Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Frumple]

I think there's a lot of variation in attitudes between school systems, and local politics also play a very large part in just how much crap schools are able to get away with.  It seems to me like the more rural the school is, the more likely it is to be fucked up.  But I wouldn't quite call my experiences a normal thing to be happening at your average school.

It's... definitely regional, yes. I've heard some goddamn horror stories coming from urban areas, too, though. There's at least one (fairly large) city in Florida I will now no longer even pass through, ha. Though I actually don't quite remember which one it is at the moment... either a J or a G, one of the larger-ish ones. Don't think it was gainesville, though. Maybe Jacksonville.

Same time, well, family's involved in education. Madre was special ed for a number of years, been doing adult ed for a while now. Small town, but she's networked pretty well outside of it at points over the years. Others in other places... one was a principle for a while. Carpooled with a dude who was involved with... whatever the word is, safe housing for "troubled" kids sorta' thing. They've got friends, I've been around it and interested to a cursory degree for... a long time. Got a little more interested for a bit (years back, now) during one of the pushes for more private schools, picked up a bit more understanding around then (though that's a bit rusty at this point). S'just. There's a reason many/most schools have a school counselor, and there's almost always a lot more going on in the kind of background of things than most people are actually aware of. Absolute numbers and percentage of population wise, nasty shit (of varying sorts) going on is pretty small, but it's also pretty damn pervasive.

[AlleeCat]

Anyway can society as a whole just admit that we like violence already? I'm so sick and tired of people pretending they hate it while practically jacking off to it when no one's watching.

I like fictional violence, but I hate real-life violence. As much as I talk about hurting people I didn't like, I still would probably never actually do it if given the chance. Unless it was a really drastic circumstance, like self defense or defending someone else.

[Pnx]

Anyway can society as a whole just admit that we like violence already? I'm so sick and tired of people pretending they hate it while practically jacking off to it when no one's watching.

I like fictional violence, but I hate real-life violence. As much as I talk about hurting people I didn't like, I still would probably never actually do it if given the chance. Unless it was a really drastic circumstance, like self defense or defending someone else.

I'm pretty much the same, I'm very pacifistic when it comes to real life violence, but I thoroughly enjoy a lot of violent games (I'm less keen on violence in other forms of fiction, though I feel it serves a dramatic purpose). The main reason I like violence in games is because it's a very good means of competition, and I often enjoy a bit of friendly competition, to me games that involve shooting people aren't really about shooting people, they're high intensity games of bullet tag with intricate rules.

Though I know a fair bit of the world feels differently.

[Lagslayer]

Anyway can society as a whole just admit that we like violence already? I'm so sick and tired of people pretending they hate it while practically jacking off to it when no one's watching.

I like fictional violence, but I hate real-life violence. As much as I talk about hurting people I didn't like, I still would probably never actually do it if given the chance. Unless it was a really drastic circumstance, like self defense or defending someone else.

I'm pretty much the same, I'm very pacifistic when it comes to real life violence, but I thoroughly enjoy a lot of violent games (I'm less keen on violence in other forms of fiction, though I feel it serves a dramatic purpose). The main reason I like violence in games is because it's a very good means of competition, and I often enjoy a bit of friendly competition, to me games that involve shooting people aren't really about shooting people, they're high intensity games of bullet tag with intricate rules.

Though I know a fair bit of the world feels differently.

I agree with BFEL. It doesn't matter which culture you come from, they are all obsessed with violence. It feels good to mete out punishment to those who wrong you. It feels good to see that punishment handed out. Violence makes a good conflict for storytelling. The most focused on moments in history are violent at their core. Violence is fast and decisive, in a world where other forms of justice are often slow and ineffective. The very fiber of our being is wrought with violent instinct.

For better and for worse, Humans are largely creatures of violence. No amount of conditioning is going to change that.

[Frumple]

There's no justice in violence, LS. Justice requires reparation. Repayment, some form of correction or renumeration for a wrong. A payment towards restoring a net balance of good. Violence is at best unconnected to that, and all too often precludes it entirely. And a payment of flesh is only payment if it's being fed to someone, generally. It's definitely much quicker than justice ever is, though.

And I'd say we're very much not largely creatures of violence, though we do have a small core of it, just like any other animal. It's something we often go to great lengths to avoid -- nearly everything does, if for no other reason than violence almost always takes more energy or resources than other options. It's just something we readily turn to when desperate. Remove desperation and you remove most (if not all) violence. It's not a very complicated thing. Feed and shelter a person, take from them fear and give them avenues for happiness and neighbors who are in the same situation, and the one that will turn to violence is incredibly rare. It takes no conditioning to minimize violence. Just good conditions.

[LordSlowpoke]

no amount of conditioning is going to change the fact humans are violent, so we might as well drop the conditioning altogether and go back to good ol' strength = power equation which gave us such marvelous inventions such as wholesale murder, the entire concept of a patriarchy, rape being a "privilege" of the person in power, the list goes on

right?

[Arx]

Unrelated sad:
I went to bed last night. Right Ear: 100% Functionality.
I woke up this morning. Right Ear: 50% Functionality.
I tried five different things that should have helped. Right Ear: 25% Functionality.

Tomorrow may hold a visit to the doctor to dewax my ear.

[MaximumZero]

I shall rule you all with my iron fist!

[Xantalos]

no amount of conditioning is going to change the fact humans are violent, so we might as well drop the conditioning altogether and go back to good ol' strength = power equation which gave us such marvelous inventions such as wholesale murder, the entire concept of a patriarchy, rape being a "privilege" of the person in power, the list goes on

right?

This reminds me far too much of my last year English class. I think I managed to convince them into advocating killing almost all humans in order to rebuild civilization by the end of the year using logic such as that.

[Sinistar]

We might have carried over that core of violent behavior from our animal ancestors. However, I would argue that the difference between violence in the nature and that what humans do is - we recognize violence. The animals kill for survival. Be it killing for food, mating privileges, self-defense etc. Even when animals attack for seemingly no reason, there are instincts that drive them, together with intelligence they posses and use to analyze their surroundings and given situation. My stand is they do not recognize violence as driving force behind such actions.
At least not the way humans do. First step we made is realizing the sole existence of violence. Then the discussion of how to either avoid or apply violence in ways that are not in line with our instincts took place. And so we apply violence over ideas, imaginary concepts or even if just for the sake of feeling good.

Just my two cents.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Based on our ratings structures, and what kind of stuff you see in the supermarket magazines, it seems like America favors violence and alcohol and Europe favors sex and pot. Just in general. Am I totally missing the mark there?

[MagmaMcFry]

As far as I've seen, America is kinda more in favor of pot than Europe, and I wouldn't say that there is a lot of difference between America and Europe in terms of alcohol.

[Frumple]

States favor sex quite a bit, too. S'just maybe a bit more hypocritical about it.

[SalmonGod]

A bit more hypocritical about all of the above, except for violence, I think.

[GiglameshDespair]

There's also a very booze-based culture in Britain. Most culture for teenagers and young adults is 'get very drunk, have drunken sex, repeat ad infinitum'. It's considered good if you can't actually remember what you did, which always seemed very stupid to me.

While the pub was always a social centre, it didn't used to be a place for getting trashed; you'd have a few drinks, sure, but you wouldn't get really drunk. Now it's based upon getting really drunk in homogeneous pubs. They're losing their character as big brands take them other. They all have the same sort of feel - it's an industry rather than a living now, if that makes sense.