3.5.01

Man, what a weekend. Sopranos season three, bitch! Dammit, I love that show.

Not much to talk about today except for the school shooting near San Diego, CA. What the fuck? I don't understand these damn kids.

Is it all parental problems? I hate to blame it all on the parents because even if the parents don't really pay attention to the kid, he still has to have the mental capacity to realize that murder is wrong. But at the same time, if the parents aren't around, maybe that's just a catalyst to the kid feeling he's worthless. I mean, if the kids at school think you're a dork, that's one thing, but if your parent(s) aren't positive influences at home, that's something completely different. Talk about feeling like shit about yourself. However, there are plenty of kids who have had this situation in the past who have not gone on kill crazy rampages. They just got caught up in drugs and the occasional fist fight. Where did we turn the corner?

Personally, I don't think video games or movies have anything to do with it, in and of themselves. If someone is greatly influenced by these media types, it has to mean that they have a screw loose somewhere to begin with. No offense to the game companies, but it's pretty obvious that these are just pixels and that the world is not real. Movies, yeah, that can be a little more deceiving, but I still think that people are media-wise enough to understand that it's all fake.

That's not to say that I think a 14 year-old kid should be watching stuff like The Cell. First of all because it's a really bad movie, but secondly because it is very graphically violent. But I remember a time when that 14 year-old wouldn't be able to see The Cell because it was R- rated.

Whatever happened to the R rating? I remember when I was in Jr. High, circa 1988, that a friend of mine and I wanted to go see some movie, something like Young Guns 2, but the theater wouldn't let us in. We were with an adult, this guy's older cousin or some shit, but because she was not either of our guardians, the theater refused us entry. When did theaters stop doing this?

I know marketing of these films is being directed more at the young, teenage boy today. When did we decide that our kids were so grown up so quickly? Is it because they have such consumer power now? They all have allowances, after-school jobs, or get "guilt money" from their parents, but just because they have some money in their wallet doesn't mean that they are old enough to be able to handle the events in The Cell.

I would have to say the reason everyone markets to kids, whether it's really a kids' product or not, is because they are so willing to spend their money. I know when I was in high school, $15 for a CD was nothing. I'd buy three or four at a time and not even think about it. But then again, I didn't have a car payment or a house payment to make either. Kids are perfect consumers. They have money and they're very socially conscience so they'll spend whatever money is necessary to be considered cool by their peers. No wonder everyone is marketing to them. Hell, I'd market to them if I had a product and no scruples. And by constantly evolving what's cool, the industry is continually renewing its market. Fucking brilliant.

Ok, I'm getting off track here. What's wrong with kids today? Honestly, I do think that parents have a lot to do with how well adjusted their kids are. Not completely because as the old saying goes "it takes a village to raise a child." I totally agree with this, too. I know in my hometown that I didn't dare do anything stupid because someone would see me do it and it would get back to my parents and then I'd be in deep shit. With communities being so large today, and people being scared that if they try to reprimand some kid that he'll pull a gun, it's no wonder this aspect is waning.

Speaking of which, I can't think of a single one of these school shootings that happened in a small town. They're all pretty big places - Little Rock, Columbine, even Paduca is bigger than you'd think. You never hear of anything happening in a town with a population of 2000. And frankly, if you've ever lived in one of these towns as I grew up in, you'd know that things are just as bad there as far as the pecking order goes. Add into it the sheer boredom of living in such a small, remote town and you've got kids who are willing to do just about anything for a little excitement. Finally, these small, rural towns are filled with rednecks and farmers who still have shotguns and rifles in the home for hunting deer or fowl. I know I was raised around guns and my family really only hunted pheasant once or twice a season. I know kids who have been hunting deer since they were old enough to fire the shotgun without knocking them over. Us hicks know how to handle guns.

Maybe that's the problem right there; maybe kids don't really know what a gun is capable of. When I was in 4th grade, Dad got me started on a BB gun. The important thing was, even with something as minor as a BB gun, he still showed me all the rules on how to handle a firearm. Don't point it at anyone, even if it's not loaded; don't get the barrel in the dirt; always make sure the gun isn't loaded before you hand it to someone; make sure you're not going to hit anything or anyone if you miss the target; I was taught how to handle guns and respect them. I don't think that most kids in San Diego are taught to properly handle guns by their parents. They have no idea just how destructive they are. Maybe this is where TV and movies are to blame - I'll give the politicians that - but I still think that any kid who has seen RoboCop is going to get the idea that shooting someone is not quite the same thing as punching them.

I don't know. Maybe I'm completely wrong. In case you haven't noticed, I'm still trying to figure this one out. I wonder if I'll ever be able to get a definitive reason? Somehow I doubt it. If I do, though, would it matter anyway? Who would listen? Not the parents who are too busy working.

Well, that's it for today, kids. Space Monkey's gotta go workout.

Space Monkey