RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events the bane of society

everyone has their own opinion on what the current "downfall of society" is. sometimes, its howard stern. sometimes, its survivor. sometimes, its our ignorance of race and sex. sometimes, its our stance on the environment...

everyday, something new and something different. whats your personal belief?

"Dance halls, cinemas, this age of jazz, are all, if we may believe our ears, gateways to Hell, and we should be better employed sitting at home contemplating our sins. I find myself unable to be in entire agreement with the grave men who utter these warnings. The devil has many forms, some designed to deceive the young, and some designed to deceive the old and serious. If it is the devil that tempts the young to enjoy themselves, is it not, perhaps, the same personage that persuades the old to condemn their enjoyment? And is it not, perhaps, a drug which -- like opium -- has to be taken in continually stronger doses to produce the desired effect? Is it not to be feared that, beginning with the wickedness of the cinema, we should be led step by step to condemn the opposite political party, dagoes, wops, Asiatics, and, in short, everybody except the fellow members of our club? And it is from just such condemnations, when widespread, that wars proceed. I have never heard of a war that proceeded from dance halls." -- Bertrand Russell

im willing to put my blame on the media. almost entirely.

parents could share a piece of that, im sure, tho im hesitant to blame them as i've never been one myself, but could surely agree with the "y'cant be everywhere at once" philosophy.

I blame the current attitude of a great number of parents....
Who cannot or will not control their children and instead of taking a look at their own parenting skills are quick to blame; a rock group's lyrics causing their child to commit suicide instead of them spending time with the child, a movie causing their son to be involved with gangs instead of their not being aware of why he was out all hours of the night, televison caused their daughter to be promiscuous and had nothing to do with their lack of giving her proper sex education.

Granted sometimes regardless of good parenting a bad seed will sprout but in my experience working with the kids I see their parents as the number one problem...
Especially those who never see their child as being the problem as it is easier to point the finger elsewhere.

you also have to vouch, on some part, with chris rock's theory, "why can't kids just be crazy on their own?"

partially, he's right, as well. crazy kids are gonna be crazy kids, regardless of parents, media, rap music... if they're crazy, they're crazy.

my first instinct is, most of the time, to "blame" the parents. but, again, i always feel bad doing that, as im not a parent myself, and cant possibly fathom the difficulty of being one.

i do know, however, that i had excellent parents. not perfect, by any means, but excellent, loving, caring parents. was it a pain in the ass to always tell them where i was going and what i was doing? hell yeah! but did they continue to ask? hell yeah! and did i continue to tell? hell yeah! simple aspects of life, like that, could, infact, save a life.

i do fault, more than anything, the ever lasting quest to FIND a source of blame. marylin manson didnt kill any high school kids. dmx didn't burn any forrests down. not every kid that plays "doom" (a game outdated about a decade ago) is a killer.

i love how, whenever something bad goes on, these are the three things they (the media - fueled by various groupings) point out: concerts, rap, video games. look, i've played and loved "zelda" for years, and i never went to school on a horse to kill people with my master sword.

then, there's everyone's expert hindsight: "they wore trench coats, and the teachers did nothing!" ... "genious"

the end result, tho, is fantastic coverage by every new correspondent in the nation, and sometimes beyond. further, the "event" is followed into "day 5," with extended and more detailed footage -- tramatizing all those who watch, and all those who are exposed, and, at times, glorifying the villains involved.

all simply to beat out a news channel 2 digits higher.

I´d say parents too, seriously, many of the kids who are what we call "crazy kids" are found to be seriously lacking in good social skills and a good upbringing.
I have good parents who raised me from a somewhat different perspective than you Rob. I was allowed to do virtually anything I wanted, I just had to stay out of trouble and stay clear of smoking (seeing as they both smoked at that time)
You don´t see me running around killing people, or stealing and such!

I am very hesitant to blame music, tv, computergames and other medias because parents can control what their kids see and play. Of course they can´t be everywhere at once, but some control is possible.

Lack of education is also something I would cast blame on!
It´s easier to get a job if you have an education, than if you don´t. Unemployment can create boredom, and people who are bored have a greater tendency to do thing they would not normally do. Of course that is a generalization, but it does happen!

I would say: Better parenting skills to the parents and education for everyone!