From: Jay Thomas (jay@thomas.vg)
Date: Sun May 13 2001 - 05:02:34 PDT
Jeff Bone wrote:
>
>
> Sigh. There's *so* much wrong with this whole thread that I don't
> even have the energy to get fired up and deal with it. My
> good-natured poke at Geege was just that; this Jay yahoo is makin' me
> mad, though. Briefly, just a few random mortar lobs...
>
> > I would *LOVE* to see this country go back
> > to a 1950's kind of Leave It To Beaver lifestyle.
>
> What a fucking nightmare. Jay, you realize that many, many people ---
> such as myself --- would equate the above with Hell itself, right?
Why? In what way is that Hell? Obviously, you and I have very different
ideas of the Beaver lifestyle. Growing up, my home was often very much
like "Father knows best". It was pretty idyllic. In another response,
Matt Jensen mentions the dark, seamy underbelly of 1950's America. Not
at all what I was talking about. Also, I don't want a return to
wife-battering, segregation or any other nastiness of that time. Or is
that what you thought I was saying?
> Jay, why the desperate need for the predictable, familiar,
> understandable, static, homogeneous, non-threatening, and safe? Why
> do you need those things so badly? The implication is that people who
> do not fit into your Leave It To Beaver mode are somehow negatively
> impacting your life. Why? How does it impact you *at all* if someone
Desperate? Not at all. I just want my kids to grow up in a world where
they're not bombarded with filth all day, every day. When you're
watching "family" tv in the afternoon with your kids, and an ad comes on
for an R rated movie that is so violent, my kid looks horrified, theres
something wrong with our culture. I realize people have a right to
advertise, but there is such a thing as an appropriate time/place. And
if they won't police themselves, the gov needs to set limits for them.
Not censorship, not forcing religion down anyones throat, just a bit of
common courtesy.
> else chooses to do non-LITB things that I assume you disapprove of,
> such as being gay, smoking weed, listenting to music you don't like,
> using language you don't approve of, frequenting strip clubs,
> whatever?
How does it impact me? Well, if it's not right in my face, it doesn't
impact me, and I don't care about it. Again, not trying to impose my
views on others, just don't want theirs forced on me. If there's a show
on I don't like, I change the channel. But if sweeping social changes
are implemented outside my house, then I do have to deal with it.
>
> IMO, THE major problem in this country today is that people are just
> too damned concerned with other people's behavior, when it's none of
> their goddamned business. The fucking GOP wants to turn back the
> clock to Leave It To Beaver, while the Dems just want to make sure
> everybody's PC, and want a program for everybody. Both parties just
> want to make sure that gov't is a good parent: GOPs want to be a
> "good moral authority and disciplinarian parent," while the Dems want
> to be a "good nurturing parent." But dammit, *why the hell* do we as
> adults need parental oversight? We DON'T!
It seems to me we actually do. Not that I'm thrilled with it all the
time either. But there are enough idiots out there who don't have common
sense, so laws are written. When you read the tag on the hairdryer that
says "Do not use in the tub", it's because someone did.
>
> Bottom line, "do unto others" and "mind your own fucking business" are
> things we all seem to have lost sight of. We all need a big helping
> of "be responsible" and "help yourself." Those who live in terror of
> how our society is evolving and wish to turn back the clock could do
> with a dose of "embrace change" and a dash of "don't worry, be happy"
> as well.
Not all change is positive. I have no problem embracing good change.
-- "You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig" -Clint Eastwood, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" 1967
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