It's pissing me off, again...
Mar. 8th, 2005 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wolven7Prodigy - [Breathe]--- There's an episode of "Touched By An Angel," about videogames making kids violent... For gods' sakes people who needs it spelled out to them?!
Videogames and television and violent media do not "make" someone violent. They may mesh with a pre-existing proclivity for violence, but, you know what? These things can be balanced out, if children are taught, by their parents and schools, just as often as said authority figures allow them to be taught by television, movies, and videogames. People point at the military, saying that they use videogames to desensitise recruits to violence, and the thought of killing a fellow human being. You know what else the military uses? Ritualistic, sadistic techniques designed to literally brainwash someone. To break them down, build them again, break them, and build them. When combined with these things, throwing fucking darts is likely to desensitise someone to violence.
No, i'm not badmouthing the military. I have a lot of respect for the military, and what it does. I'm saying it uses extreme training techniques, and videogames are the least of them.
Panacea - [Lowtek (Intro)]--- If your (a) child is only learning things from television, movies, videogames, music, whatever, with no counterpoint, from you, no reinforcement, one way or the other, then they are going to be skewed, no matter what. And that goes for whatever form of entertainment they consume. You hop a kid up on "Davey and Goliath," two things are gonna happen. A) he or she is gonna think that's the way the story went down and B) they're going to wonder why their pets don't talk. Or maybe they'll Start hearing their pets talking. Let's try, and see.
Children are susceptible to influences. Yes. This is known, has been known. So with that knowledge, as it is, what should the first influence be? Yours, you fucking moron! Teach your kids the difference between fantasy and reality, or whatever values you want them to have, and reinforce them, often. (Warren Zevon - [Basket Case]). Pay attention to what they play, see, hear, experience, and don't keep it from them. Talk to them, about it. Get them to understand as much of the context of it, as possible. When, you ask? As soon as they're old enough for you to sit them in front of a fucking television, to get rid of them, for a few hours. Idiots.
And, on another level: Football, baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, lacrosse, hockey. These are all VIOLENCE. Not seen, heard, portrayed, but Experienced and Done, one person upon another. They are also available in every school, from kindergarten, upward. (Rasputina - [Rock and Roll (Led Zeplin Cover)]). And yet, somehow, these are merely "healthy, enriching" activities. Bullying happens, everywhere, and it's "kids being kids," and not one of the myriad factors that can lead to a highschool shooting. People don't fucking learn.
Videogames, Books, and TV have long been the purview of the "geeks," "freaks," and "weirdos." Incidentally they have also always been the most targeted for censorship, while sports and bullying get off with a "boys will be boys" attitude. Yes i know there are female bullies and sports.
Books are interactive. TV is interactive. Movies are interactive. (Moxy Früvous - [Heatseeker Boy]). Every Thing You Do, increases brain activity, if you like it. If you enjoy it, if you find it relaxing and fun, you gain pleasure. Tautological, really. This is what we call "escapism." It allows you to be somewhere, someone, someThing else, for a little while. If the lines are blurred, in the mind of the experiencers, then that is, depending on the age, either a personal problem, or something the parents should notice and take steps to correct.
KMFDM - [Beast]--- Don't blame your entertainment for entertaining you. Blame yourselves for not being able to tell the difference between your entertainment and real life. Teach your fucking children, if you want them to learn.
Videogames and television and violent media do not "make" someone violent. They may mesh with a pre-existing proclivity for violence, but, you know what? These things can be balanced out, if children are taught, by their parents and schools, just as often as said authority figures allow them to be taught by television, movies, and videogames. People point at the military, saying that they use videogames to desensitise recruits to violence, and the thought of killing a fellow human being. You know what else the military uses? Ritualistic, sadistic techniques designed to literally brainwash someone. To break them down, build them again, break them, and build them. When combined with these things, throwing fucking darts is likely to desensitise someone to violence.
