I agree with everything you’ve said, but it’s hard to drum up sympathy when he all but admits he is playing zero role in his kids day to day lives, pays to maintain a gym membership and has qualms about allowing someone else to do the job he can’t right now which is to support his daughter. The system is totally…

He made several errors throughout...something tells me that while being a journalist might be his dream, it isn't necessarily his calling. This narrative also failed to drum up the sympathy I think he was attempting to garner. There was a way to do it and stating that you are remaining willfully financially insolvent…

I just ... cannot even FATHOM giving a fucking GYM MEMBERSHIP that kind of prioritization. The way he falls all over himself to talk about how wonderful his daughter is and how much money that his kids deserve to have from him (so much more than he officially legally owes them!) sets off major alarm bells for me. That…

I was thinking the same thing. That was one rambling load of excuses and not terribly well-written.

Nothing picky about it. The guy goes on and on about his writing dream but can’t look up spelling the name of his hero?

I’m sorry - you clearly missed that he is an artist. He will not be bothered by such details. Oh, and there’s a government agency with a confusing website so LOL, no child support.

You bust out crunches, push-ups and Hindu squats until your body burns, run a little, and even sort-of watch what you eat every day and you will NOT get fat. All those things are free and require zero equipment.

purple prose ahoy

THIS. Are you listening, Jezebel? Reach out to this man’s exes! Readers want to know!

“Have you lost your mind?” Amy asked. “What do you even know about this man who would become her father?”

Yeah, this thing was barely coherent. It needs a copy editor. I really don’t want to hate on this dude, and yes, taking away someone’s driver’s license (or putting them in jail) for essentially not making enough money is just insanely, cruelly counterproductive, and we should fix those kinds of things in the system.…

Prefacing this by saying that I’m a picky jerk but....

Seriously. I’m grown up and out of the house, but I have siblings that are significantly younger than me. Their dad doesn’t pay his child support either because he’s “pursuing his dreams.” 70% of your paycheck? I know for a fact its more like 100% of my moms paychecks go to keeping those kids clothed and fed and in…

It’s not just the proofreading though. Stuff like this:

Don’t forget “between my daughter’s mother and I.”

Yeah, I didn’t want to say it because I don’t like to be mean. But he’s... not a very good writer.

You’re a professional writer and you think the phrase is, “on the lamb?”

You don’t need a gym membership to exercise.

Me, as a child-support paying divorced mom with 50/50 physical custody, who still buys school uniforms and new shoes and haircuts for my kids because my ex-husband won’t.

Get a real fucking job. Better yet, get two! You have the time because your kids don’t live with you!. You are a grown ass man, and the fact that you call yourself a writer does not excuse you from being responsible for the lives you created.