| Jul. 23rd, 2005 @ 02:45 am I give up on people. |
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How am I feelin'?:  irritated
Okay, it's time for me to FINALLY write my first real entry. And guess what?
It's a rant on current events. What else is new?
I was reading about a few things on MSNBC over the past few days, and have come to the conclusion that people are getting dumber. Common sense is just the opposite these days it seems.
First, there's the general queasy feeling I've been getting about technology lately. Apparently the Pentagon just developed a ray gun they want to use in Iraq as early as next year. Yes, a fucking RAY GUN. It launches a crapload of concentrated microwaves at people in order to breakup crowds in a riot. But of course, scientists are afraid things like change and watches (and basically anything a normal person would carry around) intensifies the gun's affects and can leave permanent burns.
Wonderful, ain't it?
Oh, but it gets better. Robots are getting more and more ridiculously advanced these days. I read the articles a long time ago, but I think some Japanese company came out with a new prototype robot that can learn and knows like some 40,000 phrases. And which phrase it comes out with is based on what it hears a person say. It essentially can carry a mini-conversation. EVEN WORSE, they look fairly life-like and the company says the next model will look even more like a real human. And WORSE STILL, another company, yet again in Japan, plans on making commercial robots that are basically servants for the elderly (I wish I still had the links for all this stuff, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find). Um, does this not sound like AI, iRobot, The Terminator, or The Matrix to anyone? I'm seriously waiting for the day the robots try and destroy us all. Stephen Hawking even said once that within 50 years or so, computers would be as advanced as the human brain. I'm scared!
But the scientists just keep doing weird shit, this time in biology. I'm sure plenty of you have heard about the recent breakthrough (though a breakthrough for what purpose, God only knows) involving the dogs that were killed. Then the scientists drained their blood. All of it. And then filled their veins back up with cold saltwater or some shit. And then replaced that with completely new blood. And the REVIVED THEM. And they WOKE UP. And according to what I heard, were pretty much fine (though my housemate said the dogs had muted personalities. They were acting kinda zombie-like). UNBELIEVABLE.
First robots, now zombies. What the fuck is next?
Politicians. Yeah, I know. NOW it's time to really be worried.
The PATRIOT Act was renewed today. Some Dems grumbled about it, but for the most part it passed smoothly, and a lot of the provisions were made permanent, with two (can't remember which) made semi-permanent, lasting 10 years. I understand the basic parts of the act, and I can sympathize with them. But I do not agree one bit with either the act as a whole or the way in which it was originally passed. A country that gives up some of its freedoms in the name of security deserves neither. Benjamin Franklin, perhaps our greatest founding father, said that. I think he'd be ashamed for his country with some of the powers specified in the legislation. And he'd be just as ashamed that this 900-or-so-page behemoth originally passed in the wake of 9/11 (can you say "sympathy vote?") in such an unprofessional rush that few senators or congressman had time to even read it! It's really a remarkable document, it is, and along with "Homeland Security" represents the finest lack of common sense our country ever had. Next time you're in an airport security checkpoint and the 20-pack of AA batteries you bought in the gift shop is taken from you as a "national security risk," just remember you have, among other things, the PATRIOT Act to thank for the total waste of money.
Robots, zombies, and politicians. All very dangerous things.
But nothing is as scary as the wrath of ... parents.
Yes, parents. Stupid, out-of-touch, hypocritical parents.
I'm referring of course to the recent attack on Grand Theft Auto, its upgrade (though I'd say downgrade) to an Adults-Only rating, and the inevitable follow-up attack on the ESRB (Entertainment Safety Ratings Board) and its whole ratings system. *Sigh.......* Where do I even begin? It boggles my mind really, how stupid parents (and politicians that back them) can be. First of all, videogames are not detrimental to a child's well-being, health, or what-have-you. It is a fun escape from the rigors of the real world, and I'd say that 99.9% of all children and teens understand that it is just a fantasy. Despite what parents think, children are not the drooling idiots they make them out to be. The only ones who are like that have a disorder or ... bad parents. And really, that's the crux of the whole issue here. Bad parenting. I've looked at the ratings system many times, and I think it is just as adequate as the movie ratings system, if not better in some respects. It's just that parents are too fucking lazy to look more carefully at the content their children are playing. The child asks for the game and the parent prolly says sure, and then grabs the game, doesn't really read the rating (why, it's James Bond, how bad could it really be?), and then throws a hissy-fit when they see their so-called "impressionable" child with his three friends shooting each other in the heads. Then, instead of admitting he or she fucked up, they bitch to the ESRB about "bad ratings" and "being devious to sell more games." The bottom line is, if you're a good parent, or want to be, there's this little device called the internet. You can look up games on it, and see if it's appropriate for your child. On a good computer, it could take five minutes. You can even buy it while you're there.
Phew, I know. It's tough work.
I also can't stand the double standard here in making GTA Adults-Only. Because of a third-party modification, of all things, that opens up *GASP* hidden sex scenes. Firstly, GTA was previously rated Mature. That means the people playing the game should be 17 and up. That means any hidden sex scenes shouldn't cause a problem because all the players would be old enough to handle such content. But NO, it did cause a problem. Why? Prolly because asshole parents bought their 12 year old son a Mature game because they're STUPID. Because they don't want their poor boy to be mad at them, or because they want him to just shut up about bugging them for the game. And their stupidity ruins it for everyone else that's already old enough to watch porn and buy Playboy. Or HAVE SEX THEMSELVES. Fuck, I hate people. The double standard, of course, is that because of a couple of hidden sex scenes few people have prolly ever seen in GTA, the game will be pulled from every retail store in America because the stores don't sell Adults-Only games. This will create a huge backlash for the video game industry in the order of several million dollars, and probably more as other games come under the gun. This could lead to quite a few lay-offs in the biz if it really has an affect.
Meanwhile, at the click of a button, not buried deep within a videogame at all, anyone in the world can visit a hardcore porn site and its thousands of brethren right here on the internet, at no cost, and without safeguard. And potentially much more vulgar and offensive than anything in GTA. But nobody yells at the internet. Those porn sites aren't going to lose millions of dollars. And also meanwhile, countless R rated movies have sex scenes in them. Any 17 year old and older can watch them. Nobody's pulling "Basic Instinct" or "Monster's Ball" off the shelves. "South Park" had an up-close shot of a giant clitoris. So why do parents and politicians keep attacking videogames as the downfall of society, as what rots their children's minds and turns them into Columbine killers? I wish I knew. But I also wish I could tell them all that videogames don't do these things. Videogames are not the downfall of society. The sad truth is, it's the unraveling of the family unit that does these things. It's children coming home to an empty house and $20 for takeout, not children having a home-cooked meal with their moms and/or dads and then going into the family room to play Doom, that end up having problems.
But the real bottom line is, in today's dark, fast-paced world of terrorists, wars, drugs, mega-corporations, TVs with 500 channels, the internet, the Channel 10 News, Cosmo and Maxim, movies, sports, fast-food, cellphones, iPods, school, clubs, friends, parental pressure, puberty, and BAD PARENTING ...
Why are people still kidding themselves that they're protecting their child's innocence? Why do they care? What parents should do is stop going out, fighting for their children, and JUST BE THERE FOR THEM INSTEAD. Because when they're grown up, their innocence long since lost, that's what they'll remember, and that's why they'll always be thankful. |
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