PARENTS

[electriclite]

Ok folks, I think I've just about had it with the behavior of parents these days in relationship to movies and other media.


Oh, and to those parents who are actually doing their job and being good responsible guardians, this rant is not directed at you. Keep up the good work.


I recently attended a panel of writers/animators at my school and the topic turned to censorship and self-censorship. One of the writers sited a case where a parent called in and complained to Cartoon Network about something objectionable that her young child saw. This was during Adult Swim at 12:30 am. the network asked her "didn't you know that at that hour the programming isn't for your son's age group?". She then proceeded to tell them that her son had been sick and slept through most of the day and was wide awake at night, and that she thought Cartoon Network would be a safe bet to keep him occupied.:rolleyes:


The result: Now Adult Swim has to watch what it plays because ONE person fowled up at their job as a parent.

There are MANY other channels a child can watch in the evening if you find yourself in that situation, that are safe for them to watch. THE DISNEY CHANNEL comes to mind, Fox Family, and if you have satellite or digital TV, Noggin or The N. Those networks are totally kid friendly.

But since this woman doesn't do her research as a parent the rest of us, who aren't parents, get stuck with her mistake.

I'm getting really sick and tired of parents making mistakes but shoveling the blame over to other people all because they don't wanna take the criticism that they rightly deserve for not doing their job accordingly.

You've seen it all around I'm sure:

My kid shot up his highschool because he listened to Marilyn Manson.

Right. Not because you weren't paying attention to your kid and his problems at home and at school.


Our sons killed themselves because a Judas Priest album told them so.

Mmmhmmm. So it had nothing to do with your kids possibly being severly depressed beforehand or mentally disturbed?



You get the idea.

And then afterward, they complain and sue and try to get the rest of the world to conform to a standard that will allow them to be EVEN MORE LAX at their job!! And the rest of us, who don't have kids have to live in this ridiculous scotchguarded world they've created!!!


Let's get something straight here. YOU decided to become a parent and therefore YOU entered into the unseen contract that you would take on ALL the responsibilities that came with the role of being a parent. That included sacrifices, stress, heightened responsibility, time, energy, etc.... The rest of the world should not have to have to pay for your mistakes. You wanted kids, well you got them, now take care of them and own up to your mistakes when you make them!

[Quiver]

Hey, who are you to say that I'm not doing my job as a parent!...oh wait...

Originally posted by electriclite
Oh, and to those parents who are actually doing their job and being good responsible guardians, this rant is not directed at you. Keep up the good work.

Awww, thanks, Electriclite!:)

In all seriousness this is a topic which hits home with me. I have been a father for a few years now. When I got married, I took on the added responsibility of a son that my wife had from a previous relationship. This was a total culture shock for me, as I had to completely change a lot of the things I did.

One thing in particular that I had to watch out for was one of my favorite things - watching wrestling. I love it to death, but I found that as I watched it with my new son, he gradually became more rambunctious around the house. The big reality check for me was when we were called to the school because my son had been wrestling with other kids, and had one of them in a headlock. It was at this point I took my job more seriously, sat him down and explained the difference between what was real and what was not, as well as what was appropriate for him to do and say in regards to what he sees on TV.

Since that time, my son has learned his lesson. Boys will be boys, so a little roughhousing is to be expected, but he now understands why he can't do and say the things that are shown on TV. I think I did an OK job with this, and now have a better idea of what to watch out for in the future.

I hope this sort of follows along the lines of your post Electriclite, and did not stray too far

[jackson13]

You shoulda called this thread PEOPLE, because its just not parents who are the idiots ruining everything anymore.

"Times have changed, our kids are getting worse, they wont obey thier parents, they just want to fart and curse...." Anyone remember that song? Blame Canada? A perfect example of laying the blame upon someone else and not yourselves.

Time have definitely changed. When I was but a wee lad, I remember waking up at 8 am, shoving cookies down my throat and running out the door to play ALL DAY with my friends. We'd build forts, have water balloon fights, play tag, cops and robbers, ride our bikes (without helmets or pads! :eek: ), play hide and seek, hell anything we could come up with, we would do.