No, i'm not badmouthing the military. I have a lot of respect for the military, and what it does. I'm saying it uses extreme training techniques, and videogames are the least of them.
Panacea - [Lowtek (Intro)]--- If your (a) child is only learning things from television, movies, videogames, music, whatever, with no counterpoint, from you, no reinforcement, one way or the other, then they are going to be skewed, no matter what. And that goes for whatever form of entertainment they consume. You hop a kid up on "Davey and Goliath," two things are gonna happen. A) he or she is gonna think that's the way the story went down and B) they're going to wonder why their pets don't talk. Or maybe they'll Start hearing their pets talking. Let's try, and see.
Children are susceptible to influences. Yes. This is known, has been known. So with that knowledge, as it is, what should the first influence be? Yours, you fucking moron! Teach your kids the difference between fantasy and reality, or whatever values you want them to have, and reinforce them, often. (Warren Zevon - [Basket Case]). Pay attention to what they play, see, hear, experience, and don't keep it from them. Talk to them, about it. Get them to understand as much of the context of it, as possible. When, you ask? As soon as they're old enough for you to sit them in front of a fucking television, to get rid of them, for a few hours. Idiots.
And, on another level: Football, baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, lacrosse, hockey. These are all VIOLENCE. Not seen, heard, portrayed, but Experienced and Done, one person upon another. They are also available in every school, from kindergarten, upward. (Rasputina - [Rock and Roll (Led Zeplin Cover)]). And yet, somehow, these are merely "healthy, enriching" activities. Bullying happens, everywhere, and it's "kids being kids," and not one of the myriad factors that can lead to a highschool shooting. People don't fucking learn.
Videogames, Books, and TV have long been the purview of the "geeks," "freaks," and "weirdos." Incidentally they have also always been the most targeted for censorship, while sports and bullying get off with a "boys will be boys" attitude. Yes i know there are female bullies and sports.
Books are interactive. TV is interactive. Movies are interactive. (Moxy Früvous - [Heatseeker Boy]). Every Thing You Do, increases brain activity, if you like it. If you enjoy it, if you find it relaxing and fun, you gain pleasure. Tautological, really. This is what we call "escapism." It allows you to be somewhere, someone, someThing else, for a little while. If the lines are blurred, in the mind of the experiencers, then that is, depending on the age, either a personal problem, or something the parents should notice and take steps to correct.
KMFDM - [Beast]--- Don't blame your entertainment for entertaining you. Blame yourselves for not being able to tell the difference between your entertainment and real life. Teach your fucking children, if you want them to learn.
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-09 04:14 am (UTC)In that case
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Date: 2005-03-09 04:46 am (UTC)Idjits.
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Date: 2005-03-09 04:55 am (UTC)Ok. We hide it well, then?
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by which you clearly mean:
Date: 2005-03-09 06:10 pm (UTC)Re: by which you clearly mean:
Most parents simply cannot be their childrens' "first influence":
Date: 2005-03-09 06:10 pm (UTC)7am: wake up, shower, eat get ready for work,
7:30am:wake Corbin, bundle him into clothes
7:45am: leave for work
8:15am: Dump Corbin at Daycare
8:30am-5:00pm: Work
5:15pm: Pick Corbin Up from Daycare
5:45pm-7:00pm: Feed Corbin, and "Spend Time" with Corbin
7:00pm-7:30pm: Bath, Bedtime Routine
7:30pm: Corbin's Bedtime
7:30pm-whenever i pass out:Feed myself, "relax", Mad Housecleaning Dash
As you can see, i had about two hours every day to spend time with my son, counting feeding times, bathing, and putting to bed. Honestly, when he was so tiny, most of that time was spent feeding. On the weekends i got two days, but these were interrupted by the vast amounts of housework that would pile up during the week, and which were absolutely required to make the house the kind of place that would be habitable for an infant. Also family obligations, church functions, and what pitiful strands of social life remained...i believe this schedule to be fairly typical for modern parents, though my commute was perhaps longer than average, though not at all unheard of for Atlanta.
