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One of the lesser talked-about reasons the whole "Goku& #39;s a bad dad" meme is toxic is that it implies that being there for your child, spending time with them, nurturing them, etc. can simply be completely invalidated or ignored simply because you made a few mistakes.
A Thread
A Thread
Goku spent the first 4+ years of Gohan& #39;s life with him, raising him, playing with him, doting over him and wanting him to be happy. When he heard his boy was in trouble, he rushed from the hospital to another planet to save him. But that& #39;s invalidated because he left for a year.
Goku spent three years training with the kid after that, spending all day with him in preparation for the Androids. Goku then, after recovering, spends a year alone with him in the ROSAT, training him, cutting his hair, making food for them, etc. Being a pretty close dad.
And what supposedly invalidated that? His miscalculation on Gohan& #39;s warrior instinct and willingness to do whatever it took to unleash his hidden power and beat Cell. Nevermind he was literally their only chance to do it, or that Goku was willing to break the rules to save him...
The fact that he made that ONE mistake invalidated EVERYTHING he& #39;d done right as a parent.
Now, I& #39;ll ask you this: were your parents perfect? Even those of you with what you& #39;d consider a good or great dad, did he ever assume something wrong about you? Try to fix that after?
Now, I& #39;ll ask you this: were your parents perfect? Even those of you with what you& #39;d consider a good or great dad, did he ever assume something wrong about you? Try to fix that after?
If the answer is yes, then by this standard, your dad was a bad parent. A man who slapped you around as a kid and left you to fend mostly for yourself would have been a better parental figure to you. A man who broke his son& #39;s nose for doing as he was asked is a better dad.
And see, people wanna say that Piccolo and Vegeta can& #39;t be judged in the same way as they never had an example: ok. Fine. Just remember, Goku& #39;s example was an old man who& #39;d never had kids before and died when Goku was still VERY young. He& #39;s not had much of one either.
In fact, when he& #39;d met Bulma, she was literally only the second person the kid had ever met. He didn& #39;t even realize running around nude was socially unacceptable until he was almost a teenager. And yet he still played with his sons, encouraged their dreams.
The man doted over Gohan and was super protective and proud of him, the man holds Goten frequently and even lets him hang out with him while he trains, talks to him about his day, plays with his granddaughter frequently.
Goku was a damn good dad. Not a perfect one, but damn good
Goku was a damn good dad. Not a perfect one, but damn good
And I think that acting as if a few mistakes here or there are somehow unforgivable, if we act as if a father can& #39;t learn or improve, we& #39;re discouraging people from trying to be good parents from the jump. "If you can& #39;t be perfect, don& #39;t try."
At least, unless you& #39;re Vegeta. -_-
At least, unless you& #39;re Vegeta. -_-
