Posted on 12/29/2008 8:05:34 AM PST by NYer
So I took the kids out to the mall to shop for Mom two days before Christmas. I want them to know that Christmas is not just about receiving but giving as well.
Now let me ask a weird hypothetical. If I showed up at the Mall wearing only briefs and say my wife showed up in a minuscule bra and panties we'd likely be dragged from the premises and arrested. And rightly so, especially if you've seen me in briefs. But no matter what, it's bad, right? So why is it OK for some of these stores to have huge window displays of essentially naked people. I mean, are these store owners out of their minds. Walking by Abercrombie or Victoria's Secret is essentially a walking tour of porn for children. Hey kids step on up and peer inside the sick twisted mind of adulthood where we view others as vessels of flesh waiting to be boarded and devoured.
It's lunacy.
So as we're passing a bunch of sex-soaked stories, I do my best to distract the kids from the window display. I start singing a loud Christmas carol and they all become embarrassed by me and try to stop me from singing anymore. So for anybody who saw the fat bearded dad singing in front of a ten foot porn window display with children laughing and climbing all over him, it was me.
But here's the thing. I know my kids saw it. They didn't mention it. But I know they see it. They see it. They internalize it. They think that window display represents the realm of adulthood. They intuit that adults desire 8-pack abs and 38 D breasts. And kids want to be adults.
Here's the truth. If a man was caught showing pictures of topless women in pink underwear holding their breasts or men in wet briefs, they'd be arrested. But when a store does it, it's capitalism.
So a few hours later I'm making the call I never thought I'd make in my life. I call the mall two days before Christmas to complain about the lewd window displays. The funny thing is that while I'm on hold I'm feeling like I'm the crazy one. I'm feeling like "I can't believe I've become the guy who complains about lewd window displays." I didn't think I'd ever use the word 'lewd' never mind call to complain about aforementioned lewdness. I'm feeling like I have to convince this guy on the phone that I'm not one of these crazy religious Jerry Falwell types. But then it hits me. I'm the sane one. Those displays are crazy to have in front of children. So instead of getting into a morality type conversation with the guy I just decide to speak his language. "I'm just calling to let you know that my family which comes to the mall often will not come back unless you guys stop allowing pornographic window displays."
So I make the call and I'm feeling proud of myself. And I walk back into the room where the children are watching The Polar Express on ABC Family. And then comes a commercial about some show about a fifteen year old girl who is pregnant. "Fifteen!?" says my nine year old.
"How can you have a baby if you're not married," asks my six year old.
They all look at me. "Hey guys Polar Express is back on!" And thanks to my amazing powers of distraction I muddled through yet another awkward moment. But I know my kids. Nothing escapes them. Questions build. They never fade away.
And we wonder why are children are ending up sexualized. It's simple. Somewhere between the Merry-go-Round and the pretzels they're seeing and interpreting the adult world. They're unprotected out there. The adults want too much to be like children and the children want to be adults. It's time for adults to start acting like adults.
You said — “I am at this point convinced that the Puritanical attitudes, hiding the truth, and the creation of a “guilt complex” regarding the human body and sex by the religous community in the U.S. has created the monster it was seeking to prevent.”
No, it’s the “split culture” that is causing it, not the part that wants us to follow the moral guidelines of the Bible, God’s Word. The ones trying to bring us “back to God” are not the problems in what is going on.
It’s the other half of that “split culture” that is causing the problems, in that anything goes, even little kids, because if we simply came from lower forms of life and/or other kinds of species of animals (and we have “thrown out God”) — then certainly it’s not a problem to “act like animals” (of course, it’s “survival of the fittest”, isn’t it...).
So, don’t blame the *wrong half* of the culture for these problems.
You might as well blame the police departments for arresting criminals, as the cause for having jails. If we didn’t have police, we could do away with the jails, couldn’t we... LOL...
The mannequins in some Islamic country lingerie stores makes Victoria Secret look almost prudish.
And you're right, one never really knows what is underneath the abaya.
The bikini is not indecent because you say so?
There’s no statute of limitations on indecency, even if a majority of the populace has been so morally anesthetised it can’t remember when it was last capable of protesting against it.
