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News & ArtsThursday, May 7, 2009
Hetero Every Child Deserves a Mother and a Father
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, May 7, 2009 at 10:30 AM
A Salem man accused of using a dog shock collar on his four children is facing criminal mistreatment charges. Todd Marcum, 41, was arrested Tuesday and his children—ages 9, 8, 6 and 3—are now in the custody of their mother.... Investigators said Marcum admitted to putting an electronic dog collar on his four children and shocking all of them at least once because he thought it was funny. He said he also got a kick out of chasing his 3-year-old son around with the collar and making him cry at the thought of being shocked.
1
I did this with a friend to this annoying Mormon kid on our street. He literally peed his pants and once he got away, he was screaming so loud and pussy like, we couldn't stop laughing. I don't remember if we ever actually got it around his neck, but he definitely pissed his pants. It was hilarious. His obese mother spoke with my ma that night. I denied the whole thing and got away with it, only to destroy his BMX like a month later. He went door to door wondering/sniffling if anyone knew where it went. I told him no. Good times.
8
Wow, Thats a special kind of douchebaggery right there... I mean in his defense at least he was ONLY electrocuting them most of the stories in the news are about dads killing their entire familys... heres a tip; if you are considering a murder/suicide senario do us all a favor and start with the suicide, ok? Thanks, the rest of us really appreciate it!
10
This is awful. But I laughed at the absurdity of it. I mean, who does this sort of thing to their kids?
11
So...the kids are in the custody of the mother, who is the same woman that allowed four children to be born by this rancid dirtbag's sperm, then spent 9 years doing nothing while he abused them?
Is that a good idea?
Is that a good idea?
12
Did you people read the article?
The guy lived with his gay partner and the kids.
The kids were given back to the Mom after this incident.
The guy lived with his gay partner and the kids.
The kids were given back to the Mom after this incident.
14
@11: The parents are probably separated. Hopefully.
And I think we all know exactly what this guy's punishment SHOULD be, but I guess regular old prison will have to do.
And I think we all know exactly what this guy's punishment SHOULD be, but I guess regular old prison will have to do.
15
Does anyone here have experience with dog shock collars. I have extensive experience with dogs dog collar and me. They shock the fuck out of you, but it is not damaging, no burn or anything like that. If my kid held the dog over the shock line with the collar on I would consider doing this to them to show them how it felt, but using it as sport is a little sick. Then again i have seen screaming kids thrown into swimming pools by their parents. That should hurt or scar them, shouldn't we take those kids from their parents. Where is the fucking line here. At a certain point we do need to accept parents fuck up their kids in some way. Concentrate on the trully horendous ones, like the Eastside mother who starved her daughter.
16
Well, if you want your kids to be totally fucked in the head, you have to start early.
When this douche is old and gray, it'll be amusing to see which criminally sub-standard nursing home they put him in.
When this douche is old and gray, it'll be amusing to see which criminally sub-standard nursing home they put him in.
17
#15 - I do (lets not ask why).
There are two prongs on the collar I'm familiar with and this should never be buckled to a human neck for what I hope are obvious reasons...
Why it is ok to buckle to an animal neck is beyond me. But I think the prongs are designed to reach the animals neck through a fur padding...
There are two prongs on the collar I'm familiar with and this should never be buckled to a human neck for what I hope are obvious reasons...
Why it is ok to buckle to an animal neck is beyond me. But I think the prongs are designed to reach the animals neck through a fur padding...
18
@15,
There is the fucking line.
He said he also got a kick out of chasing his 3-year-old son around with the collar and making him cry at the thought of being shocked.
There is the fucking line.
19
I've never owned or used a shock collar on my unruly dog, because I'm not that kind of sadist, but every dog-owning sadist I know who rocks the shocker swears by them.
20
When we were very young, four, three and two, my father invited us to play in his ashtray. When we had made our fingers dirty with ash, he lit his lighter and burned each of our hands as a lesson. Of course we screamed and my mother heard it and came running, yelling at the old man for what he had done. He always did think us kids were as fucking stupid as him. Even at three, I was smarter than that bastard.
21
@5 beat me to it. In the old days, you had to send the damn gay kids to some sort of institution where they'd give 'em EST. Now you could just play the home version.
22
@15: Actually it depends on the unit - but yes, they can cause burns (resulting in lawsuits). They can also short out and give shocks at the wrong times.
