Quote:
Originally posted by ARTelevision
Yes.
What I fail to understand is the need to defend the stuff.
I worked for one of the first underground comic publishers out of San Francisco. A lot of the stuff we produced was mind-numbing garbage intended for the diversion of drug-addled minds. In communities all over the country, people would picket "head shops" that sold the stuff because they didn't want their kids exposed to it. They weren't "idiots" and they were entirely right, of course. I still have a titanic collection of comic books. I have an affection for the medium. I have no problem stating that it is mind-dulling nonsense. But I like it.
Some honesty goes a long way.
Defensiveness goes nowhere.
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Would you NOT have defended the right to publish these comic books at the time? While 'defending' the games themselves seems trivial, the right to have them is defensible. It comes down to parental and personal responsibility.
To many of my parental peers, I was way too liberal in what I allowed my kids to view and play. They have loved the Simpsons since they were 4-they do not torment adults ala Bart Simpson. My son plays video games, albeit not the mature-rated ones, but he does not go around wreaking havoc or or jumping off ledges.
The desensitization of our youth happens, at least in part, because there is no discussion between the caretaker and child of what is seen before them. Too many young people witness real violence in their personal lives and if no one cares, they won't.
The 'leave me out of it' mentality is epidemic. Let's concentrate on turning our offspring back into caring, responsible people and these kinds of arguments wouldn't be necessary.