Do kids do that today? Hell no! They cant do any of that, because parents are nothing but paranoid and feel that if their kid sets foot outside into the WORLD, he or she might get exercise, interact with others, learn to do stuff on their own, or basicially, grow upart a little from thier parents. If a kid today was to play cops and robbers, that would be classified as racial profiling or something along those lines. If they were to have a water balloon fight, they could get seriously injured when a balloon shatters and sprays water over thier skin. If they build a fort, they could get hurt when the fort collapses. If they play tag, they will come home with bruises upon thier skin from being hit by someone who was 'It'. And dear God help us all if they were to ride a bike without a helmet or pads. I remember riding my bike at about 30 miles an hour down the street, without shoes on! Sure, when I stopped, I was missing the toenail off of my big toe because my foot hit the ground and snapped it clean off, but after the wound healed I learned my lesson!

Parents today have become nothing but up-tight, over paranoid, saftey-crazed assholes, and pretty much all of them dont deserve to even be parents. Sure some do a good job, like with what my parents did with me, but they dont get recognized, its only the idiots that get recognized anymore.

Parents nowadays suck (with the exception of the good ones).

[Grebdron]

I was the offspring of the parents you're ranting about E. Sort of. They didn't try to blame anybody for anything. But they were absent. 100% absent. From the age of 7 on, I had zero supervision. They just didn't want the distraction of having kids.

And I turned out horribly. Drug addicted at age 7, chronic truant, first contact with police at 8, etc.

When I married my ex-wife, she had 3 kids. Instant family, just add idiot. But I had learned how NOT to parent from my parents. And I did an admirable job of attempting to raise her children.

No point, I guess. Except to say that I agree. And the really sad thing is that there is ZERO hope that things will improve.

[BakeTheMooCow]

electriclite, I can't believe you didn't quote George Carlin in your rant.

It's a bit long, but too priceless to leave anything out:


"Something else I'm getting tired of in this country is all this stupid talk I have to listen to about children. That's all you hear about anymore, children: "Help the children, save the children, protect the children." You know what I say? Fuck the children! They're getting entirely too much attention. And I know what some of you are thinking: " Jesus, he's not going to attack children, is he?" Yes he is! He's going to attack children. And remember, this is Mr. Conductor talking; I know what I'm talking about. And I also know that all you boring single dads and working moms, who think you're such fucking heros, aren't gonna like this, but somebody's gotta tell you for your own good: your children are overrated and overvalued, and you've turned them into little cult objects. You have a child fetish, and it's not healthy. And don't give me all that weak shit, "Well, I love my children."

Fuck you! Everybody loves their children; it doesn't make you special. John Wayne Gacy loved his children. Yes, he did. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is this constant, mindless yammering in the media, this neurotic fixation that suggests that somehow everything--everything--has to revolve around the lives of children. It's completely out of balance. Listen, there are a couple of things about kids you have to remember. First of all, they're not all cute. In fact, if you look at 'em real close, most of them are rather unpleasant looking. And a lot of them don't smell too good either. The little ones in particular seem to have a kind of urine and sour-milk combination tht I don't care for at all. Stay with me on this folks, the sooner you face it the better off your going to be. Second, premise: not all chidren are smart and clever. Got that? Kids are like any other group of people: a few winners, a whole lot of losers!

This country is filled with loser kids who simply...aren't...going anywhere! And there's nothing you can do about it, folks. Nothing! You can't save them all. You can't do it. You gotta let 'em go; you gotta cut 'em loose; you gotta stop over-protecting them, because your making 'em too soft. Today's kids are way too soft. For one thing, there's too much emphasis on safety and safety equipment: childproof medicine bottles, fireproof pajamas, child restraints, car seats. And helmets! Bicycle, baseball, skateboard, scooter helmets. Kids have to wear helmets now for everything but jerking off. Grown-ups have taken all the fun out of being a kid. What's happened is, these baby boomers, these soft, fruity baby boomers, have raised an entire generation of soft, fruity kids who aren't even allowed hazardous toys, for Chrissakes! What ever happened to natural selection? Survival of the fittest? The kid who swallows too many marbles doesn't grow up to have kids of his own. Simple stuff.