What’s the point of avoiding tan lines, if you’re not just proposing to show as much flesh somewhere else?
Some women wear bikinis because they think they can “win” the game of female objectification. The fact that they have bartered their sexuality for other consideration does mean it represents a healthy self-concept or a social good.
Once upon a time, referring to the sexual mores of the French in a positive way was understood to be a concession of the moral argument in favour of simple hedonism.
Let me guess... only the Muslim men shop there... ?? :-)
—
That reminds me, I saw a YouTube video of some cars driving around in Baghdad and some Muslim women were all covered up in their black outfits and one came over to a car (who was taking the video) and she asks if they want her to raise up her garment for some money. They give her some money, she lifts it up, showing she had nothing on underneath and they grab a handful and that was it... (end of the video). I don’t know what happened next...
So, I’m sure that things “go on” in Muslim countries, except that women are a lot more oppressed than they are (in some ways) over here. Women are oppressed in a different way, here, in that you can “be all you can be” for a guy, here...
He shouldn’t ignore the topic with his children, that’s a huge mistake. He has to carefully and clearly, in age-appropriate language, tell them what they saw is wrong, and why, and focus on the truth about sex.
I can’t beleive he is just not saying anything to his children.
And don’t go to the mall.
He is right, porn and out of control sexualization of the culture is ruining children. And will get worse. Mothers have a hard time getting clothes for their little girls that don’t make them look like sluts.
Why should we have to ignore it? If it was a liberal group complaining about it, it would be front page news, there would be a protest, and democrats would be running their campaigns on the issue. But since it’s coming from a rational person who wants his kids to stay pure and not get corrupted by the sickness that has become accepted, he has to ignore it.
Majors pushing sexuality on minors is a big deal. Certainly you would agree with that, right?
>>Maybe my persepctive is different because I’ve spent time on European beaches where many women (including my wife) go topless, and people don’t give it a second thought. American beaches are remarkably covered up, in comparison (with a few notable exceptions, like South Beach). <<
I’ll skip taking Europe as an example. Thanks.
The junior anti-sex league is on patrol here.
We walked by the Victorias Secret in SouthCenter (now Westfield) mall with our four year old grandson. He pointed and said, “that lady is naked!”
Those “nude” manequins have caused us to boycott that mall. Just don’t go there any more.
>>And don’t go to the mall.
He is right, porn and out of control sexualization of the culture is ruining children. And will get worse. Mothers have a hard time getting clothes for their little girls that don’t make them look like sluts.<<
Thank YOU!!!!
I don’t go to the mall and therefore do not spend my cash at the mall. When they clean it up, we will be back. The last time we DID go to the mall (after a Sears Dental cleaning) my 10 year old told me that she wasn’t happy with the A&F posters.
She actually said, “Those girls are naked and cheap. Why would they do that to themselves?”
(and I thanked The Lord that I taught her right!)
I think that most Americans believe that most islamic women want to live differently and I’m not sure that is true.
It seems that in Qatar, Kuwait, and the Emirates the natives of those countries take a lot of pride in National Dress because it distinguishes them from the immigrants who make up the vast majority of the population.
IMO, islamic women don’t generally want to exhibit their bodies in public and they don’t understand anyone urging them to do so.
Just my observations.
How refreshing. I doubt very many parents have a mall like that to bring their kids to.
believe it or not..
in burlington NJ there is a mall with a church in it ...
There are so many things wrong with the mindset behind this statement that entire books on practical psychoanalysis could be written about the author.
>>The junior anti-sex league is on patrol here.<<
LOL!!!!
We who are against the over sexualization of our children are the ones popping out more than two kids per family. The product of our sexual habits will pay YOUR Social Security!!!!
We are FAR from Anti-sex. We are all for it. Where it belongs and that is not with our children.
I guess I just don’t go shopping enough. ; )
>>There are so many things wrong with the mindset behind this statement that entire books on practical psychoanalysis could be written about the author. <<
Understanding that you are a musician who lives in either Vegas or SF, I can see where you would feel this way.
The posters statement was a bit over the top but perhaps the "Hey kids step on up" part of it wasn't lost on you.
Aaah the good old “It’s for the Childrun” argument..
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