Posted on 03/15/2006 12:04:36 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
Putting aside the obvious notion that a parent has the power in the home to control what their children see on TV...no...children should not hear all those details...they shouldn't hear the details of Levitra commercials either.
Even the local media covers the Natalies and Laci's WAY more than they do the black and pudgy local murder victims. It's disgusting.
Ditto!
I agree with you, Maximus... I was responding to eastforker who thinks watching such vivid descriptions are good 'lessons' for children, a notion I very much don't agree with.
Actually I believe (don't have them handy) that the real crime statistics do in fact show that this sort of crime is actually going *down* and has for the last couple of decades at least. But *more* local stories are blasted to national news and people have the *perception* that this is happening more often. People are overreacting to a hyped fear, and the hyped fear is there to sell advertising time.
This doesn't mean that parents and kids should suddenly get stupid and go around taking candy from strangers. BUT I do think that -on balance- kids are worse off for not playing outside hour after hour with the other neighborhood kids, like we used to.
I also think that pics of people jumping out of the WTC should be made public. There are evil ones amongst us and their vile actions should be shown.
I know you were responding to another...but the issue just P'd me off. I mean...what ever happened to childhood innocence? Young kids are being exposed and desensitized to a plethora of things at WAY too early of an age, it sickens me.
I live by an elementary school and I see VERY small children walking alone all the time or in two's. They can't be more than kindergarten or first grade. I also note many of them are walking to school way ahead of when they are supposed to be there which is 8am which I suppose partent(s) have to be to work so the kid is wandering the school yard by themselves! We live in a pretty good neighborhood but we have a low income within a few blocks where all kinds of wierd critters live! I don't think there really are "good" neighborhoods any more with so many on drugs etc. he other issue is most of these little ones are way too trusting due to being at day care and lots of care takers at early ages. Any more if I had young ones I wouldn't let them walk across the street alone!
They are public... We've all seen them, they're out there if people want to go look. There is a lot of impact in the images of the jumpers, but not everyone needs to see the bloody body after it hit the ground to know a tragedy took place.
Excellent rant.
But I'm afraid there will always be people who are willing to watch that that "should not be seen by anyone." ;-)
Our best defense is to not watch it.
Agreed.... And there's no easy answer. I think our childhood was perfect, we had forts and trails through the woods, and knew every inch of our neighborhood. Now they stay shut indoors and watch tv and parents chew their fingernails if a kid wants to play outside or join a club. I don't think it HAD to have changed so much.
I with you!!
I have never understood the ridiculous facination with this crap. This National Enquirer soap opera news is the second biggest waste of news airtime today. The first biggest is the 'Hollywood Report'.
Like I always say: there's a reason TV comes first in "TV news".
Which is the exact same reason why I don't watch it.
Okay, but why don't they just get married and have their OWN sex? Works for me, in fact it's better.
I can't remember the last time I said, "Not now, honey, GRETA VAN SUSTEREN is on!!! Woo-hoo!"
I spent a career in politically charged environments so I will now take anything I can to recover some of those years that caused my hair to go prematurely white. When I was still working, I used to listen to music on my morning commutes so that I could deal more optimistically with the mornings headaches. It worked.
Ed Smart needs to quit dragging his poor daughter into the meda limelight too, and the media needs to stop being his enabler.
1. It warns parents that there are some real sickos running loose. I would NEVER let my children walk out of my yard when they were younger -- even my 17 year old daughter always has 2-3 friends with her when she goes anywhere. My advice to her is to travel with her pack (she pals with a nice bunch of kids from her school, I know them all pretty well and they are good kids, good students, no drugs or alcohol.) A girl alone is a mark for every monster out there like Smith.
2. This sentencing hearing demonstrated for the public at large what is necessary to put even a monster like this to death. (a) It was required for the judge to announce the reasons in detail for his sentence, in order to withstand the numerous appeals that every convicted murderer is entitled to by law. (b) THIS is the only type of heinous crime for which the death penalty can still be imposed. They have to rub our noses in it or he will not be put to death.
I don't need to watch movies or listen to the news about this stuff -- I've been a courthouse rat for 22 years. And the stuff they put on the news is TAME compared to the stuff I see every day. If I told you the details of a kidnapping/rape/torture case that crossed my desk last week, you would lose your dinner. The girl lived, but she might be better off dead. Major surgery just to survive, and she is blind, maimed, and is too badly damaged to ever have a baby.
There are evil people among us, and the public needs to know that on a gut level.
Everyone talks about how we all need to know this...
Myself, I don't need to wallow in evil to know it's there. There's a voyeuristic quality to this.
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