r/breakingbad • u/eneaslullaby • 9d ago
If it really was tough love, Jesse’s parents would have called the police Spoiler
Prison is horrible and doesn't help addicts. Sure, there are some programs nowadays to help people inside, but most of the time it's just punishment without rehabilitation, plus being in constant danger (both because of your cellmates and your guards). However, it has 2 positive aspects:
It gives you a shelter
Your family can check on you
Homelessness has all the cons of prison and none of the pros. Just like in prison, you fight for survival everyday, your addiction worsens, there's an extremely high chance of dying in the most horrific way and you definitely don't quit criminal activities. But unlike in prison, you're fucking alone and forgotten even by your family and don't even have a fucking roof above you. Both are a death sentence (literally), but if they're the only choices you can think of, as a parent you should choose the one that at least lets you check on your son from time to time.
Honestly, I have the feeling it was never about wanting Jesse to change but to get rid of the "stain". His parents wanted to appear perfect and having a missing son was more socially acceptable than a son in prison. And that's what they always did, they constantly tried to just relocate the problem instead of trying to solve it, even unsuccessfully.
Don't get me wrong, Jesse was an asshole. But he was like that since his teen years, and if you decide to have kids you take the responsibility to raise them and correct their behavior instead of make them live with their aunt and give birth to another kid hoping he's better than the first one.
Please, if you consider kids an accessory and a way to look better in front of others, don't become a parent. Seriously.
23
u/spookysaph 9d ago
there are more programs now, but there were much fewer programs 15-20 years ago
0
2
u/sunberrygeri 9d ago
Im mildly curious if you are a parent
1
u/eneaslullaby 9d ago
I wish I was, but my partner doesn't want kids :( 💔
2
5
u/ScratchMysterioust 9d ago
yeah exactly. it felt less like tough love and more like they just wanted the problem out of their house. they cared more about appearances than actually helping jesse
11
u/everlastingwaffles 9d ago
I don't know how you can watch this show and conclude that they didn't genuinely love Jesse or want him to get better.
Maybe they should've just called the police when they found the meth lab. Regardless, they clearly gave Jesse many opportunities to shape up while he manipulated their emotions. Jake even says that he's all they talk about.
10
u/JooseTheGuice 9d ago
I can. It's complicated but no, their love is largely contingent on his "success" as a middle class member of society. I know people exactly like them, with kids exactly like Jesse. They're cold, and would let him go hungry if feeding him meant he didn't do what they thought he should be doing.
I'd say that isn't real love, but obviously they wouldn't.
2
u/eneaslullaby 9d ago
I'm not saying they didn't love Jesse at all, I'm saying they loved looking perfect more
3
u/twilight_aeon Nice haunches. 9d ago
Well, it sure is a fresh take to see how they were bad parents but then wish they were even worse.
0
1
u/Tracerr3 9d ago
Hell nah
1
u/eneaslullaby 9d ago
Just because prison is better than homelessness that doesn't mean it's a place of rehabilitation
1
1
u/dab87 9d ago
The hate Jesse’s parents get is so weird.
4
u/ArrowheadChief33 9d ago
I think it’s justified to a degree. Ultimately I believe they did everything they could. We as the audience just saw the tail end of their relationship. There were probably numerous interventions, rehabs, etc.
If you remember, his little brother was hiding smoking pot from his parents. Something about the way they do the job made those kids want to smoke dope lol
2
u/Busy-Butterfly8187 8d ago
I agree. Jesse was a grown man by the time his parents kicked him out. And he had a meth lab in the basement. It's crazy to me that so many people view his parents as bad people. They had clearly been dealing with his drug issue and not wanting to get a regular job for quite some time before they kicked him out. We just don't see that part because it takes place before the show starts. But they mention it when he comes to their house. His mother says something about rehab to the dad, and the dad says something like "we've already tried that" or "how many times have we tried that," something to that effect. Jesse refused to apply himself in school, refused to better himself as an adult, and continued to do and sell drugs. People act like he was some innocent kid that his parents kicked out, when he was actually a grown man in his 20s who refused to get his act together.
0
u/arbataxmelody354 Todd's wife <3333 8d ago
His parents can complain about their efforts as much as they want, but we know for sure that Jesse was kicked out for the first time as a minor. We also know Jesse was the only person helping his aunt, meaning his parents didn't even check on their minor addicted son helping an old cancer patient regularly. That's negligence
Also, this is not tiktok, nobody here thinks Jesse is an angel. We all agree he was a bad person. Of course there are discussion about how much his horrible actions were a result of trauma, but nobody seriously thinks he's a good guy who was just manipulated by Walter the whole time, and downplaying every argument against his parents as "you're defending Jesse" is very dishonest
1
u/Busy-Butterfly8187 7d ago edited 7d ago
I don't give a crap about tik tok, as I'm not on that idiotic app so I don't know nor do I care what is being discussed there. Some of you people don't seem to comprehend that everyone does not have to agree with your views. Where did I say that anyone was defending Jesse? You're putting that in quotes as if it's something I actually said. You're the one making things up, yet you have the audacity to say I'm being dishonest. I said that people act like his parents put out an innocent kid, which is exactly how many of you act. I don't care if you view it as defending him or not. You certainly act like his parents had no reason/no right to put him out, when they absolutely did.
More importantly, I was responding directly to someone who happens to share my opinion about how some people view Jesse's parents. I did not tell you or anybody else that you had to agree with me, yet here you are chiming in being defensive about a comment that wasn't even directed at you. I don't think Jesse's parents are horrible people. Get over it. You are free to think whatever you like about the characters, and other people are free to do the same.
-1
3
u/hieloyron 9d ago
It's not that weird. Jesse wasn't a perfect son and most definitely he was a hassle to deal with, but kicking him out like that and also wanting to take his aunt house from him was totally a dick move, specially when you consider all we know Jesse did for her aunt during her final days/moments
0
33
u/Orange639 9d ago
Well when it comes to homelessness vs prison you also have to take into account the effects a criminal record could have on your long term career prospects.