I'm going to do the same snipping with your post to avoid having a massive wall but first I'm going to tackle this specific paragraph. Now I agree with you 100% that parents should control what their kids see and that the government should keep their noses out of what they find offensive because most of their opinions are irrelevant due to not being a part of the actual present culture for quite some time. But this isn't something that happens in the privacy of one's home. This is a public place where children will be (and be there often) and some parents simply aren't ok with that. You might say that's hypocritical, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen parents with kids look at movie posters or video game boxes and say things like "This is disgusting" or "How can you show this kind of stuff in public?" People are easily offended. This is more of a matter of trying to not have to deal with parents raising their own kids...Zom-B said:
I know it doesn't make much sense, but I prefer keeping the peace over causing outrage for no reason. Controversy is very important, especially in today's society which is (thankfully) moving away from the outdated and backwards world of Conservatism where they feel like banning things is easier than having people choose for themselves in order to gain the votes of older people who are out of touch and easily offended (and yet claim to be for small government but that's a topic for another day). But I only believe that controversy is appropriate when... well, it's appropriate. For instance, gay pride parades are controversial to some people (read: bigots) but we live in a time where gay marriage is still considered wrong by (unfortunately) a very large amount of people. What they're doing is putting people in an uncomfortable position in order to bring up discussion. I find that completely appropriate. However, what is Catherine trying to prove by doing this?
Change can happen, but when you try to force it for no reason, you prove nothing. I try to look at the opposite side when I look at this. On our side, we see that the society that we live in is moving away from a backwards, overly religious, and easily offended one and turning into a more accepting and reasonable one where people are learning to raise their own kids rather than having everyone suffer through censorship in order to keep their children "safe." The opposing view, though, sees our side as sinful and evil and indulgent in earthly pleasures (don't laugh, I've actually heard people say this kind of stuff) and that we're trying for nothing more than shock value.
What I'm trying to say is this... we live in a backwards society. America obviously has it's priorities all wrong. But forcing sexuality into places where it doesn't need to be proves nothing and only sends a message that we are merely just trying to offend everyone to get a reaction. Change is gradual, but it can and will happen and it's happening a lot faster than it has before. It's silly to us now, but society is stubborn and doesn't like thinking for itself.
And throughout this, I've just assumed you were American which might not be the case, but it is the case for me. I'm from Tennessee, so I'm right in the Bible Belt. Wikipedia says that Nashville (more or less where I live) is "sometimes referred to as The Protestant Vatican." I see and deal with the kind of people who would sue over a nip slip every single day. This would not go over well with these people and while I understand that they aren't everyone, they make up a good majority of the population. We have to let new ideas grow on people, and we'll meet people who don't want to listen, but like I've said, change is gradual and more people will listen if we actually sit down and let societal change happen instead of trying to shove it in everyone's faces. While that does work at times, I don't feel like having a video game with sexual content on its box art sends the best message or will work in any positive way.
