The Government Should Pay for Everyone’s Parents to Go to Therapy
Summary
A straphanger pitches a bold policy idea: the government should pay for everyone's parents to go to therapy. Her reasoning? If her dad had just one session, he'd stop calling her and treating her like a therapist. Kareem pushes back, thinking she wants parents to get better for their own sake, but no, she just wants to stop being their emotional dumping ground. The conversation spirals into whether all fathers are inherently bad, with Kareem challenging her to name five good dads. She responds with "James Baldwin" and "Maya Angelou," prompting Kareem to ask if she's naming dads or just Black people. The bit escalates further when she's asked to name five Asian people and offers "from Parasite." It's absurd, self-aware, and cuts right to the heart of millennial therapy culture.
Full Transcript
So what's your take? I think that the government should pay for everyone's parents to go to therapy. 100% agree. Because if my dad had one session, he'd stop calling me and treating me like a therapist.
I thought you were going to say that therapy should be paid for by the government for parents so that the parents get better. But you're saying it so that you don't have to be the therapist? Yes, exactly.
Guess how many therapists I have? One.
Zero. But you're a father now, so you need one. I'm healed.
No, you need one. Now you're a dad, bro. You're dad dog. I don't care. You need— No, listen. I'm a parent now.
That's what you're saying? No, I'm okay. I'm a parent. I'm resistant to therapy.
I see some issues in you right now. What are my issues? Your dad. That's my issue.
Yeah, I think all fathers are bad by default. All fathers are bad?
Name five good dads. Uh, James Baldwin. Uh, Maya Angelou.
Oh, did you say name five dads or name five Black people? Name five. Both, actually. Name five great Black people. Name five Asian people. Okay, um, from Parasite.