I just came across a meme the other day on Pinterest. "You never know how dirty a song is until you hear a child sing it." Yeah, that's about right. And how sad is that by the way? I had a special needs teenager tell me not too long ago that "Thrift Shop" was one of her favorite songs and had been played at her school's last dance. I had never heard of "Thrift Shop" before, so I told her I would check it out. I'm sorry I did. Grant it, as sexually inappropriate as it is lyrically, I've seen and heard worse. Women being called every name in the book but women; body parts, violent sexual acts, and bodily fluids being described as part OF A SONG REALLY!? I thought these kinds of songs were as bad as it could get, but no---of course I was wrong. Flipping through channels last night, there was some overweight 30-something comic on Comedy Central giving new meaning to the term "Gross!" His schtick was so sick, I couldn't believe there was an audience actually listening to him and cheering him on! I mean WHO wants to listen to what would be equivalent to describing the taste of urine and feces. God help us all. We are all friggin' doomed! Gone are the days of "Build me up Buttercup" and "Johnny Angel". And just when you think a song on the radio couldn't get any filthier, there's a new one on the Top 10 Billboard Charts right there to replace it!
Then I had a 7th grader tell me the other day that when the boys go into the bathroom at his school, they conduct their own 30 second MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) "fight club" with some random kid (victim) being immediately selected as the "opponent" to take the beat down like a man. Who instigates this type of behavior anyway? Oh yeah, that would be 7th grade boys everywhere whose parents are....???? Whose parents watch or allow their sons to watch or play....???? Whose families have their heads firmly implanted up their own (well you know what!) because they don't pay attention to what their sons watch on t.v. or listen to on the radio or play on their X-Box or do with their friends. Yeah, that's about right.
Don't even get me started on video games and television shows which actively promote gratuitous violence, sex, and disrespect for anything and anyone other than "self". This "Family Guy" show. What the hell is that about? Are we supposed to learn some valuable lessons about life and and "funny pervies" like Quagmire the neighbor in the process? It's ridiculous to think that young children (I'm talking 2 and 3 years old folks) aren't being exposed to this garbage because their parents are too stupid (yes, I said TOO STUPID!) to realize that the "cartoon" their baby is watching is nowhere near the content of Bugs Bunny. Back in the "old days", inappropriate television shows were at least the object of boycotts. Now a days, there's so many inappropriate television shows, it'd take forever just to figure out who the worst offenders are! Video games? Spare me! There are so many horrific games glorifying war, blood and guts, etc. I had a 9 year old the other day tell me about the "perks" of playin' "Minecraft". Really? If you are unfamiliar with this game, you don't even want to know what it's about. But you better make sure your kid doesn't own it and play it either. That's what's so awful about all of this. The vast majority of parents don't even know what their kids' video games ARE---let alone what their content is all about!
Needless to say, when society raises its children to believe that "everything" is o.k. and nothing is sacred, why are we surprised when these youngsters go on rampages that take out fellow classmates, innocent children, assorted family members, and random strangers? Hey, don't balk. I didn't even touch on the subject of movies like "Natural Born Killers" which has been referred to more than a few times by convicted killers who became and were "obsessed" by it before killing whom it was they killed. (Not to mention "Pulp Fiction" and all the other murder-gore-sex-violence drenched films out there from that era to our current one!)
Sex and violence on demand represent one of the major "roots" of criminal behavior, period. Mental illness, abuse, and brain injury play their roles too. But for some dumb reason, few want or are willing to to talk about any of this to an intelligent degree. Probably because it's just easier to let things go and pretend reality isn't as bad as it is. Good luck to us. We need it.
Then I had a 7th grader tell me the other day that when the boys go into the bathroom at his school, they conduct their own 30 second MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) "fight club" with some random kid (victim) being immediately selected as the "opponent" to take the beat down like a man. Who instigates this type of behavior anyway? Oh yeah, that would be 7th grade boys everywhere whose parents are....???? Whose parents watch or allow their sons to watch or play....???? Whose families have their heads firmly implanted up their own (well you know what!) because they don't pay attention to what their sons watch on t.v. or listen to on the radio or play on their X-Box or do with their friends. Yeah, that's about right.
Don't even get me started on video games and television shows which actively promote gratuitous violence, sex, and disrespect for anything and anyone other than "self". This "Family Guy" show. What the hell is that about? Are we supposed to learn some valuable lessons about life and and "funny pervies" like Quagmire the neighbor in the process? It's ridiculous to think that young children (I'm talking 2 and 3 years old folks) aren't being exposed to this garbage because their parents are too stupid (yes, I said TOO STUPID!) to realize that the "cartoon" their baby is watching is nowhere near the content of Bugs Bunny. Back in the "old days", inappropriate television shows were at least the object of boycotts. Now a days, there's so many inappropriate television shows, it'd take forever just to figure out who the worst offenders are! Video games? Spare me! There are so many horrific games glorifying war, blood and guts, etc. I had a 9 year old the other day tell me about the "perks" of playin' "Minecraft". Really? If you are unfamiliar with this game, you don't even want to know what it's about. But you better make sure your kid doesn't own it and play it either. That's what's so awful about all of this. The vast majority of parents don't even know what their kids' video games ARE---let alone what their content is all about!
Needless to say, when society raises its children to believe that "everything" is o.k. and nothing is sacred, why are we surprised when these youngsters go on rampages that take out fellow classmates, innocent children, assorted family members, and random strangers? Hey, don't balk. I didn't even touch on the subject of movies like "Natural Born Killers" which has been referred to more than a few times by convicted killers who became and were "obsessed" by it before killing whom it was they killed. (Not to mention "Pulp Fiction" and all the other murder-gore-sex-violence drenched films out there from that era to our current one!)
Sex and violence on demand represent one of the major "roots" of criminal behavior, period. Mental illness, abuse, and brain injury play their roles too. But for some dumb reason, few want or are willing to to talk about any of this to an intelligent degree. Probably because it's just easier to let things go and pretend reality isn't as bad as it is. Good luck to us. We need it.