A Deeply Fractured US

[Lumber]

At risk of repeating a bad joke:

So, was he a Rhodes scholar then?

I’ll see myself out.

I don't get it...

 

[dapaterson]

Cecil Rhodes, colonial exploiter of Africa, established a set of scholarships for white men.

The terms and conditions have changed, but his name lives on in the Rhodes Scholarships granted every year. Recipients are described as having their futures behind them.

Rhodes Scholarship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[FSTO]

^^
Thread de-rail.

When Disney+ came out I thought I'd look up some old shows that I loved as a kid. Lo and behold I selected Davy Crockett.

15 minutes into the movie I shut it off. 1960's Disney racism at its finest and the celebration of that genocidal maniac Andrew Jackson was just too much. Funny how the mob made Disney get rid of "Song of the South" while the Davy Crockett Movie was even more vile to the Seminoles, the civilized tribes (Trail of Tears Infamy) and Mexicans.

Never try to relive your childhood.

 

[Lumber]

^^
Thread de-rail.

When Disney+ came out I thought I'd look up some old shows that I loved as a kid. Lo and behold I selected Davy Crockett.

15 minutes into the movie I shut it off. 1960's Disney racism at its finest and the celebration of that genocidal maniac Andrew Jackson was just too much. Funny how they mob made Disney get rid of "Song of the South" while the Davy Crockett Movie was even more vile to the Seminoles, the civilized tribes (Trail of Tears Infamy) and Mexicans.

Never try to relive your childhood.

I watched Ace Ventura with some friends recently for the first time since I was a kid. Boy oh boy did that movie not age well.

 

[TacticalTea]

You guys should try some old Bond movies. May or may not be appropriate anymore in the Wardroom!

 

[FSTO]

You guys should try some old Bond movies. May or may not be appropriate anymore in the Wardroom!

I actually think the gratuitous killing that goes on in today's movies make the Bond ones seem pretty tame.

 

[TacticalTea]

I was thinking more of the blatantly sexist tropes!

But while you mention it, I do wonder if that gratuitous killing, especially in video games such as GTA, actually has an impact on mass murder occurrence. I know, I know, that correlation has been dismissed many times... but not with surgical efficacy. The fact that video games reduce, not increase violence has been demonstrated multiple times, sure, but there can also be a simultaneous, opposite effect on mass murders. The latter of which are, in the greater scheme of things, statistically insignificant and would not preclude an overall reduction in violent crime.

Anyway, I'm ranting here but I am inclined to believe some video games do present a source of inspiration for mass murderers.

 

[dimsum]

You guys should try some old Bond movies. May or may not be appropriate anymore in the Wardroom!

“Run along now; men talking.”

 

[RangerRay]

Interesting bit is that Rhodes is a graduate of Yale law school (though disbarred some years back). He’s not a dummy, academically, and certainly not ignorant of the law or the constitution. His choices were about as informed as they come.

Maybe it’s proof that even smart people fall for pseudo-legal and conspiracy theories too…?

 

[FSTO]

I was thinking more of the blatantly sexist tropes!

I knew that, but I love to toss curve balls and not respond to the dog whistles! LOL!

 

[daftandbarmy]

^^
Thread de-rail.

When Disney+ came out I thought I'd look up some old shows that I loved as a kid. Lo and behold I selected Davy Crockett.

15 minutes into the movie I shut it off. 1960's Disney racism at its finest and the celebration of that genocidal maniac Andrew Jackson was just too much. Funny how the mob made Disney get rid of "Song of the South" while the Davy Crockett Movie was even more vile to the Seminoles, the civilized tribes (Trail of Tears Infamy) and Mexicans.

Never try to relive your childhood.

I watched this one all the time as a kid... I am likely deeply disturbed as a result

Here Come the Brides​

Here Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970. It was loosely based on Asa Mercer's efforts in the 1860s to import marriageable women (the Mercer Girls) from the East Coast cities of the United States to Seattle, where there was a shortage.

Here Come the Brides - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Kat Stevens]

I watched this one all the time as a kid... I am likely deeply disturbed as a result

Here Come the Brides​

Here Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970. It was loosely based on Asa Mercer's efforts in the 1860s to import marriageable women (the Mercer Girls) from the East Coast cities of the United States to Seattle, where there was a shortage.

Here Come the Brides - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That was a great show!

 

[Brad Sallows]

Can't imagine being so fragile as to be incapable of facing anything from the past.

 

[dimsum]

Can't imagine being so fragile as to be incapable of facing anything from the past.

I don't think any of those examples mean we are incapable of facing stuff from the past.

 

[Brad Sallows]

I can watch stuff from the past without judging it, which seems to be difficult for a lot of people these days. (Although, I admit Stripes doesn't seem as funny as I remember it when I was a teenager.)

 

[Eaglelord17]

I was thinking more of the blatantly sexist tropes!

But while you mention it, I do wonder if that gratuitous killing, especially in video games such as GTA, actually has an impact on mass murder occurrence. I know, I know, that correlation has been dismissed many times... but not with surgical efficacy. The fact that video games reduce, not increase violence has been demonstrated multiple times, sure, but there can also be a simultaneous, opposite effect on mass murders. The latter of which are, in the greater scheme of things, statistically insignificant and would not preclude an overall reduction in violent crime.

