OT: President Obama's press conference and executive decision on gun laws

[inconsequential]

People don't think about how it desensitizes children. The first time I played God of War, I was shocked at the content and wondered how many people bought it for their 8 year olds without thinking about it. Kratos is NOT a good role model.

 

[Dorothea]

I remember how, as a kid, Mortal Kombat came out, where you actually killed folks at the end of each match in the game, and all the blood that came with that.

it's amazing how tame that looks now, compared with games today.

The first time I saw that on the news one night while I was eating dinner in my little apartment, I lost my appetite and had to turn the channel. It grossed me out that badly....especially the gross parts with removing the character's spine and all. DISGUSTING. Well, this small look into some games that were coming out had me prepared for when my stepson brought that game on his first summer visitation for us, and when he put it in (btw, he was only 7), he and his dad started to play it. As soon as I heard the demonic voice and remembered the violence in it, it gave me the chills and I told them to turn it off. That game was not to be played in our house. I said in future visits, these types of games should not be brought or played in our house. He heeded my words and didn't return the next few times he visited, with those types of games. Just borderline and some teen games. He had no supervision when it came to game selections. The first time we looked through the video game magazine, the first page was disgusting with people ripping people's hearts out, blood everywhere, and on the other page was an advertisement for a horrid game where a creature of some sort goes around and collects people's souls. Totally demonic, imo.

 

[inconsequential]

Then there is the "torture inappropriate content" genre of movies that are disturbingly popular.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

The first time I saw that on the news one night while I was eating dinner in my little apartment, I lost my appetite and had to turn the channel. It grossed me out that badly....especially the gross parts with removing the character's spine and all. DISGUSTING. Well, this small look into some games that were coming out had me prepared for when my stepson brought that game on his first summer visitation for us, and when he put it in (btw, he was only 7), he and his dad started to play it. As soon as I heard the demonic voice and remembered the violence in it, it gave me the chills and I told them to turn it off. That game was not to be played in our house. I said in future visits, these types of games should not be brought or played in our house. He heeded my words and didn't return the next few times he visited, with those types of games. Just borderline and some teen games. He had no supervision when it came to game selections. The first time we looked through the video game magazine, the first page was disgusting with people ripping people's hearts out, blood everywhere, and on the other page was an advertisement for a horrid game where a creature of some sort goes around and collects people's souls. Totally demonic, imo.

Never could dig the Mortal Combat Games - for even as a kid, the series freaked me out when seeing how much gore was in it ....and although the characters had cool designs and my cousin/I would draw them, I always got the feeling even while I was young that it was creepy/demonic. Never want to entertain that - but sadly, there are other games today that are just as damaging..


So glad you did what you did with your family - as I know of others that would've said "It's just a game" ...or gone as far as to say "Well games don't impact others spiritually/lead to violence" - even though I grew up in communities where the kids would gather crowds and the older teens would force the kids to get involved in fights/act like they were video game characters...using phrases from the games and treating it like entertainment and making us angry at one another. Don't miss it one bit and I'm surprised that it was allowed - and that even when talking on the power of games, people act as if it's no big deal (despite how they draw others into a world of fantasy/escapism that can be deadly - #6 ).

• Violence in Christian Gaming | Boundless Line
• Violence In Video Games - Social Relationships ... - Boundless
• Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions

 

[Gxg (G²)]

People don't think about how it desensitizes children. The first time I played God of War, I was shocked at the content and wondered how many people bought it for their 8 year olds without thinking about it. Kratos is NOT a good role model.

That game is truly horrible. The concept of challenging the gods/not accepting corruption from the Top Down is what attracted many - in regards to his coming against the Greek Gods even though he was a Spartan - but so much junk, both sexual immorality and excessive gore/demonic, was promoted throughout the game.

There are many other games besides that. ..although I don't have the mindset that all forms of violence in games are negative. Games like "Call of Duty" or the Halo series, Age of Empires, GoldenEye (from the James Bond series), Turok the Dinosaur Hunter, Ninja Gaiden Soul Caliber II-IV, Tekken, Street-Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, Mega-Man X and many others are amongst some of my favorites - and with many other games I've played with others, there was an understanding that self-control was always something we had to walk in afterward and could not blame others on for our lack thereof. We understood the dynamic of fantasy and how personality/connection with others made a world of difference..

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Then there is the "torture inappropriate content" genre of movies that are disturbingly popular.

What has happened with that entire industry is a tragedy and a grave injustice....

People watch inappropriate contentagraphy and it trains them to be violent toward women - yet there are no laws being made against inappropriate contentagraphy being banned even though it has been directly linked to numerous cases of violence (more here and here) and even Serial killer Ted Bundy mentioned in an interview with Dr. James Dobson conducted just before his execution that, among other things, inappropriate contentography played a role in making him who he was.