Nature knows best! Another bunch of ignorant bullshit about your children: school uniforms. Bad theory! The idea that if kids wear uniforms to school, it helps keep order. Hey! Don't these schools do enough damage makin' all these children think alike? Now they're gonna get 'em to look alike, too? And it's not even a new idea; I first saw it in old newsreels from the 1930s, but it was hard to understand, because the narration was in German! But the uniforms looked beautiful. And the children did everything they were told and never questioned authority. Gee, I wonder why someone would want to put our children in uniforms. Can't imagine. And one more item about children: this superstitous nonsense of blaming tobacco companies for kids who smoke. Listen! Kids don't smoke because a camel in sunglasses tells them to. They smoke for the same reasons adults do, because it's an enjoyable activity that relieves anxiety and depression.

And you'd be anxious and depressed too if you had to put up with these pathetic, insecure, yuppie parents who enroll you in college before you've figured out which side of the playpen smells the worst and then fill you with Ritalin to get you in a mood they approve of, and drag you all over town in search of empty, meaningless structure: Little League, Cub Scouts, swimming, soccer, karate, piano, bagpipes, watercolors, witchcraft, glass blowing, and dildo practice. It's absurd. They even have "play dates", for Christ sake! Playing is now done by appointment! But it's true. A lot of these striving, and parents are burning their kids out on structure. I think what every child needs and ought to have every day is two hours of daydreaming. Plain old daydreaming. Turn off the internet, the CD-ROMS, and the computer games and let them stare at a tree for a couple of hours. Every now and then they actually come up with one of their own ideas. You want to know how to help your kids? Leave them the fuck alone."

[electriclite]

Originally posted by BakeTheMooCow
electriclite, I can't believe you didn't quote George Carlin in your rant.




Oh honey, I've done it so many times on this board I feel I owe the man royalties;)

But it goes without saying, the man's words are gospel.

[Draccoca]

electriclite, I'm glad that I read the entire post or i would have had a few choice words with you............. wait a minute i do, I totally agree most parents these days expect the TV or the Computer, or XBOX to babysit their kids, and when the parents catch the kids watching/playing/viewing something bad they flip on the creater instead of the kids or themselves.

I also played outside all the time when i was a kid, if i wasn't out the door by 9am i was sick. But as I go to my old haunts all I see is overgrown paths, the ruins to one of my old forts, etc. and these are all areas were high traffic areas by kids.

Now I have 2 kids and I'm raising them the same way I was, spanked and grounded when the punishment fits the crime, I am always here for them, I will miss work for them if I need to. etc. and ll this in fear of children's aid. And that could be the problem with most parents, they're too scared to punish their kids because one call from the kid or niehbour and the id gets taken away.

[Jerk Shapiro]

Originally posted by Draccoca


Now I have 2 kids and I'm raising them the same way I was, spanked and grounded when the punishment fits the crime, I am always here for them, I will miss work for them if I need to. etc. and ll this in fear of children's aid. .


Good, good man. I hate it when somebody is anti-spanking, and even worse when kids get taken away from their parents for being spanked by them. If kids weren't punished for wrong-doings, would they ever learn? Hell no. Did kids get their bottoms beat in the olden days? You bet your ass they did. Did any kids ever shoot their students in school in the olden days? You bet your ass they didn't.

But I also agree with lady electriclite. Most of the time it's the parents being too damn lazy to look over the kids AND punish them for doing bad.

Good rant.

