The Brainwashing of My Dad

ONCE UPON A TIME,

THERE WAS AN AVERAGE AMERICAN FAMILY,

LIVING IN AN AVERAGE AMERICAN TOWN.

AFTER THE FAMILY MOVED,

THE FATHER LEFT HIS FAMILIAR CARPOOL,

AND BEGAN A LONG, SOLO COMMUTE TO WORK,

AND, GRADUALLY, HE BEGAN TO CHANGE.

HE LOOKED THE SAME HE DRESSED THE SAME,

BUT SOMETHING WAS VERY DIFFERENT.

BUT THIS ISN'T THE STORY ABOUT JUST ONE MAN,

IT'S THE STORY ABOUT A MEDIA PHENOMENON

THAT CHANGED A FATHER,

AND DIVIDED A NATION.

HERE'S MY DAD WITH ME WHEN I WAS A BABY.

HE REALLY LOVED ME.

THIS WAS IN ARIZONA, WHERE I WAS BORN.

HE WAS GOOFY,

LIKE A LOT OF OTHER DADS, I GUESS.

MY DAD WAS A REALLY FUN DAD.

ALL THE KIDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD REALLY LIKED HIM

BECAUSE HE WAS FUNNY, AND TOLD JOKES,

AND WOULD PLAY WITH US.

HE WAS A REALLY GOOD DAD.

HE LOVED ANIMALS.

HE COULD ALWAYS BE COUNTED ON TO HELP PERSUADE MY MOM

IF WE WANTED ANOTHER PET.

FOR VACATIONS, MY DAD TOOK US ON CAMPING TRIPS.

IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.

MY MOM DIDN'T LIKE IT SO MUCH.

SHE DIDN'T REALLY LIKE ROUGHING IT.

BUT WE ALL STILL HAD A REALLY GREAT TIME.

HE CAME FROM HUMBLE ROOTS.

HE NEVER HAD ANY BAD WORDS ABOUT ANY RACE,

PEOPLE, OR PERSON.

I REMEMBER THIS ONE TIME WHEN WE ALL WENT TO NEW YORK,

AND WE GOT OUTSIDE PORT AUTHORITY,

AND THERE WAS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN, HOMELESS MAN,

AND HE ASKED MY DAD FOR SOME MONEY.

MY FATHER GAVE HIM

WHAT WAS AT THAT TIME A DECENT AMOUNT OF MONEY,

AND CALLED HIM "SIR."

THAT MADE SUCH AN IMPRESSION ON ME,

AND TAUGHT ME

YOU TREAT EVERYBODY WITH RESPECT.

WE WEREN'T REALLY A POLITICAL FAMILY.

MY DAD WAS A NON-POLITICAL KENNEDY DEMOCRAT.

BUT THEN, WHEN HE STARTED LISTENING TO TALK RADIO,

I SAW HIM CHANGE.

A LOT.

YOU USED TO CONSIDER YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT, RIGHT?

YEAH, BEFORE I-- BEFORE I KNEW ANYTHING,

OR HAD ANY SENSE, I WAS STUPID THEN.

I WOULD LISTEN TO PEOPLE WITH THEIR BULLSHIT,

AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT.

UNTIL THEN, I WAS FAT, DUMB, AND HAPPY.

I THINK I FIRST NOTICED SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT HIM

WHEN I CAME DOWN TO VISIT.

I WAS WORKING IN NEW YORK AT THE TIME.

HE PICKED ME UP AT THE BUS STATION,

AND WAS DRIVING ME BACK TO THE HOUSE.

ON THE RIDE HOME, WE PASSED A HOOTERS.

HE MENTIONED THAT HE WAS REALLY PISSED OFF

THAT SOME FEMINAZIS

DID NOT WANT WOMEN WITH THEIR BREASTS HANGING OUT

TO BE WORKING AT HOOTERS.

I SAID SOMETHING LIKE, "WELL, MAYBE THE FEMINISTS HAVE A POINT."

HE WAS SO MAD,

HE THREATENED TO PULL THE CAR OVER

AND LET ME HITCHHIKE HOME.

I WAS VERY SURPRISED, BECAUSE I WAS THINKING,

"I BET HE NEVER EVEN WALKED INTO A HOOTERS BEFORE."

HE BECAME REALLY ANGRY ABOUT STUFF,

STUFF THAT I DIDN'T KNOW

HE EVER EVEN GAVE A THOUGHT TO,

LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOOTERS.

[STATIONS CHANGING, RADIO CHATTER]

WHETHER THEY ARE IN JAIL OR NOT,

THEY ARE PROCREATING THEIR OWN KIND.

THAT'S WHY WE SHOULD

GO IN THERE AND STOP THEM

BEFORE THEY DESTROY OUR COUNTRY.

WHEN WE MOVED,

AND HE HAD A VERY LONG COMMUTE BY CAR,

HE WOULD LISTEN TO THE RADIO

ON THE LONG DRIVE.

THEN HE STARTED TO CHANGE.

THE FEMINAZIS BEGAN THEIR QUEST

TO MAKE WOMEN MORE LIKE MEN.

DRESS LIKE US,

ACQUIRE POWER LIKE US,

HAVE CAREERS LIKE US, ALL THAT...

RUSH LIMBAUGH'S ONE OF MY HEROES.

I AGREE WITH HIM IN, IN POLITICS.

AND THEN HIS RUSH LIMBAUGH-LOVING BUDDY

TOLD HIM HE COULD LISTEN TO MORE TALK-RADIO AT NIGHT

WITH A TINY, PORTABLE RADIO AND EAR BUDS.

