Reliable Source: Internet addiction and Michael Bay

[faselei]

There is no way this needed to split into five pages. Just making me load more

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

"American scientists are already looking at FBT as a cure for other deviant childhood behavior such as hyperactivity (ADD), depression,..."

Huh... Its funny that the Escapist would risk a sever Defamation Lawsuit by publishing this statement.

It is extremely prejugdicial (which is also considered illegal in most countries) to make such a claim in jest. Its like publishing racial slurs and expecting it to be "OK".

I find it entirely offensive.

Hi Joe, thanks for reading my column. The feedback I've gotten here has been great, but I know not everyone is going to appreciate some of the humor or imagery.

It can be hard to interpret an author's intention, especially when they're attempting to create a scene that is not only poignant, but funny. Obviously, not everyone is going to see the situation the way I do. My point was that it angers me that Chinese parents are trying to solve teenage growing pains with what are essentially boot camps with corporal punishment. Does beating someone solve mental disabilities or the desire to escape a future where you are forced to work in a garment factory for 10$ a month? No, it even aggravates the problems in most cases, right?

Most recently a teenager in one of these camps was beaten to death in one of these ?tough love? camps. That?s what gave me the interest and fueled my anger at parents who would rather farm out their children to an institution than help them by being understanding. After all we all had plenty of problems we outgrew as we got older.

China and the rest of the world, have a lot of problems with substitute parenting. It's humor, but it doesn't make the situation any less important. I think as someone who is sensitive to this particular issue your job is not to have a knee jerk reaction every time these issues are mentioned. It weakens your position and trivializes your cause when you argue semantics with people who are essentially agreeing with you.

-Seth N. Abel

 

[joe_dracos]

Hi Joe, thanks for reading my column. The feedback I've gotten here has been great, but I know not everyone is going to appreciate some of the humor or imagery.

Thanks for responding.

It can be hard to interpret an author's intention, especially when they're attempting to create a scene that is not only poignant, but funny.

It is difficult to communicate efficiently through a written media alone. Unless you are righting a novel or short story their is no way to communicate the inflection of the words in question. Thats what makes touching on a subject such as this difficult. While humour may have been the intent, and most people who have never delt with the issue will see it in a different light then what was intended. Unfortunately the bulk of society currently believes that these deseases are infact caused by bad parenting or bad behaviour. Teachers have been trained to keep an eye out for ADD. Unfortunately similar deseases can take 10 years to get a diagnosis and that could leave the unfortunate victim's life in shambles.

Obviously, not everyone is going to see the situation the way I do. It angers me as a gamer that Chinese parents are trying to solve teenage growing pains with what are essentially boot camps with corporal punishment.

Unfortunately that is a part of chinesse culture (disapline and respect for family is extremely important) and their culture has yet to evolve to a point were they find another way to inforce these beliefs (largely thanks to centuries of outside repression and interferance). While it is angering, their is nothing that we can or should do (from a moral standpoint). One day their culture will shift, but we can not force them to change just because we want them too. Its a huge moral dilema.

Does beating someone solve mental disabilities or the desire to escape a future where you are forced to work in a garment factory for 10$ a month?

Just remember that most of the products made in chinesse sweat shops are owned by companies who would rather pay that miniscule amount instead of paying one of the citizens within their own country 10 dollars an hour. However, this really wasn't my problem. Further down I will reply to this.

Most recently a teenager in one of these camps was beaten to death in one of these ?tough love? camps. That?s what gave me the interest and fueled my anger at parents who would rather farm out their children to an institution than help them by being understanding.

The parents suffered more consiquences then lossing their son (I assume the child was male concidering Chinesse culture) and now their entire family line has been put in jeapordy (they actually really care about this). Not to mention that China does not have anything like old folks homes, it is the responsibility of their oldest male child to take care of them in their old age. They have essentially destroyed their future. While this does not have a large effect on us (our culture is vastly different), it does have an effect on them.

I think as someone who is sensitive to this particular issue your job is not to have a knee jerk reaction every time these issues are mentioned. It weakens your position and trivializes your cause when you argue semantics with people who are essentially agreeing with you.

While my reaction may have been knee jerksih, I didn't just simple slap a huge "I HATE THIS ARTICLE". I zeroed in on the focus of my anger, I identified my problem with the line in question and I fully explained the issue I have with it. Since it was suggested out of hand that depression and ADD (mood disorders) could be treated with a simple beating. The line even reinforced the idea that they are behaviour problems. While it was a joke with no intention of harm, so was racial jokes 30 years ago. I'm not saying that you shouldn't make light of the subject, you just have to do so with the appropriate amount of tact (watch the DVD Titus (any season)). Its not semantics, it is an important definition for those who have the desease(s).

As I've said before, all that joke does is reinforce the stereotypes and THAT trivializes everything these people... and (as you probably have already deduced) that I go through on a daily basis. So I'm not just some churchy-do-goodder nut job sounding the trumpet and flying the colours, I have a reason to complain and a position to base my complaint from (bipolar type II). Though I may live to regret this admission.

I feel it is YOU (capitalized for enphasis not anger) who has trivialized the desease (and those like them) by not only reinforcing the stereotypes but attempting to minimize my possition. If the joke had been properly phrased I probably would have laughed. You do not know the kind of harm you do to people with these desease by suggesting it is their fault (even if you didn't mean to). It is VERY (again, caps for enphesis) important for all people to realize that when somebody with a mood disorder does something out of character that it is the desease influencing them.

Again, thanks for the reply, but I am still angry.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Hahaha Fatal Bling accident. That's a really common ailment around here, let me tell you.