It's Always Daddy's Fault, Isn't It?

Too bad. It's just too easy to blame the father for his notoriety when a child of fame struggles, yet that's the story you'll often read. Today's examples: Alexa Ray (daughter of pop Hall of Famer Billy) Joel and Mark (son of infamous scammer Bernie) Madoff.

The lady of the news OD'd on some homeopathic remedies without having yet gotten her singing career into second gear and was rushed to the hospital surrounded by comparisons to her very succesful father, who had tried killing himself age 21 — that is, he did it earlier and probably better than she. Of course, it is true that if she weren't the daughter of the spotlight nobody except the local paper's police blotter would even note that a girl who didn't seem to be going anywhere and had just broken up with her boyfriend had a mishap.

The boy we're supposed to feel sorry for is a 40-something-year-old man who while he was on top was the personable, hypochondrical, mood-swinging, arrogant son of a very wealthy man -- who gave him much from the stolen sums. Now, he is unemployable by other firms as a result of what his father did (with some help) and hasn't yet come up with a business idea of his own.

Is it all dad's fault? Wouldn't it be nice if the stories could be written differently, perhaps letting the kids have a little more of their hands in their own shame?