AS, I wanted to stop by to say thank you for posting on my thread and for being there with support and advice throughout my long journey. I caught up w your sitch and it seems you continue being strong and a role model for your children.
I agree w 7720 that the media plays a huge role in the way young people (and not-so-young people) view D. I also think people's upbringing has a lot to do with this distorted view that D is what you do when things in the R don't go your way 100% or when you feel "something is missing" even if you don't know what that something is. In Joe's case, he grew up w shared custody and to him, D was a readily available option.