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Re: The Final Indignance



>Notice that these are examples of major societal significance spanning from 
>the 1920s to today, and I honestly can't name an instance where teenagers 
>went out and imitated the adult example, as you and Nicole explain it.  It 
>seems apparent that this generation somehow lost the ability to decide 
>right and wrong along the way.  Spooky.

I'd say it has to do with watching too much TV without adult opinions about 
it for guidance.  Kids need some baseline to sort reality out from fantasy.  
Meanwhile, it's interesting what values they abstract from the entertainment 
media.  The cases you've quoted are typical.  One is the heavy empahsis on 
sexuality, and the other is the use of violence to solve problems.  Are 
these, or are these not typical values of our society?  :)

Another interesting force at work is that the kids consider celebrity to be 
an indicator of success.  If you can get talked about by a bunch of people, 
especially on TV, then you're made it.


> >Why that age-group? Like I said 12-13 is the most desirable.
>
>Yes, it IS the most desirable, but marketing The Who to them isn't
>realistic.  Hell, Barney the Gay Dinosaur isn't realistic to that
>demographic anymore.

I dunno.  Disney is marketing rock to the younger age group fairly well (to 
Mark's disgust).  I don't know that they'd like Pete's usual, but John's 
stuff would fly.  It's not usually until a little later that kids would 
catch the other Who messages. But, as long as the music is out there to be 
heard, it's going to catch a few ears at any age level.


> >One very serious problem is the limited time that parents now have to 
>spend with their children.
>
>Again, very true.  Could this be a result of the Feminist movement?  Back 
>when kids were just little "bastards" instead of "swine", Mom used to be at 
>home...

And before that, their dads were at home and there was no generation gap at 
all.  You're just not remembering far enough back.  As I said, the 
Industrial Revolution was pretty much at fault for removing dads from kids 
lives, but supposedly it's WWII that removed the moms from the home, not 
feminism.  Are you suggesting that all the women should stay home?  What 
would happen to the US economy now if all the women left their jobs?


>brains melting watching MTV.  In my niece's school, another 13yr old was 
>caught giving a blow job to another freshman.  So of course, the school 
>called in the Crisis Intervention team to handle it.  They polled the kids 
>and the results were scary.  In the Freshman class, the stats were like 
>this:  Students who've already engaged in sexual intercourse:  70%.  100% 
>of the freshman believed that oral sex was NOT sex and it was okay.  "All 
>the kids do it".

Lots of adults think that, too.  There was some polling that went on after a 
well-known ex-president expressed that view.


>I do know it.  But if you really want exceptional Kinks, go out and buy 
>"Schoolboys in Disgrace".  It's an even better example for this discussion. 
>It's about a kid who fucks up big time, but actually accepts responsibility 
>for fucking up.

Hmmm.  Now all we need is a story about an adult who does that.  ;)


> >WHO would drug their kids?????
>
>You mean it's possible?!?  Where do I get some literature????  Halloween 
>has just taken a whole new life for me!!!

This is very popular.  I gather that it's meant to assist with conscientious 
child rearing.  The most common example is the substitution of Ritalin for 
recess in school.  (Except that Ritalin was recently shown to cause the same 
physical damage as speed.  Oops.)  The next thing is to treat depression in 
teen girls (and older women, as well) with drugs that are likely to increase 
depression.

BTW, I think it's Libertarians rather than Liberals that you're concerned 
about politically.  I'm no expert on the fine points of political 
philosophy, but as I understand it, Libertarians are the folks who feel they 
should do as they want without societal or governmental interference.  
Anarchists go a little further and feel that they should have equal access 
to what the Libertarians consider to be their own private rights.


keets

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