Otherwise known as “Prom Season”.

Ah, prom. It’s a thing. I went to mine, cashing out like every single “good girl” point I’d ever accumulated, because it involved staying over at a hotel.

It also helped that I was going as a group, and my “date” was a gay friend of mine, and both he and one of my lady friends knocked on the door when it was time. And that other than the dress, I paid for everything else (my part of the limo, dinner, part of the hotel room, my own breakfast the morning after” out of money I’d been earning from my job.

Which is great, because we totally didn’t stay at the fucking prom after pictures and dancing to what was MY celebratory song at the time, “Living La Vida Loca”.  After presenting proof that we were actually there,  it was time to hit up Club One, what was then (to my recollection), the only gay club in Savannah. The music was way better, and if I was going to spend a night dancing, I’d rather do it where no one else from my class could see me.

I don’t even think my Dad was home when I headed out that night, and I’m pretty sure we didn’t have a gun in the house, which meant my group and I were spared photos like this:

And this:

And also, this:

I don’t care if his finger isn’t on the trigger, NEVER POINT IT AT SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT DESTROYED, YOU FOOL!

But I’ve already talked about gun fails.  So let’s get to the other thing that’s wrong with these pictures and those like them.

Dads, this is not only not funny, but it’s fucking creepy.

Like “I’m protecting my daughter’s genitals” creepy.

Like “I don’t trust her to decide what she wants to do with her body or emotions” creepy.

Like “Even though this is my baby girl’s night, I’ve got to still insert myself into the moment” creepy.

Like “Threats of physical violence are the only way to keep these boys honest (to me)” creepy.

I mean, haven’t we gotten sick of the “getcher shotgun when she starts a’courtin” bullshit yet? I have friends with young daughters already dodging the ignorant excuse for a tease, “oh wait until she starts dating”. People who outright say that they don’t want to have daughters because of shit like this. People who do shit like punish their daughters for even THINKING about sex.

Also, aren’t we also sick of treating young men like predators-in-waiting? I mean, is it that difficult to teach our boys about consent and relationship and respect and shit? I know, dads, you remember being a young man, but you’re not THAT young man.  And frankly, it’s kinda your job to make sure the young men in your life aren’t like you were.

Isn’t there also some other kind of message this “getcher shotgun” bullshit is trying to send? Not only “if you physically hurt her”, but also “if you emotionally hurt her”, then physical violence will be used? What the shit? “Breaking my baby girl’s heart” is not grounds for murder, you dolts, no matter how boneheaded Prince No-Longer-Charming behaves. Grow the hell up, put your gun away, and stay home to help her heal from the heartbreak.

And, frankly, like the Facebook post where I got these pics from: his family’s probably armed too, and they “wish you fuckin would” shoot their kid. They probably put time in teaching their sons to know and do better, and to have them “rewarded” by threats of death is just…disgusting. I think the parents of the boys in the picture, especially that last one, would be absolutely justified in telling their sons that they can’t see those girls anymore, out of fear for their son’s lives. That’s just fucked up.

Let’s face it, if anything were to happen to your daughter, how more likely would you be blaming her, anyway.  I mean, boys will be boys, amIright? *spits*

So, listen, instead of ruining a lovely pre-prom picture by putting yourself and your gun in it (seriously, picture in the middle, I can barely see the girl’s dress in the sea of all that toxic masculinity), how about we, as a society, teach our children how to respect one another, and do the things we should be doing to take sexual assault and rape more seriously, so we don’t have to resort to this kind of negativity on what is supposed to be an awesome event for everyone.

Deal?