Shock collars really shouldn't be sold to the public in the first place for a number of reasons (not the least of which is that it takes some skill to get the timing down when applying 'punishment'); nor were shock/aversion collars originally intended to deliver shocks on anything more than a rare occurrence.
Most trainers who consider themselves to be ethical will not use this as a training tool, and of those some will only use it only under certain conditions - since it is a tool that can cause more harm than good.
It can also be used to instill aggressiveness towards others (dogs, children, other triggers) in what would otherwise be a dog (regardless of breed) with a good temperament.
Shock collars really shouldn't be sold to the public in the first place for a number of reasons (not the least of which is that it takes some skill to get the timing down when applying 'punishment'); nor were shock/aversion collars originally intended to deliver shocks on anything more than a rare occurrence.
Most trainers who consider themselves to be ethical will not use this as a training tool, and of those some will only use it only under certain conditions - since it is a tool that can cause more harm than good.
It can also be used to instill aggressiveness towards others (dogs, children, other triggers) in what would otherwise be a dog (regardless of breed) with a good temperament.
25
11- better than some loving gay couple that will be devoted to the child's well-being, but WILL NOT PROVIDE THEM WITH GENDER ROLES
* doom music *
* doom music *
27
Why can't people who want to do shit like this just post on craigslist? I know people who would probably pay good money to have someone do this to them - why inflict it on the non-consenting and on children? Dickhead. I really want to strap a shock collar to his junk and see if I can make him shit himself.
29
Don't confuse 'shock collar' with the Invisible Fence collars - I have those for my dogs and my kids and I have all walked over the line either holding them or wearing them around our wrists just to know what it feels like, and it really doesn't hurt. I wouldn't use them on my dogs if they hurt. It feels more like a vibration - think of maybe bumping your funnybone or having a dentist polish your teeth. Unpleasant, yeah, but not painful. Plus they give off a sound before they buzz so the dogs know they are getting too close.
It is important to have them installed by a professional though, because if you install it yourself and set the intensity yourself you definitely can set them too high to where it is painful.
Dogs are smart. My dogs have not even needed to wear the collars in over a year because they know where the boundaries are, and luckily they never associated the collar with the buzz. They stay within the boundaries even without the collars. In that way, the IF system serves as an excellent training tool and the dogs' exposure to the unpleasant sensation is brief.
The true "shock collar" like the old-school ones they use(d) to control barking, etc. are barbaric and inhumane and should never be used by anyone ever.
Yeah I know I'm missing the point of the post here but I just wanted to put that out there, as I don't really have much to add to the discussion about this loser.
It is important to have them installed by a professional though, because if you install it yourself and set the intensity yourself you definitely can set them too high to where it is painful.
Dogs are smart. My dogs have not even needed to wear the collars in over a year because they know where the boundaries are, and luckily they never associated the collar with the buzz. They stay within the boundaries even without the collars. In that way, the IF system serves as an excellent training tool and the dogs' exposure to the unpleasant sensation is brief.
The true "shock collar" like the old-school ones they use(d) to control barking, etc. are barbaric and inhumane and should never be used by anyone ever.
Yeah I know I'm missing the point of the post here but I just wanted to put that out there, as I don't really have much to add to the discussion about this loser.
30
#29, wonderful post! I am actually an installer/trainer for Invisible Fence (which is a trademarked name, by the way - there are tons of knock-offs nowadays), and administer "corrections" to dogs pretty much every day. The dogs' happiness and comfort is always a huge priority, and everyone who works for our company is an animal lover. If it were the slightest bit cruel or inhumane, you can bet I'd have nothing to do with it. What I see on a daily basis are safe, happy pets. And our product is endorsed by the Humane Society!
31
There are going to be some people chasing that father around in prison laughing at him as they do things to him that make him cry.
Also, Mr. Poe, you are a douche bag. A douche bag who does stuff like that at 15 is a douche bag for life. I hope people are cruel to you.
Also, Mr. Poe, you are a douche bag. A douche bag who does stuff like that at 15 is a douche bag for life. I hope people are cruel to you.
32
I think this douche bag should get a taste of his own medicine....but there is an evil part of me that wishes I'd thought of it when I had to tutor middle-school students during a summer internship. "Well, Zach, I don't give a shit if you think A Tale Of Two Cities is gay, you're going to read the goddamn book....What? You think that's funny? How about this? zzzt zzzt zzzt Do ya' think that's funny? 'Cause I sure did! Ooo, now you're gonna do that book report. Ha!"
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