Anyway, I'm ranting here but I am inclined to believe some video games do present a source of inspiration for mass murderers.

I think what has more of a effect is the severe decrease in socialization and community rather than any one specific source.

Historically people went to church, had clubs they were a part of, went socializing at the bars, etc. Kids were on sports teams, or theatre, or scouts, etc. they would also socialize and do things like bike around to random areas and do random things as groups.

Now everyone stays in, the kids tend not to socialize in person, and people are becoming more and more afraid because they haven’t seen what is actually outside their doors.

I blame the internet mostly, society I think would have been better off without it.

 

[quadrapiper]

Kids were on sports teams, or theatre, or scouts, etc. they would also socialize and do things like bike around to random areas and do random things as groups.

Not sure there's really been a decrease in kids' overall participation in extracurriculars. What seems to have shifted is the number of kids doing miscellaneous unsupervised things (biking around, e.g.), and, I think, the number doing single-focus activities (sports, music lessons, dance, etc.) versus broader-scope things like scouting, cadets, etc. The latter groups contain a variety of specialties, sub-groups, and selective opportunities, plus leadership and planning expectations/opportunities, in a way the former generally don't.

My gut says whatever unprogrammed time remains in kids' lives has shifted into staying at home, without, often, much expectation they take on household tasks, and with ready access to all sorts of diversions. I think there's a significant number missing out not only on free-form time with peers, but time away from their usual peers, family, etc., whatever that might look like in a given area.

 

[Lumber]

I can watch stuff from the past without judging it, which seems to be difficult for a lot of people these days. (Although, I admit Stripes doesn't seem as funny as I remember it when I was a teenager.)

I bought a collection of Clifford books for my 3 year old. I threw away the one about Clifford going to the circus because I didn't agree with how it portrayed the treatment of animals.

There's nothing wrong with growth and change. We've realized that things can be both funny and harmful, and we need to balance those two. We've come to understand is that even if a homophobic/transphobic/racist/sexist joke is objectively funny, including them in popular media (movies, tv, etc) with their wide reach can perpetuate negative stereotypes that en masse cause more harm than the laughs are worth. Ace Ventura is FULL of homophobia and transphobia. When Ace realizes he kissed a transwoman, it's like a 3 minute bit of him just freaking out and trying to get himself "clean". This perpetuates the idea that 1. trans people are disgusting, and 2. a hetero man kissing a transwoman (which they claim is simply being man, so even more transphobia) is also disgusting. Neither of these things is true.

Would I enjoy kissing another man? No. But do I want my kids to get the idea that if they kissed a person of the same sex (assume they are hetero) , or a trans person, that it would be so bad that they need to go wash out their mouths and cry in the shower? Definitely not.

 

[Eaglelord17]

Not sure there's really been a decrease in kids' overall participation in extracurriculars. What seems to have shifted is the number of kids doing miscellaneous unsupervised things (biking around, e.g.), and, I think, the number doing single-focus activities (sports, music lessons, dance, etc.) versus broader-scope things like scouting, cadets, etc. The latter groups contain a variety of specialties, sub-groups, and selective opportunities, plus leadership and planning expectations/opportunities, in a way the former generally don't.

My gut says whatever unprogrammed time remains in kids' lives has shifted into staying at home, without, often, much expectation they take on household tasks, and with ready access to all sorts of diversions. I think there's a significant number missing out not only on free-form time with peers, but time away from their usual peers, family, etc., whatever that might look like in a given area.

Another point I would make is the internet has in many ways made life harder for kids. When I went to school I grew up with the technology. Now they are just thrown straight into smart phones.

When I went to school if you had a bully you didn’t have to deal with them at home, it was a safe space. Now kids are bullied at school, and thanks to the prevelance of technology they can’t escape it. Kids will get groups of them to text, message, and harass them at home. If you block them they simply create another fake account to bother you with. Its not like they can simply abandon technology, for the majority of them that would make them even more of a outcast.

Lots of societal issues involved in technology and we still don’t have any of the answers to them.

 

[KevinB]

I bought a collection of Clifford books for my 3 year old. I threw away the one about Clifford going to the circus because I didn't agree with how it portrayed the treatment of animals.

There's nothing wrong with growth and change. We've realized that things can be both funny and harmful, and we need to balance those two. We've come to understand is that even if a homophobic/transphobic/racist/sexist joke is objectively funny, including them in popular media (movies, tv, etc) with their wide reach can perpetuate negative stereotypes that en masse cause more harm than the laughs are worth. Ace Ventura is FULL of homophobia and transphobia. When Ace realizes he kissed a transwoman, it's like a 3 minute bit of him just freaking out and trying to get himself "clean". This perpetuates the idea that 1. trans people are disgusting, and 2. a hetero man kissing a transwoman (which they claim is simply being man, so even more transphobia) is also disgusting. Neither of these things is true.

Would I enjoy kissing another man? No. But do I want my kids to get the idea that if they kissed a person of the same sex (assume they are hetero) , or a trans person, that it would be so bad that they need to go wash out their mouths and cry in the shower? Definitely not.

The Ace Ventura scene was taken off Crying Game, and in AV it wasn’t a total Trans as they still had a penis.
Next people will be complaining the villain was Trans too, and cause all sorts of other issues.