Someone once suggested with the gun control dynamic that all that was needed was an honor system where others did not have to register guns since they could be trusted. But I think having an honor system is something that can only be addressed fully when we realize that what we have present in the U.S is a culture of violence that thrives - and others bent toward being violent and finding ways of expressing that, regardless of consequences.

 

[Dorothea]

Then there is the "torture inappropriate content" genre of movies that are disturbingly popular.

Good Lord. That sounds very sick. Why do people put out this stuff? I think they are influenced by the enemy to put such stuff out, and all these gory and terrible video games are trying to be sold or are pushed on adolescent and young and mid teens. I do think it's evil.

 

[Dorothea]

Never could dig the Mortal Combat Games - for even as a kid, the series freaked me out when seeing how much gore was in it ....and although the characters had cool designs and my cousin/I would draw them, I always got the feeling even while I was young that it was creepy/demonic. Never want to entertain that - but sadly, there are other games today that are just as damaging..


So glad you did what you did with your family - as I know of others that would've said "It's just a game" ...or gone as far as to say "Well games don't impact others spiritually/lead to violence" - even though I grew up in communities where the kids would gather crowds and the older teens would force the kids to get involved in fights/act like they were video game characters...using phrases from the games and treating it like entertainment and making us angry at one another. Don't miss it one bit and I'm surprised that it was allowed - and that even when talking on the power of games, people act as if it's no big deal (despite how they draw others into a world of fantasy/escapism that can be deadly - #6 ).

• Violence in Christian Gaming | Boundless Line
• Violence In Video Games - Social Relationships ... - Boundless
• Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions

We don't tolerate that stuff in our house. At first hubby wasn't too aware of the video games and all and just respected my wishes, but when he saw the video game magazine and all, he called his ex-wife and asked her if she realized what their son was seeing and such. Her answer was along the lines of "Well, you can't live under a rock." So, no responsibility taken for what your child watches, plays, etc.? I found that upsetting at the time. But all we could do was what we could do while he visited. What he did at home, we had no control over. This was around 12 years ago.

 

[Dorothea]

What has happened with that entire industry is a tragedy and a grave injustice....

People watch inappropriate contentagraphy and it trains them to be violent toward women - yet there are no laws being made against inappropriate contentagraphy being banned even though it has been directly linked to numerous cases of violence (more here and here) and even Serial killer Ted Bundy mentioned in an interview with Dr. James Dobson conducted just before his execution that, among other things, inappropriate contentography played a role in making him who he was.

Someone once suggested with the gun control dynamic that all that was needed was an honor system where others did not have to register guns since they could be trusted. But I think having an honor system is something that can only be addressed fully when we realize that what we have present in the U.S is a culture of violence that thrives - and others bent toward being violent and finding ways of expressing that, regardless of consequences.

inappropriate content's being pushed on kids. If you haven't read the article I posted on the sexualizing of our youth, you might want to read about it. Although, I'm sure you are aware of this stuff.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

inappropriate content's being pushed on kids. If you haven't read the article I posted on the sexualizing of our youth, you might want to read about it. Although, I'm sure you are aware of this stuff.

It is sad that inappropriate content's being pushed on kids - and it's something makes me very uneasy for the times my own siblings live in (and later children). All the more reason to be viligant and helping others see the extensive damage/reach that inappropriate contentagraphy has and not take it lightly. I've even had it where I went back in review of some of the cartoons I used to watch - and whether it Disney films or films on Saturday Morning cartoons, I was shocked to see how much sexual joking/hidden language was present that I never caught...

With inappropriate content, it's not even from an internet perspective alone. Musical inappropriate contentagraphy has been pushed for a long time - with the things others listen to being extremely descriptive in the same way that a steamy romance novel is (another form of inappropriate contentagraphy that often gets overlooked because of how it's not as visual as online material..but girls eat it up continually).

Growing up in Urban/Hip Hop culture, I was always tripped out at the music videos that came out and how they were essentially acceptable inappropriate content videos - glorifying the thug life/gangsta culture and dehumanizing women and celebrating it.....and yet those same people would often condemn acts such as rape/incest. Haven't really tried to keep up with the videos for a long time - although I'll still research in my career as a Youth Worker/Human Services professional so that I can keep up...for it has never made any sense when people come in for counseling on inappropriate contentagraphy and sexual struggles and yet nothing is said on the music scene/that impacted the most.

At one conference I went to recently for Human Trafficking, they thankfully brought up the inconsistency when the government says they want to curb Traffickers in their activities/success - and yet images in the media are continually accepted that promote it like it's cool....one example being a pic of Snoop Dog on magazine cover going to a Music Awards show - with the two girls having leashes on them and him talking in his songs on being proud to be a pimp/having to control his girls. Culture celebrates that all the time - and yet somehow it wants to say how horrible it is that a girl is pimped/stolen from her family and kidnapped??!! I was dumbfounded.

