It's not the deeds, it's the hate.
POSTED BY: Fremdfirma
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 18:47
VIEWED: 10808
PAGE 4 of 13
Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
But on a more serious note SergeantX - why do yout think these kinds of stories don't come out of Canada ? Or Norway, Sweden, or Denmark ?
Well, the U.S. loves its violence. You can't sit through an evening of television without it. Especially if you hang on for the nightly freakshow called 'the news'.
But, let's see, to get back to the argument you clearly want to have, I'd say these kinds of situations are the result of kids living the bulk of their days in unsupervised 'socialization' with their "peers". It's an insular world where the most important thing, by far, is their status in this group. It's the only thing that's real to them. They're never taken seriously by adults, which is why they don't even consider the possibility that such a game might lead to real consequences.
Ever read "Lord of the Flies"?
SergeantX
"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock
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"Nah, we're still animals on many levels; we can go either way."
Just another little quibble - we are always animals. Most of our motivations come from the 90+% of stuff going on in our brains we don't have access to. It's usually our inchoate motivations that drive our thoughts, not the other way around.
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"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."
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True enough, but it's the ten percent, the rational 'firewall', that defines us as human.
SergeantX
"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock
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Quote:Careful, or HK will lecture you!
Well, the U.S. loves its violence. You can't sit through an evening of television without it.
Quote:Kids can only mentate so far. The average human forebrain is fully developed by the age of about 25. I think it's unfair to expect kids to think too far ahead.
They're never taken seriously by adults, which is why they don't even consider the possibility that such a game might lead to real consequences.
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Let's party like it's 1929.
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"True enough, but it's the ten percent, the rational 'firewall', that defines us as human."
Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal. Robert A. Heinlein
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"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."
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Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Careful, or HK will lecture you!
Fine with me. Maybe I'll learn something.
Anyway, I'm not saying TV causes it. It's just symptom. Our nation's been headed toward empire for a long time and that requires a population ready to 'kick ass and take names'.
SergeantX
"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock
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Quote:
Our nation's been headed toward empire for a long time and that requires a population ready to 'kick ass and take names'.
We're in full agreement on that one, Sarge!
Quote:Yes, but HOW do you prepare a population to kick ass and take names? Among other things, you show it again and again and again and again.
Anyway, I'm not saying TV causes it. It's just symptom
Let me ask you this, Sarge- How many shows on TV (aside from family sitcoms) end with a conflict being resolved by negotiation?
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Let's party like it's 1929.
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Quote:I've talked to a lot of kids (read: 17-25) that reject all the phony militaristic nonsense- I'm hoping Empire will not get it's chance to strike back....
Originally posted by SergeantX:
Our nation's been headed toward empire for a long time and that requires a population ready to 'kick ass and take names'.
Hopeful Chrisisall
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One paradox I find interesting is that on one level we realise that kids think differently and that they are vulnerable and capable of being lead astray by external influences --- that's why we go to such lengths to keep them from being exploited. Yet when something like this happens we are happy to assign adult motivations to it.
At age 7 I had a space program in my back yard, complete with a launch tower and mission control. If I did that as an adult I'd either be a lunatic or Richard Branson. Chances are that these kids had as much chance of killing the teacher as I had of following Alan Sheppard.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
The average human forebrain is fully developed by the age of about 25. I think it's unfair to expect kids to think too far ahead.
Exactly! That's why I consider it folly to 'socialize' our kids by throwing them all together with equally immature kids and expecting them to sort things out.
SergeantX
"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock
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