Many parents argue that they are -not- raising their own kids, and in this modern world, where financial concerns weigh so heavily and the basic cost of living for even a small family has risen to ridiculous heights, they feel that they have no other choice than to relinquish their childrens' daily lives to daycare providers or, if they're lucky, other family members, after the laughably short maternity leave of six weeks. The fact is that most kids spend far far more of their waking lives in school or some kind of institutional environment than they do with their own families. Thus, parents put more emphasis on the effects of outside influences, like tv and the ever-diaphinous "society." I agree with your "quick fix" idea. However: You speak of the need for parents influencing their children, teaching them, reinforcing their own values...most parents are lucky to have time to glance over the Daily Activities sheet from the teacher before hustling their kids off to bed. Most of these parents can't "teach (their) fucking children." They hardly remember what they look like.
That said, that is not the way i have chosen to run my family. But having given the typical modern method a try, i can understand their plight. What say you to that perspective?
Re: Most parents simply cannot be their childrens' "first influence":
The "you" here being, of course, universal.
I say that, on the whole, this calls for sweeping change, and a re-evaluation of what we hold important. I say this will take a long time. I say i've been consciously preparring for this, since highschool. ;)
Re: Most parents simply cannot be their childrens' "first influence":
Date: 2005-03-10 05:40 am (UTC)Of course, I have a loving mate who is willing to help me spend time with my son, as well as discuss with me the things we want our son to know.
But the problem, I think, is not really the parents, the media, or anything else. I really truly believe that some people are just for shit. They'll be for shit no matter how much you spend on psychotherapy, psychoactive drugs, and psychobabble. No matter how much time you as a parent spend with you child, no matter how many cute and lovable purple dinosaurs they look at, no matter how many violent movies or video games they may encounter, beat, beat off to. Some people are just going to be fucked up.
Call it a tainted 'soul' or something bizarre and genetic. Call it what you will, I believe that some people are just fucked up.
Also, what is considered horrible and defective these days is way out of line. I mean, it's been a steady progression. There have always been sickos. Are there more sickos now? Yes. There are also MORE FUCKING PEOPLE. Are these sickos any worse than they were before? Not when taken within the context of the technology available to help them be sick. But they're not even talking about the extreme end of sicko a lot of times. They blame their kids being "ADD" or hyperactive or rude or snobbish or any number of merely minor irritants on this sort of thing. I truly believe that ADD is a crock 90% of the time. It's overdiagnosed. But I believe that almost -all- of this crap in the above entries and responses and previous rants from many different sources can be summed up tidily in a few sentences.
We are overmedicated, over diagnosed, and over stressed. Our children are all considered ADD, miscreants, bad seeds, lunatics, etc. I believe this outbreak of stupidity to in response to our obsessive compulsive society. You don't see this kind of stupid shit in other countries. Why? Because they don't have hand-wringing Big Brothers out there trying to save them from all harm. Teach a few basic principles (you don't have to be the FIRST influence, just try your damndest to be the most important) and for fuck's sake take off the vinyl gloves. Children are -not- sterile, don't treat them, or their minds, as such.
That, or move to fucking Germany and get over it.
Sincerely,
Nightfall
PS - hey, nothing wrong with wreaking vengeance and discipline upon a microwave with a crowbar. I mean really, it's inanimate. Expensive, but inanimate. It might not be the best judgement call, but I bet it felt DAMN good. I know when I flipped out and beat my t-bird to hell with a hammer it did.
Ok, maybe I'm not the best example of a well-adapted, functional adult.
Re: Most parents simply cannot be their childrens' "first influence":
Which can be said for the current societal motif, as well...
Crowbars for society... Hmmm
Crowbars for Society 2008
Date: 2005-03-10 11:48 pm (UTC)Re: Crowbars for Society 2008