The music alone creates a culture of people who are either criminals, deviants or lovers of violence - and yet people don't want to go after the roots of it. More was discussed elsewhere in #8, #71/ #76 as it concerns how much of the media has created others who love the criminal/prison culture and made them violent/prone to murder - and if you ever have the chance, there's an excellent documentary on the subject I think you'd dig..entitled:

• Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

Having had family/friends who've been killed because of the culture, it's always frustrating when you see so many in the high levels of government talk on gun control - and yet blantantly avoid that issue. There has to be a greater focus on seriously limiting the amount of sex promoted in youth-oriented media programming and ending the glorification of "pimp culture" in music, video games and the movies.

There cannot be change if those things keep getting a "free pass" - in addition to the proliferation of inappropriate contentography in addition to Lax federal and state enforcement of obscenity laws that has allowed a once back-alley inappropriate contentography industry to contribute to an unprecedented global trade in human persons and continue to make gentlemen into gorillas.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

If you haven't read the article I posted on the sexualizing of our youth, you might want to read about it. Although, I'm sure you are aware of this stuff.

Missed it (although I saw a brief mention of it once) and I would love to investigate the article you mentioned and add it on to the list of resources on sexualizing youth

 

[Gxg (G²)]

We don't tolerate that stuff in our house. At first hubby wasn't too aware of the video games and all and just respected my wishes, but when he saw the video game magazine and all, he called his ex-wife and asked her if she realized what their son was seeing and such. Her answer was along the lines of "Well, you can't live under a rock." .

Not getting what she meant when saying "You can't live under a rock" - as if having awarenes on things means promoting acceptance of them. Not a good stance on her part..for if you're going to say you can't live under a rock, cool - but that entails taking responsibility as much as possible so that junk doesn't happen under our watch and kids are destroyed/harmed.

So, no responsibility taken for what your child watches, plays, etc.? I found that upsetting at the time. But all we could do was what we could do while he visited. What he did at home, we had no control over. This was around 12 years ago

I can relate - as I experienced the same growing up in a blended family. My step-brother (4yrs younger than I ) would go between our house and his mom's home (and she didn't like us, nor was she saved to my knowledge). It was a continual battle of his being with us for sometime/trained one way and then going for a long time with his mom....and then coming back to us as if he was brainwashed to dislike us and think we were the enemy because we were not going to allow everything he wanted/got away with at his mom's house.

It can really be hard to take responsibility/enforce that when in a step-family.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I don't know why, but everytime I read a Dot post, I just think of this:

The first time I saw that on the news one night while I was eating dinner in my little apartment, I lost my appetite and had to turn the channel. It grossed me out that badly....especially the gross parts with removing the character's spine and all. DISGUSTING. Well, this small look into some games that were coming out had me prepared for when my stepson brought that game on his first summer visitation for us, and when he put it in (btw, he was only 7), he and his dad started to play it. As soon as I heard the demonic voice and remembered the violence in it, it gave me the chills and I told them to turn it off. That game was not to be played in our house. I said in future visits, these types of games should not be brought or played in our house. He heeded my words and didn't return the next few times he visited, with those types of games. Just borderline and some teen games. He had no supervision when it came to game selections. The first time we looked through the video game magazine, the first page was disgusting with people ripping people's hearts out, blood everywhere, and on the other page was an advertisement for a horrid game where a creature of some sort goes around and collects people's souls. Totally demonic, imo.

 

[Dorothea]

Not getting what she meant when saying "You can't live under a rock" - as if having awarenes on things means promoting acceptance of them. Not a good stance on her part..for if you're going to say you can't live under a rock, cool - but that entails taking responsibility as much as possible so that junk doesn't happen under our watch and kids are destroyed/harmed.

I can relate - as I experienced the same growing up in a blended family. My step-brother (4yrs younger than I ) would go between our house and his mom's home (and she didn't like us, nor was she saved to my knowledge). It was a continual battle of his being with us for sometime/trained one way and then going for a long time with his mom....and then coming back to us as if he was brainwashed to dislike us and think we were the enemy because we were not going to allow everything he wanted/got away with at his mom's house.

It can really be hard to take responsibility/enforce that when in a step-family.

