[HPFGU-OTChatter] Freaks and Geeks

[Lee Storm(God Is The Healing Force)]

[Susan]:
| I was in a video store with my children today and it was playing.
| After hearing profanity five times, I asked one of the workers to 
| turn it off. She mumbled at me.
| It continued and five minutes later it featured a screaming match 
| between a teenager and her stepfather, they were screaming 
| profanities, and she was calling him a big fat loser. 
| Before THAT, they were discussing menstruating during intercourse, 
| and "walking in on someone."

[Lee]:
And that's the state of most of the programming out there, I'm
afraid...Totally Disgusting!  Whatever happened to "Honor Your Father And
Your Mother..."?

[Susan Again]:
| I asked (again) that it be turned off. The manager responded "well, 
| it's on television." And an obviously impaired teenager said "yeah, 
| it's on tv."
| As if that made it okay.
| I repeated my request loudly (but courteously) several times, and 
| eventually the manager turned it off. 
| He seemed unable to understand my objections (there were children 
| down to age four in the store).

[Lee]:
Yeah, and some of what is called "Children's Programming" leaves much to be
desired, too.  It's amazing what the PTB in the networks deem acceptable
viewing.  If it's not laced or profused with profanity and disrespect and
dysfunctional characters, it's dumbed down to plots which require no
engagement of complex thought processes...or even non-complex ones.
Violence and swearing and misuse of normal English vocabulary seem to be the
order of the day.

I feel very sorry for conscientious parents who try to find age-appropriate,
wholesome things for their children to watch!  Glad I'm not a parent!

[Susan]:
| Am I out of step? Wrong? Does anyone else think this kind of stuff is 
| unsuitable for children?
| Unfortunately, my children have heard profanity at school quite a 
| bit, and the occasional DAMN from me and my partner (whereupon we 
| have to put a quarter in the jar). 
| But we eschew the words "stupid", "dumb" and "retarded" in our house, 
| and we do NOT watch commercial television.
| 
| Steamed,
| 
| Susan

[Lee]:
I sympathize and empathize with you!!!!  I have no children, but find myself
in the same position for myself.  What's really sad is when I find
something, movie or whatever, that has good story potential and is suddenly
ruined by an onslaught of profanity and/or violence and/or gratuitous sex
which do absolutely nothing to enhance the story and, for me, detract
majorly from it.

Well, Susan, My Friend, if you're out of step, I shall step beside you and
we can both be out of step together.  Shall we dance? (OOPS! Watch your
toes...didn't mean to trod upon them!) :-)

Seriously, I'm as out of step as you are in this regard, and proud of it!
The only reason I keep my cable TV is because Art likes having the History
Channel, we both appreciate having the Weather Channel, and there are times
when DSC and TLC show interesting things when they're not swamping us with
"What Not To Wear" and other things which should be on another network...

Which brings up another thought:
Have the minds of writers and network execs dried up so that real
programming has gone by the wayside, only to be replaced with things like
"BrideZillas," "Rich Bride, Poor Bride," and other such ghastliness?

Never mind...I'll stop here as this is a topic which really brings my BP up
as well as my hackles.

Lee (Who's Out Of Step And Proud Of It!!!)