American Chopper - When The Son Surpasses The Father

I know it's a little strange, but this post has nothing to do with politics.

I've been a fan of the show "American Chopper" for several years now. The bikes are beautiful, thanks in no small part to Paul Teutel Jr's design ideas and the skilled craftsmanship of Rick and other fabricators. The one thing I never liked about the show was the way Paul Sr. berated, ridiculed, yelled and screamed at his son, virtually non-stop.

I watched his little motorcycle shop transform into a world class state of the art facility. Not once did he ever give his son any credit for this transformation. He contented himself with sitting in his office, with his feet up bitching and complaining about Paul Jr. and his "arrogance". Things finally and inevitably blew up, and he fired his son some time ago.

Now with the new season, Paul Jr. is starting his own bike shop. After he made a deal with his father to get his 20% of the business bought out, his father cooked the books to make sure that the 20% equaled nothing. So, the son backed out. What was his father's reaction? Honesty? Giving his son what he rightfully owed him? No. He sued his own son.

Sr's relationship with his other son Mikey is not any better.

No matter how much money he makes, no matter how successful his business is, to me Paul Sr. is an abject failure. He's a man filled with hate and animosity, whose own family will have nothing to do with him. A man's true measure of success is the love and respect of his family. Without that, he's just another loud mouthed jerk destined to inhabit an unvisited grave.

Tonight's episode had a very true and revealing line. Paul Jr, after being ambushed by his father on a radio show, said that the difference between him and his father is that he wishes his father well, and his father wishes him evil. How true, and how sad. I'll continue to watch, if only in hopes that the son surpasses the father again.

If a father truly loves his son, his dearest wish is that his son goes on to bigger and better things than he ever could. In Paul Sr's case, the opposite is true. Any love in Paul Sr's heart has been hijacked by anger, fear, jealousy and hostility. What a pathetic excuse for a father.

Whew. I feel better now.