Yep, I can relate as well. That's just about what it felt like for us, when he was actually coming to visit us, which was only twice, unfortunately. His mom, when the divorce first happened up to 5-6 years later, tried to erase his dad from his life, and didn't follow the visitation rules for the summer and all, but we could never afford a lawyer to counter that and such. The longest he stayed with us was back when he was 11, back in around 2001, was about 4 or 5 weeks (can't remember exactly, but I think he was supposed to stay 8 weeks during the summer...never happened), and he would go to church with us, and he learned through us about Orthodoxy, and he decided on his own that he wanted to be baptized. So, he was, and a couple who are friends of ours at that particular church, are his godparents, but there's no contact with them, even worse than us. Anyway, I always feels because he was baptized, that hopefully some day, he'll return to the Church. We saw him for a couple seconds back in June 2011 when we were down in the Shreveport/Bossier City area where he lives (the outskirts). We saw him at work. He didn't take the time to come and visit or take the time to set up time to see his step brothers or his dad (or me). It was very disappointing and it hurt quite a bit, especially for my oldest son. He remembered our stepson from his visit in FL when things were good. But we just told him to pray for him, and my son continues to do that and thinks about him pretty often. He just brought him up the other day. Anyway, we just continue to pray.

 

[Dorothea]

Not getting what she meant when saying "You can't live under a rock" - as if having awarenes on things means promoting acceptance of them. Not a good stance on her part..for if you're going to say you can't live under a rock, cool - but that entails taking responsibility as much as possible so that junk doesn't happen under our watch and kids are destroyed/harmed.

Forgot to answer the "live under a rock" statement. Basically she was saying we can't shelter our kids from these things. They're out there and all over the place and so why not allow them these things? Well, we didn't agree, obviously.

 

[Dorothea]

I don't know why, but everytime I read a Dot post, I just think of this:

I wasn't called "Miss Straight-Laced" from late teens to about age 20 by a group of boys for nothing.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Then there is the "torture inappropriate content" genre of movies that are disturbingly popular.

yeah, I have buddies here in Afghanistan that wanna get me into watching the Human Centipede movies. um, no. the thought of those movies makes we want to throw up.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Yep, I can relate as well. That's just about what it felt like for us, when he was actually coming to visit us, which was only twice, unfortunately. His mom, when the divorce first happened up to 5-6 years later, tried to erase his dad from his life, and didn't follow the visitation rules for the summer and all, but we could never afford a lawyer to counter that and such. .

Feeling you where you were going through. Erasing the father figure was what his mom often tried to do as well (as he was born out of wedlock). Not a good scenario.

The longest he stayed with us was back when he was 11, back in around 2001, was about 4 or 5 weeks (can't remember exactly, but I think he was supposed to stay 8 weeks during the summer...never happened), and he would go to church with us, and he learned through us about Orthodoxy, and he decided on his own that he wanted to be baptized. So, he was, and a couple who are friends of ours at that particular church, are his godparents, but there's no contact with them, even worse than us.

Anyway, I always feels because he was baptized, that hopefully some day, he'll return to the Church. We saw him for a couple seconds back in June 2011 when we were down in the Shreveport/Bossier City area where he lives (the outskirts). We saw him at work. He didn't take the time to come and visit or take the time to set up time to see his step brothers or his dad (or me). It was very disappointing and it hurt quite a bit, especially for my oldest son. He remembered our stepson from his visit in FL when things were good. But we just told him to pray for him, and my son continues to do that and thinks about him pretty often. He just brought him up the other day. Anyway, we just continue to pray

Praying with ya - and thankful that every good deposit makes a world of difference and sometimes people go through seasons of bitterness because of being isolated for so long. With my step-brother, he's not as negative as he was and he actually ended up wanting to stay with us at our house more than his mom - our guess being how the Lord rules our household and promoting him makes the environment more positive. And with him being exposed to other young adults/believers, it is something that allowed for more good memories. The impact of being raised between two homes is rough and hard to erase fully - but it makes a difference when the Lord is involved....and I'd not be surprised if your son came back/go more connected with others in the Church who may've been in similar circumstances and yet discovered how to process through that.

Again, will be praying for your own on that one..

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Forgot to answer the "live under a rock" statement. Basically she was saying we can't shelter our kids from these things. They're out there and all over the place and so why not allow them these things? Well, we didn't agree, obviously.

Got ya - and glad you disagreed, for that is something that makes a world of difference. Not being able to shelter kids doesn't mean (As you know) that one allows them to be exposed to everything if you're able to prevent it. I may not be able to keep the kids from being exposed to dirty joking and sexual perversity in highschool - but that doesn't mean they get to lock the doors of their room in the house where I pay the bills and get to listen to any music/film they want to.

Old school mindset being that teens living with their parents live in a benevolent dictatorship /monarchy- not a democracy - and no revolutions are allowed to occur without permission

 

[Gxg (G²)]

I don't know why, but everytime I read a Dot post, I just think of this:

I was thinking more along the lines of this - as she has a lot of gentleness and yet she's fierce at the same time: