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Judge Rules It's Not 'Bad Parenting' To Take Child To Pink Concert
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 26, 2015
Modified Apr 26, 2015
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 26, 2015
Modified Apr 26, 2015
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As anyone who has ever gotten "So What" stuck in their head knows, Pink is a true rock star with rock moves. And as anyone who has been brainwashed by excessive exposure to "Just Give Me A Reason" also knows, Pink is a national treasure. But a New Jersey judge had to explain all that and more to a warring divorced couple who were arguing over whether taking their daughter to a Pink show constituted 'bad parenting.'
In the complaint (which you can read in full below), the unidentified 11-year-old girl's father accused his ex-wife of abusing her parental discretion by taking their daughter to see Pink's "The Truth About Love" tour at the Prudential Center in Newark in December 2013. He argued that the performance was "age-inappropriate" because of lyrical profanity and "sexually suggestive themes and dances."
As NJ.com reports, Superior Court Judge Lawrence R. Jones wasn't having any of that. In the 37-page decision—one in which Jones spends most of the time delivering a brief history of rock 'n roll and a commentary on the increasing use of judges as "perpetual referees" for divorced parents—Jones declared that the young girl had a great time, so chill, Dad.
Her decision did not subject the child to any unreasonable risk of harm, or compromise A.Z's health, safety or welfare. To the contrary, when all the smoke from the custody litigation clears, it will be self-evident that all which happened here is that a young girl went to her first rock concert with her mother and had a really great time.
...
Perhaps most important, however, is the fact that [the daughter] enjoyed a parent/child night out together, sharing an experience which was clearly very important to the child in her young life. In this day and age, it is easy for parents to put off important bonding experiences with their children until a tomorrow which simply never comes," Jones wrote. "The positive value of this experience is not diluted in any fashion merely because there may have been some incidental curse words or allegedly suggestive themes during some of the songs at the concert.
If you like reading legal briefs, the one below is pretty fun, especially since Jones quotes from Gone With The Wind, references the Rolling Stones, and writes this line: "In 1966, Time magazine reported that many radio stations were banning Bob Dylan’s song, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”, due to some people’s interpretation of certain repeated lyrics in the chorus, (i.e., “Everybody must get stoned”) as supportive of drug use."
Pink Concert Bad Parenting Ruling
Aaaaaand now we have "Just Give Me A Reason" stuck in our head again. Fuckin' perfect.
Tagged
concerts
hilarious judges
Music
new jersey
nj
pink
rock
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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