We share a similar childhood. My father was a devoted Dobson fan (belt on the dresser, waiting to be put to use on me, etc.). Much of the violence and hate I see in our country feels personal -- because it is.

Rest in piss

I'm so sorry. I'm glad he's dead.

Yeah I am not giving money to read an article. Maybe add that it is behind a paywall

Dobson paved the way for Trump with his ugly diatribes against liberals.

Now do John MacArthur!

Truly the Boogie Man of my childhood

“I thought about Dobson, who has gone where Bundy went, which is oblivion. For a moment, I felt all right.” Ultimate karma for these ghouls comes when there’s no reward in the afterlife

I could've written the part about what The Strong-Willed Child did to my upbringing. I don't even believe in hell anymore, but if there is one, I know Dobson's there. The man was pure, unmitigated evil, and I will die on that hill. Even dancing on his grave isn't fun given how his harm lingers.

I like to imagine that after he died, as James Dobson regained postmortem consciousness in the afterlife, his first thought was, “What’s that burning smell?”

my grandparents had several McGee and Me tapes that we would watch when we visited and I wish I could say they were terrible but I think what makes Dobson and FotF so insidious is that their media was pretty slick. Adventures in Odyssey is shockingly well produced for a Christian radio drama

"Spare the rod and spoil the child" has always struck me as odd. Parents say it's Solomon's wisdom, but Solomon's children turned out horrible. (and I doubt he, as a king, was even raising them)

myself had a harsh-step-mother . . . and . . . and in ninth-class, I had decided to change my noun and I was not interested in having a response to the noun that they gave this was helpful =>

I wonder if they will put a fence around Dobson’s headstone to keep people from passing water on it.

Violent, discipline-obsessed dads across the Deep South are still sobbing over the prick's demise.

No need to limit it to the deep south. I grew up in southeast Michigan.

Yep, you're right. Kids in all 50 states got a dose of Dobson's "parenting" style, no question.

It would be amazing if you or another journalist investigated why the board of FOTF forced Dobson out. I used to be friends w the wife of the FOTF board chairman & they were talking about it when it was happening. They started to tell me why & stopped themselves. There's more to that story.

Thank you for this Sarah.

Has he been buried yet? Asking for my piss.

I bet he sucked a mean cock

Grew up in his and Bill Gothard's respective bullshit and will be happy to piss on both of their graves.

Same. Complete nightmare.Church and school bathed in this man’s bs. Lucky I am alive.

Thanks for letting me know the dude croaked. I missed any announcement, which I guess is good ... it says he's fading into history despite the evil and division (cloaked in Scripture) he sewed in churches across the Americas in the 70s and 80s. Truly the worst part of my churching.

This is a wonderful article, so beautifully written! Thank you for writing it. I came in contact with people of this mindset when I was a homeschooling mom, and I have been deeply troubled by it ever since. The amount of damage this man and others like him have done is incalculable. 😕

So glad he is dead

He was a monster. Related: www.liberalcurrents.com/we-need-to-t...

Please never forget that Speaker Mike Johnson got his start in a James Dobson group. As a young law student he helped launch the Louisiana Family Forum, a state affiliate of Focus on the Family. His LFF mentor, Tony Perkins, then pushed him into politics. And Johnson also has cruelty and secrets.

Lots of secrets.

Thank you for writing this.

I always knew I’d write about Dobson when he finally died but he loomed so large in my life that I wasn’t sure what I was going to say until it was time to say it

extraordinarily same

it’s been such a bizarre week! I keep feeling like language has truly failed me

Language hasn’t failed you. This is terrific, important writing.

I read the piece. It didn't...

Yes. I’m doing all kinds of weird research now. The relief of pressure is so strange.

Gotta love "Christians". The ones who missed the message entirely and shill for pedophiles.

I’m very sorry to hear about this part of your personal background. Every child deserves better