[jackson13]

I got my ass beat when I was a kid. It did me some good. I dont screw up anymore. You can bet your asses that when I have kids, and one of them does something bad, they will get thier ass spanked, and then sent to their room as punishment. I remember when I worked at a grocery store and parents would come in with kids, and the kids would scream and cry all through the store, all because they couldnt get the cereal or toy they wanted. I remember when I did that I got my ass whipped right there in the grocery store, put in the cart so that I couldnt run away and told to 'shut up and quit whining'. After awhile I learned not to beg for things at the store because I knew what would happen if I did, and all of a sudden trips to the grocery store were nice quiet, well civilized trips. Nowadays, like mentioned, kids cry all through the store, whine about everything, make huge scenes, and the parents just ignore them like nothing is going on, instead of spanking them and making them stop.

Parents just simply need to take responisbility for their kids. Thats what being an adult is all about, being responsible for stuff, and having a kid is the biggest responsibility of all, but aparently these people cant handle that. They shoulda known that when one placed himself inside of the other and began the miracle of life, but obviously, like usual, they just werent thinking.

[AceD]

I agree with most of what you all are saying, but let's be careful here.

"My kid shot up his highschool because he listened to Marilyn Manson.

Right. Not because you weren't paying attention to your kid and his problems at home and at school."

I agree, but no matter how good the parents are the kid still makes choices. There is a fine line as to who to blame in situations like that. Yes, if you are a "good parent" it is a whole lot less LIKELY that your kid will do something stupid, but it is not impossible that he will choose to do something wrong, no matter how "good" of a parent you are. Like I said, though, I agree that parents need to take a whole lot more responsibilty -- and cut all the excuses about being a single parent, about having a "tough child".....about anything.

[electriclite]

Originally posted by AceD
I agree with most of what you all are saying, but let's be careful here.

"My kid shot up his highschool because he listened to Marilyn Manson.

Right. Not because you weren't paying attention to your kid and his problems at home and at school."

I agree, but no matter how good the parents are the kid still makes choices. There is a fine line as to who to blame in situations like that. Yes, if you are a "good parent" it is a whole lot less LIKELY that your kid will do something stupid, but it is not impossible that he will choose to do something wrong, no matter how "good" of a parent you are.

Oh I agree. I know that there are exceptions.

Kip Kinkel, the kid who murdered his parents and then shot up a few classmates at school, was most likely trouble from the womb. His parents tried everything they could to quell his overly aggressive nature, but this kid was just naturally attracted to violence in all forms. His parents tried to homeschool him for a while and it didn't work.

So he is a case of parents doing their job and still not working. But not every kid is Kip Kinkel. People knew there were problems with the kids in Columbine, but it had nothing to do with the music they were listening to and it wasn't prevented.

[movieguy1021]

Being a child (well, teen) now, I think that, based on what I see, it's not the teens who listen to Marilyn Manson shoot up schools, it's the teens that shoot up schools that listen to Marilyn Manson. If that makes any sense, it means that it's not the music that influences the kid, it's the fucked up kid who listens to the music.

When I was younger, my parents didn't beat me or anything, mainly because I just didn't feel like getting into trouble. I played outside, but I also played on the Nintendo. Now, I rarely, if ever, play outside, simply because I'm not that kind of guy. It's not my parents who make me the way I am, I choose that. It's not the parents' fault all of the time that kids do bad things. It's usually as much the kid's choice.

As much as the majority of parents suck today, it's all on choice. All of the people who drink, smoke, shoot up the place, etc., listen to Manson. I'm almost a stereotypical nerd, and right now I'm listening to They Might Be Giants, but if I put on Manson right now, that doesn't mean I'll be fucked up forever.

[Country1969]

I'm a parent of a 4 year old boy. I put on a kid friendly channel for him to watch. I don't flip the channel when he walks in the room when I am watching tv for every little bit of shooting,street racing, etc, that comes on. I watched that stuff when I was growing up and I never killed anyone. You can't blame the parents for every decision a kid makes. We are were kids at one time,and many of you saw this kind of stuff on tv before. I know the age issue comes in when talking about all of this. He's too young,she's too young too understand all of this. Face it people, he or she will come to this stuff sometime in their life. Drinking,smoking,cursing,sex... It is out there and we have to except this fact. TV is just a way of showing us what's life is all about. Parents should not let kids watch tv if they are afraid of everything they see or hear.
Parents could do their best to raise their children,but one other person could set them off like a girlfriend/boyfriend ,friend, family, teacher and they kill them. Maybe the kid was a quiet person,great grades in school,never been in trouble before and then one day the flip. Or they decided to drink with friends or have sex.