BUT IT WOULD STILL DISTURB MY MOTHER.

SO HE DECIDED TO MOVE INTO THE OTHER BEDROOM,

AND THEN IT GOT WORSE AFTER HE DISCOVERED FOX NEWS.

HIS NEW BELIEFS CAME FIRST.

IT WAS ALMOST LIKE HE JOINED A CULT,

OR HAD A NEW RELIGION.

FRANK IS THE FAMILY PEST.

HE HAS TO FORCE HIS POLITICAL VIEWS ON ALL OF US.

I DID IT FRANK'S WAY.

IT WAS HIS WAY, OR THE HIGHWAY

WHEN IT CAME TO POLITICS.

I WAS NOT AWARE THAT FRANK

HAD STRONG POLITICAL LEANINGS,

ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

IT WAS JUST PRETTY MUCH FOOD AND FAMILY

WAS WHAT HE WAS INTERESTED IN.

AFTER E-MAILING CAME IN,

YEAH, THEN YOU GET ALL KINDS.

I WOULD GET POLITICAL E-MAILS TOO,

BUT THEY WERE FACTUAL,

BRINGING THINGS UP-TO-DATE,

WHERE DAD'S E-MAILS WERE HATEFUL AGAINST DEMOCRATS.

AND HE WOULD FORWARD THEM TO ME

AND THE CHILDREN.

AND I ASKED HIM, PLEASE, DON'T SEND THESE E-MAILS

OR I'LL BLOCK YOU.

HE STARTED GETTING FANATICAL.

OH, HE WOULD SEND SOME NASTY E-MAIL BACK,

LIKE, "F-YOU."

OR "YOU GUYS ARE FULL OF S, BLANK, BLANK, T."

I-- I STARTED GETTING HIS E-MAILS

WHEN I GOT 394 E-MAILS.

I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WAS SOMEBODY ELSE,

OTHER THAN FRANK SENKO SENDING ME THINGS.

AND, IN FACT, HE DIDN'T AUTHOR ANY OF THESE.

THEY WERE JUST, YOU KNOW, RECYCLED THINGS

THAT HE RECEIVED FROM HIS OTHER, UH...

RIGHT WING CRONIES.

I WAS YOU KNOW,

WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO FRANK

SINCE THE TIME I SAW HIM.

I'D ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT HE WAS CAPABLE OF, UH...

DEEPLY THINKING ABOUT ISSUES.

BUT IT WAS APPARENT AT THAT POINT THAT...

IT'S NOT THAT HE WASN'T CAPABLE OF IT,

HE WASN'T INTERESTED IN IT.

AND THAT, TO ME, WAS A DANGEROUS SIGNAL.

BRAIN HAS NOT ONLY BEEN WASHED,

AS THEY SAY, IT HAS BEEN DRY-CLEANED.

SO, WHAT DID HAPPEN TO DAD?

WAS HE BRAINWASHED?

I DIDN'T KNOW.

THIS WENT ON FOR YEARS.

SO I FINALLY DECIDED TO MAKE A FILM

TO FIGURE IT OUT.

JENNIFER, IS THIS YOUR BOOK?

YES.

HE'S MY HERO.

WHY IS HE YOUR HERO?

POLITICALLY, I AGREE WITH HIM.

BEAUTIFULLY. I ALWAYS AGREE WITH HIM.

WE KNEW BETTER THAN TO DISCUSS POLITICS TOGETHER.

BECAUSE IT WOULD JUST END IN ARGUMENTS AND BITTERNESS.

I HAD A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN TO RAISE SOME MONEY,

AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, PEOPLE WERE COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK,

CONTACTING ME FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

TELLING ME SIMILAR STORIES.

AND I THOUGHT,

"WOW, THIS IS A REAL PHENOMENON."

THEY JUST DRUMMED INTO HER,

WHAT THEY WANTED HER TO HEAR.

SHE'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON.

MY BROTHER BECAME VERY FACT-RESISTANT.

MY REACTION WAS,

"WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY STEPFATHER?

DISJOINTED EXISTENCE.

AND HE WAS COMPLETELY CHANGED.

HE WAS-- HE WAS BITTER AND ANGRY.

AT ONE POINT, HE THREATENED TO GET A BUS.

BECAUSE I WAS CHALLENGING...

HE BECAME OBSESSED.

AND SHE HAD NEVER BEEN LIKE THAT.

HE WAS CARRYING A SMALL PISTOL.

- SHE WAS NOT HATEFUL. - SHOT TWICE...

IT BROKE MY HEART TO SEE MY PARENTS THIS WAY.

USED TO BE VERY LOVING, CARING, PATIENT...

I DON'T REALLY KNOW THESE PEOPLE ANYMORE.

HE JUST GOES ON THESE TIRADES THAT NEVER MAKE SENSE.

FUNDAMENTALLY REPULSIVE.

I SPOKE WITH EACH ONE,

AND FOUND WE ALL HAD ONE THING IN COMMON.

SOMEONE CLOSE TO US BECAME ENRAGED AND UNREACHABLE

AFTER EXCESSIVELY LISTENING TO,

OR WATCHING RIGHT-WING MEDIA.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

THE GREAT STORY HERE,

FOR ANYBODY WILLING TO FIND IT,

AND WRITE ABOUT IT AND EXPLAIN IT,

IS THIS VAST RING-WING CONSPIRACY.

DECADES AGO, I WAS A JUNIOR HIPPIE.

MY BIG BROTHER WAS THE REAL THING,

WITH HAIR DOWN TO HIS WAIST.

I WITNESSED AND FELT PART OF THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION

HAPPENING AT THAT TIME,