, usually with chinelas (rubber slippers).  I didn't mind if my mom got mad, but my brother and I were super scared to get my dad mad =P Just one look from him was enough for us to obey

Oooh, they also disciplined me by telling me to 'go to the corner'.  You would just stand and face the corner.  My brother would then suggest I have to kneel on hard Mongo beans cuz he wanted me to suffer more.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Carrie on April 28, 2005, 06:40:25 PM
I think the kids in the town I grew up in must not have been so lucky then  :lol:  (Very small, very white town. More diverse, now, I believe. Thank goodness) I can't think of anyone I knew that wasn't spanked.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: zlchn on April 28, 2005, 10:07:13 PM
Quote
I've noticed that most caucasian families don't 'discipline' their kids like this. I think they should.


I can't speak for any other caucasian  familes.. but  in my parents house... they would have pealed some wigs if they came home with everyone fighting like that. My dad would beat some ass with a belt. LOL and the whole time he would be be bitchin like " I work my ass of for you ungratful bastard to wreck my houselike this.. I dont think so" It's kinda funny to  think of now.. now that I can finally sit down. haha
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Asmodai on April 28, 2005, 10:36:36 PM
I think that's it's a little too big a pot to mean anything.

Greek families, German families, and Spanish families all act completely differently towards each other and on corporal punishment.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on May 01, 2005, 02:21:04 AM
Quote from: Asmodai
Greek families, German families, and Spanish families all act completely differently towards each other and on corporal punishment.


In what way?
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: Asmodai on May 01, 2005, 02:26:01 AM
I know a few Swiss families and they're far stricter than anyone else I know. I also know some German Mennonite families that use the stick.

The boys in the Greek families I know are treated like royalty almost, and can get away with anything. The girls not so much.
Title: 911 DISPATCHER offers to shoot caller's daughter
Post by: TheQuickening on May 01, 2005, 03:27:37 AM
Unfortunately that's how it's traditionally been.  Males have usually gotten preferential treatment over females.  Especially in the old days, where boys were encouraged to study and work hard to get a good job, and girls were taught how to cook and clean and were told to be a "good wife".  Fortunately here in North America that type of attitude is being changed/replaced with a more progressive one.