Parents should not blame tv,video games, computers etc for their kids actions.

Non-parents should not blame ALL parents for their concern with these nick-picking topics. They are people that trying their best to raise a child or two in this world.

I am a good parent and I do not complain about any of this stuff with computers,tv,video games etc. Let the kids be kids , just like you were at one time. Life is too short to worry about it.
The news channels should not be allowed to tell us bad news ,just good news. Maybe they would'nt put any ideas in our kids heads along with many adults heads.

[outsyder]

Originally posted by jackson13
"Times have changed, our kids are getting worse, they wont obey thier parents, they just want to fart and curse...." Anyone remember that song? Blame Canada? A perfect example of laying the blame upon someone else and not yourselves.



Damn straight! We didn't do SHIT!:D


But seriously, we need a big sign, like a billboard or something that we can post on the lawns of these people. It should say something like "FUCK YOU!"

I think we'd be much better off if something like that were put in effect.

[Jon Lyrik]

My kid robs banks because he saw it in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

Boycott and ban WB.

[Avid_Fan]

Some people are just stupid.

[HeavyK]

Originally posted by movieguy1021
Being a child (well, teen) now, I think that, based on what I see, it's not the teens who listen to Marilyn Manson shoot up schools, it's the teens that shoot up schools that listen to Marilyn Manson. If that makes any sense, it means that it's not the music that influences the kid, it's the fucked up kid who listens to the music.

When I was younger, my parents didn't beat me or anything, mainly because I just didn't feel like getting into trouble. I played outside, but I also played on the Nintendo. Now, I rarely, if ever, play outside, simply because I'm not that kind of guy. It's not my parents who make me the way I am, I choose that. It's not the parents' fault all of the time that kids do bad things. It's usually as much the kid's choice.

As much as the majority of parents suck today, it's all on choice. All of the people who drink, smoke, shoot up the place, etc., listen to Manson. I'm almost a stereotypical nerd, and right now I'm listening to They Might Be Giants, but if I put on Manson right now, that doesn't mean I'll be fucked up forever.

I'll have to agree with you on that. For example it's not violent video games that cause kids to be violent. It's that the kids who are violent on there own like playing violent video games. It not the games, movies or music that causes these negative effects. It's just that the person who has these negative tendancies happens to like those kinds of movies, video games and music. Anyways the saying "Blame the playa, not the game" is very good advice and should be adherd to more often.

[SkyNet]

i agree with this rant whole heartedly. The case that pops to my mind is when a stupid twat of a mother sat her family down to watch Married!... With Children and after that she started an anti MWC protest and wrote letters and she was just a dumb twat. That shit pissed me off.... MWC was a show KNOWN for its potty humor and not a family show... but this arrogant dumbass cunt didnt do her research, and MWC suffered. Dumbass people piss me off!

[rilocay]

I have no idea if this is true or not, but arent most of the fuked up kids that do fuked up shite from families that ban their kids from doing/watching/playing so-and-so and basically what were ranting is wrong. Because if thats so dont they see a pattern? they are literally FUCKING the future and thier kids.

Before all this started happening kids were much more happy and probably more normal than what they are now.

[Carrieattheprom]

Our sons killed themselves because a Judas Priest album told them so.

Mmmhmmm. So it had nothing to do with your kids possibly being severly depressed beforehand or mentally disturbed.


About that. I read of one case where the parents tried to sue a band because their son committed suicide. However, while the parents were talking they were making themselves look pretty guilty.

Son tried to share with them his taste in music and other stuff. Parents said they hated that garbage and told him to go away. Son eventually committed suicide. Song he was listening to is actually ANTI-suicide if you ever bothered to read the lyrics sheet.


One of the songs on my Evenessence(sp?) cd is called Tourniquet. A cherry little number about slashing your wrists. The CD doesn't have a parental warning lable. Soccer Moms from Hell may sue. Surprised they haven't already.

