Media Is Not The Culprit

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

I’ve been going to Newgrounds since I was about 12, back when the main feature of the site was Assassin. Well, now I’m 18 years old and still love the site. This place hosts not only the best flash works on the net and the highest variety then anywhere else I’ve been but truly, the users rule this site meaning there’s a little bit of everything here. Rarely do I see flame wars or religious fundamentalists making a fuss (though I admit, reading those types of things are pretty funny). It’s just a fun place on the net, and anyone who doesn’t think so can just, I don’t know, click the “X” at the upper right hand corner of the browser. I used to do stupid things like that when I was in junior high. Junior high, people. Think about this. All these people who send hate mail to the site are claiming to be at least 18 years old and are acting like middle school students. Please, grow up.

They don’t need to go there, and they most definitely don’t need to make themselves look moronic by sending hate mail. There’s all this convoluted stuff that has been circulating since Columbine that says the media is what caused that tragedy. Honestly, spreading misinformation like that is essentially spitting on the graves of anyone and everyone who was killed in a school shooting or any other incident where the media was blamed. Before, they blamed TV, then certain subcultures and the internet. Now they’re going after video games on top of the other types of media. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was raised to understand that there was a distinct difference between television and real life. I will shoot my way through aliens in Halo 2 and slam cars into oncoming traffic in Burnout Revenge but that doesn’t mean I’m going on a killing spree or try to use my car as a weapon on Broadway because the traffic is moving a 2 mm an hour. And if people are doing all this stuff because of what they did on Newgrounds or what they saw on TV, it’s still not the fault of the media. It’s the fault of (dramatic drum roll here please) the parents! Gasp! What a concept! Could it be, the people who raised me since before my formative years may be responsible (at least in part) for how I deal with the real world? What a concept!

And honestly, I believe a lot of this whole “Look, he did it on TV/in a video game/movie/the internet so I’ll do it!” junk is because parents no longer raise their children. The media does. I mean, what do busy mom’s and dad’s do when they need to cook, clean or whatever and their toddler needs to be entertained for the duration of this task? They sit them down in front of a television. As the kid gets older, they get video games and the internet to entertain themselves. On top of that, parents are either over-sheltering their kids or are completely unaware of what their child is doing and they forget to make sure their kid understands the difference between real life and fiction.

It’s like the South Park movie (who’s creators attended Columbine long before the shooting) “Let’s blame them before someone thinks to blame us.” No one wants to think they’re a bad parent, so they start little groups to rage against things they don’t like. Hello, freedom of speech anyone? The religious fundamentalists on TV say a lot of things I think are offensive, but I don’t blame them for everything that’s wrong in America (okay, maybe a little, but then, look who’s actually running the country.) and I don’t rage about how I hate the program. I change the channel! What a novel idea, no?

And that whole “Let’s blame the Goths” thing is getting old fast. In NYC we have about 10 cops in each train station during rush hour and they usually pay me no mind. Well, I just got new clothes (I’d been wearing clothes that fit me till then because all of my more loose and comfortable clothes had finally fallen apart). Well, now I have huge bondage pants and the cops stare me down like I have a cross bow strapped to my back or something. On top of that, I now have an under shave so I’m just waiting to be stopped in the train station. It’s like all there scanners are set on “Goth” and “Ghetto”. And I’m neither! I just like bondage pants. It doesn’t mean I listen to a certain type of music or associate with a certain type of crowd or attitude. It means I like black clothes covered in useless straps, chains ad zippers and are 2 – 3 sizes too big. They’re looking for warning signs. I can name five girls off the top of my head who are trendy and perky and are far more dangerous then I. So while I have consolers looking for problems I don’t have, there are people who look “normal” and have far more issues then I can count. I mean, if I had a dollar for every one of them, I could pay off at least a half of the national debt.

America needs to stop making up problems and start solving the ones we have. Tighten gun laws, work on promoting positive thinking, stop stereotyping. Stop expecting people to have issues or not have issues depending on how they act. Stop alienating kids. It’s causing more problems then it’s solving. Think of this; the kids we ostracize today will grow up. They will become our political and financial leaders. We seal our fate by treating people like 3rd rate citizens.

[Guest Agaib]

wow, sombody took some grumpy pills this morning. But honestly, I understand completely where you're coming from.

Stereotyping and blaming has always been a big problem in all cultures, and as wonderful as it would be, it wont just disapear. Of course the fact that it'll take a long time to go away pretty much means we should get started right away.

Maybe if EVERYONE started wearing bondage pants. That means the officers would either run away screaming while covering thier eyes or get over it. It's the same as it always has been. People fear what they dont understand.

[StoryJunkie]

Maybe the cops like to see you in bondage pants!

[Charging Handles Forward]

Absolutely correct! I play violent video games, listen to death metal, and with an M-16, an AK-47, and two SKS rifles leaning up against my bed right now, plus around 3000 rounds of ammunition in my closet, I could wipe the floor with those Columbine fuckers any day of the week, and yet, and yet, I left high school with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.918, have had only two or three alcoholic beverages in my entire twenty-one year lifespan, have never partaken of illegal narcotics, marijuana or otherwise, and above all, have absolutely no criminal record whatsoever. Furthermore, I can't imagine killing animals for sport as being particularly enjoyable.

I am living proof that Jack Thompson is an idiot.

[Guest Agaib]

Not to cause a flame war or anything but... doesn't that sound ironic coming from the supporter of a socialist state whose very idiology encouraged being a conformist? (conformist to the state of course, not to other cultures)

[Charging Handles Forward]

Not to cause a flame war or anything but... doesn't that sound ironic coming from the supporter of a socialist state whose very idiology encouraged being a conformist? (conformist to the state of course, not to other cultures)

Whoops! I am sorry that I have caused you any confusion because of my signature, but I am not a Communist. Leftist governmental policies such as the ones propogated in the Soviet Union are a threat to the things that I enjoy, things like violent video games, death metal, and private firearm ownership. (Thank you, First and Second Amendments!) Therefore, I'm actually in favor of a less powerful government and I lean torwards the right side of the political spectrum.

I have the Soviet flag as my signature because I thought it looked cool when created entirely out of forum code, nothing more.

[StoryJunkie]

Urge to get CHF drunk and stoned rising....

[Guest Melody Fate]

I think the big problem is that we look for the quick fix.

Millions of kids will play violent video games and grow up without having to act out on that violence. Some of them might even find the games help with violent impulses, by giving them a safe outlet.

After that million, you have a very small minority that will act out because of video games.

"Let's blame the video games! If we got rid of those..."

Some kids will always be unbalanced. That's the nature of life. If it wasn't video games that tipped them off, it would be TV. Get rid of TV and it would be movies. If it wasn't movies, it would be the theator.

Some people are just born with something in their heads that messes them up. There's no point in identifying what it is that will tip them off, because they'll always find something. What's more important is to figure out ways to identify what kids are likely to have this problem, and try to find ways to deal with that issue.

I also agree that we've seen a rise in parents who want to blame everything but themselves for why their kids aren't perfect, and also want to sterilize the world so they don't have to worry about it. And, to be honest, it irritates the hell out of me. I think the final straw came when I read an article about a woman that was screaming at Cartoon Network for having the balls to show "Adult Swim." Yes, she knew it was on at a time when her precious kids should really be sleeping, but for god's sake, she was a busy woman! Was it really fair to expect her to keep an eye on her kids should they decide to watch TV late at night?

Yes, yes it is your job. My parents didn't stand over me to make sure I didn't watch late night TV, they didn't have to. I never would have dreamed of watching TV late at night, it just wasn't allowed.

But, before I totally condem parents, there's another side to it and that is that parents don't have the time to raise their kids as they used to. Even if you're lucky enough to have two parents, chances are, both of them are working and not because of some woman's lib, "I can bring home the bacon, and fry it up in a pan!" simply so the family can afford bacon at all. Most parents I know would love to have one member of the family stay home for the kids, they just can't afford it.

This means that parents are tired. When I was growing up, my mother didn't work until I was in High School and even then, she was home when I came home from school 90% of the time. Yes, my father set down ground rules, but mostly it was my mother who ground into me the difference between right and wrong. "No, you can't wipe your mouth with your sleeve. I told you that two hours ago, I told you that yesterday, I've told you that every single day, at every single meal for the last three weeks, but you know what? I'll keep telling you until you get it through your head!" I knew there were times when she would love to smack me and my sib's heads together out of sheer frustraition, I can't imagine how bad that frustration would have been had she also been forced to work 40+ hours a week.

So, what we've got are overworked, overtired parents, who start to want the world to raise their kids. It's not fair to the rest of the world who isn't a child and doesn't want their internet/video games/movies and TV shows turned into glorified versions of Barney. But, it's not going to stop the parents from complaining.

The world is a bigger, more dangerous place than it used to be. However, for every danger, we also come up with solutions. Cable TV is full of inappropriate programing, so we come up with ways to lock out certain channels. We have the internet, but we've come out with programs that filter out sites we don't want our kids to see. But, nothing can replace parental attention. It isn't the TV that taught me my moral values, it was my parents.

[Guest Agaib]

Thanks for clearing that up Charges Handles Forward. I was mighty confused

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

Melody Fate, you are the coolest.

[Guest Melody Fate]

Melody Fate, you are the coolest.

Wow, thank you.

[Guest Agaib]

but... I wanna be the coolest...

[Guest Melody Fate]

but... I wanna be the coolest...

You are.

Now the coolest person said you were the coolest person. So, doesn't that make you like...uber cool?

[Guest Agaib]

Only if the coolest person who did the saying was the sayer of the other one being the coolest in the situation when the other one was not the coolest and the former had already been proclaimed as such beyond contestation due to a third party. In most circumstances of course.

[StoryJunkie]

Don't you guys read each other's stories? For chrissakes, Agaib double-spaces! In the cosmic order of things, you are both most excellent word-smithes, the likes of which we are indeed blest to slap our eyes on.

(That sounded kind of horrific...)

[Guest Melody Fate]

Don't you guys read each other's stories? For chrissakes, Agaib double-spaces! In the cosmic order of things, you are both most excellent word-smithes, the likes of which we are indeed blest to slap our eyes on.

(That sounded kind of horrific...)

Coming from you, that's high praise, for I am a great admirer of your stuff too. Sorry I haven't been reviewing much, I'm trying to get back into it.

But yeah, the eye slapping part was sorta creepy. However, I like creepy!

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

How about this, all of the above = t3h bada55! I love things like this, you know, real discussions in the forums, not just a bunch of people goining "I agree!" or "I disagree!" There's an actual EXPLAINATION for it!

[Guest Agaib]

For chrissakes, Agaib double-spaces!

I do that because I want my story to be read in the same way you read a book. My main story, not my one shot, is meant to be exactly that. Not plotless smut. Somtimes I really find the fact that so few people on this site use quotation marks and paragraphs properly infuriating...

[Guest Melody Fate]

Somtimes I really find the fact that so few people on this site use quotation marks and paragraphs properly infuriating...

God yes! I think half the reason why people don't look at porn writers as real writers is because too many folks seem to think that as long as they write 'O YESSSSSS I'M CUMMMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" that it's instant porn!

What really makes me weep though, is when you find a real clunker and you read the reviews and see, "OMG! That was sooooo hot!"

[Guest Agaib]

'O YESSSSSS I'M CUMMMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I really really really hate that. One exclaimation mark, followed by a coherent description of how loud it really was can seem much more classy that "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!." And I wont even talk about writing in all caps like that...

[StoryJunkie]

What really makes me weep though, is when you find a real clunker and you read the reviews and see, "OMG! That was sooooo hot!"

Yeah, did I miss something? er, Yeah, I guess it was hot, if I re-wrote what was happening in my mind. (actually, I probably do that alot) You know how when you look at an incomplete picture, and your brain will fill in the rest so that you get a complete picture?

[Crazed Flow]

I'm fine with up to three (3) exclamation marks in total. Anymore than that is pushing it.

[Guest Melody Fate]

I'm fine with up to three (3) exclamation marks in total. Anymore than that is pushing it.

I don't know if grammar rules have changed, but my teachers would have circled my stuff in red if I used more than one exclamation point and told me "If you want to show how excited the person is, add some naration!"

Example:

She gasped. "You've got to be kidding!!!"

Eyes wide, heart pounding in her chest, she looked at him and cried, "You've got to be kidding!"

I'm not so picky that I'll get uppity about seeing multiple explanation marks, but I do prefer people try to find a way to show the extra emotions through naration rather than punctuation.

On the other hand though, I really wish using "!?" was acceptable, because there are too many times my characters are asking questions in a state of high anxiety.