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Who is Bean dad? Here's why the Internet is slamming Indie singer's 'teachable moments' as abusive and racist

Roderick posted a long 23 tweet thread on Twitter telling how he refused to open a can of beans for his nine-year-old daughter, a 'teachable' moment where it took 6 hours for the daughter to open the can

If you have been wondering who is Bean dad and how he angered everyone on the internet, here’s why. John Roderick, best known as the lead singer of the 2000s indie band The Long Winters went viral on the internet after a video of the singer teaching his daughter how to open a can of beans without helping her surfaced. The video angered and surged a sea of negative responses, following which the ‘Bean dad’ removed his Twitter account.

Roderick posted a long 23 tweet thread on Twitter telling how he refused to open a can of beans for his nine-year-old daughter, a "teachable" moment where it took 6 hours for the daughter to open the can. He also specified that his daughter didn’t know how to use a can opener and he chose not to help her, just giving her the manual to let her figure it out herself. 

The musician and podcaster who dubbed himself as ‘Apocalypse dad’ started the "teachable saga" by tweeting, “So, yesterday my daughter (9) was hungry and I was doing a jigsaw puzzle so I said over my shoulder “make some baked beans.” She said, “How?” like all kids do when they want YOU to do it, so I said, “Open a can and put it in pot.” She brought me the can and said “Open it how?”

“So I said, “How do you think this works?” She studied it and applied it to the top of the can, sideways. She struggled for a while and with a big, dramatic sigh said, “Will you please just open the can?” Apocalypse Dad was overjoyed: a Teaching Moment just dropped in my lap!” He further went on and wrote, “I said, ‘This little device is designed to do one thing: open cans,” and added, “‘Study the parts, study the can, figure out what the can-opener inventor was thinking when they tried to solve this problem’.” “I went back to my jigsaw puzzle. She was next to me grunting and groaning trying to get the thing. I should say that spatial orientation, process visualization and order of operation are not things she… intuitis. I knew this would be a challenge. But it was a rainy weekend.”

He further explained how he told his daughter that he won’t cook for her until she figures how to use the can opener and the daughter took six hours on and off figuring it out. The almost dramatic description continued where the singer wrote how he gave "instructions", "study the parts, study the can, figure out what the can-opener inventor was thinking when they tried to solve this problem." At this point, she said, “I don’t want baked beans” and marched off. Apocalypse Dad went into full ‘The Road’ Mode! “Sweetheart, neither of us will eat another bite today until we get into this can of beans.” She screamed “AUGH!” like Lucy Van Pelt. She read a book for a while."

The complete thread also had some of his comical take where he said, “the tool is made to be pleasing but it doesn’t have any superfluous qualities. Everything that moves does so for a reason,” or later he wrote, “I wanted her to experience the magnificence of the can opener SO MUCH I couldn’t stand the suspense.” Read the entire thread here.

Why is the internet slamming him?

The whole Bean dad saga has angered the internet users as many of whom have commented on how disturbing and abusive the behavior of the musician was and to put it as a "teachable" moment is simply problematic. A user wrote, “The worst thing about #BeanDad is that I don't always immediately identify emotional abuse or neglect. I forget how abusive my own childhood was to the point that people have to explain abuse to me with examples like this until the flashbacks hit. Then I know all too well.” Another user pointed out, “Please don't forget that the way Bean Dad abused his daughter is not just any form of child abuse, this kind of abuse is very often used against neurodivergent and disabled kids.”

Writer Matthew Cortland wrote, “One of the things about having survived abusive parents is that it can provide some insight into what abusive behavior looks like. Bean Dad's behavior was abusive. I recognized it, other folks I know who survived childhood abuse recognized it…” And added, “Some folks looked at the length of time that kid didn't eat, concluded it wasn't that long, and therefore, bean dad wasn't abusive. But what jumped out at me immediately? In his sick, twisted mind, a 9 y/o child was manipulative for asking him to teach her how to open a can.” Followed by, “There's a certain kind of abusive parent who forever feels like they, the adult, are the victim of their own young child. They believe that their young child is intentionally victimizing and manipulating them – always trying to get one over on the adult.”

Twitter users have also brought the racist tweets of the singer. A user posted, “Bean dad is so racist he brings up slurs for Italian ppl.” Another user shared, “Turns out bean dad is actually a racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Black a**hole. Surprise, surprise.” Another quipped, “The whole internet hates Bean Dad, a dad who expects his single-digit aged child to operate a stove! *5 seconds later* We are pleased to inform you the dad is also racist.”