[SkyNet]

Carrie... is that the Ozzy Osbourne case you are talking about?

I know Ozzy was sued because apparently when you play one of his songs backwords it tells you that like the devil is coming for you, and he is gonna kill you, so you better just kill yourself! Or somethin like that! Or shit.. that might have been a dif band... i think Ozzy's case was a lyric saying Suicide is quicker. Fuck i cant remember that well!

Both are true lawsuits.. i just cant remember which lawsuit belongs to ozzy and which one belongs to a dif band!

[Backstabba]

the children are screwed up now days. They NEVER go outside (......not like I do though) they never do anything right!! You know what!? Im a young adult but still a child! Whens the last time a kid who loved rock, who only liked rock, was either a outcast or had no fun at a dance or some crap because all the " Wannabe Gangstas" will start a fucking riot if they dont get they're G-unit, 50 cent, Ja rule, all that crap! Damn this age really can suck. If you dont have 10 black 19 year old friends, you aint gonna have a good life ( not being racist...but it is kinda true) all of the people that try to be a Badass but only have they're friends do all of the work, they are bitches! Isn't it weird, that all of the kids that get suspended, get F's, steal money, are real dicks, have girlfriends. But if a kid has acouple of friends, are NICE, have good grades, don't get shit. Why are they're school shootings!? Kids don't give a shit if another kid Kills himself. This was a great age, where kids did all kinds of fun crap, but now...its just dangerous. One of my bros 15 year old friends fought a wannabe badass and then got atacked by 12 Huge, Black men Possibly in 19,18 years old, with knifes and guns.Do Teachers do anything? NO! Do parents do anything? NO! Because if parents make principals expell other kids, the kids will beat the crap out of the parents kids, if its a black kid that gets expelled, then its racist and the school is sued!.....in shorter terms....Stop blaming tv....:D

[HannibalGuy]

Both Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne were sued by parents over their kids suicides. Ozzy was sued more than 3 times over his song "Suicide Solution". Those parents said that there were subliminll (spell?) messages in the song. The parents laywer made up some bullshit claim that the words "Get the gun, shoot!" were "hidden" in the song. Judas Priest was also accused of putting hidden "Do it's" in the song "Better by You, Better than Me". Both Ozzy and Judas Priest won all of the lawsuites by the way.

[Neesh]

Adult Swim is off the air ??? Son of a

[electriclite]

Originally posted by Neesh
Adult Swim is off the air ??? Son of a



No its still on the air, but it now has to watch itself because of that one incident..... or hell there maybe more just like it.:mad:

[The Postmaster General]

How hard is it to look at a TV Guide -- show some interest in what's being fed to your kid. I used to have unsupped TV time, but I remember my mom coming in and seeing what I was watching, at least. Hell, if she would have bothered to see the title "Adult Swim".....

Not to mention, the kid was asleep all day, and the mom just let him stay up and watch TV. Oh, that's some nice training there. Way to really mess with a kids schedule there, missy. What the fuck? Did she think the kid needed to catch up on his TV time?

[dangersque]

Originally posted by HannibalGuy
Both Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne were sued by parents over their kids suicides. Ozzy was sued more than 3 times over his song "Suicide Solution". Those parents said that there were subliminll (spell?) messages in the song. The parents laywer made up some bullshit claim that the words "Get the gun, shoot!" were "hidden" in the song. Judas Priest was also accused of putting hidden "Do it's" in the song "Better by You, Better than Me". Both Ozzy and Judas Priest won all of the lawsuites by the way.

To be fair, in Suicide Solution there is a part during the guitar solo that sort of, kind of, might sound like something similar to "Why try? Get the gun and shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot." But you'd only ever notice it after knowing what it is you're supposed to be hearing. In reality it was just Ozzy screwing around in the recording studio, and it's a coincidence that it sounds like that at all.

What I find funny about it is all the parents and religious groups that are opposed to the song, which is about the dangers of alcohol.