Totally Not Bird Post
I'm sorry... But I'll warn you right up front that this post has nothing to do with birds, and it has no pictures. Nope... But I've fretted over this entry for days, and here it is...
Monday, there were three school shootings in America... Did you even hear of any? I won't go through all the horrid details of the shootings, but in LA, a 15 year old took a shot at a teacher, then shot himself in the head. 'Nuff said.
I wrote about this this type of stuff before, but it certainly bears another look...
Here's where I'm at... Sunday night I was trying to wind down, and switched to the Sci Fi channel and muted it. I was hoping for some campy junk and got something entirely different. The movie consisted of a mutant freak in a monster truck hunting humans. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know what you're thinking - it was just another gore flick. Except that it wasn't. The best description I can offer of the emotional impact of the movie was like watching a dog get run over by a car... for real.
Look, I'm no shrinking violet... Trust me... I've been around the block a few times. But that movie crosses a line. That imagery is the stuff we feed our young people, and it no doubt plays a role in the savagery of school violence and beyond.
What to do?
- Talk with your child/young adult.
- Watch what they watch.
- Listen to what they listen to.
- Play the video games they play.
- Read what they read.
- Get to know their friends, both virtual and real.
- If you see a problem, don't turn away... Get professional help.
- Finally, stop being politically correct and grow a spine! There are behaviors and media you wouldn't accept from me... Why should you treat a young person any differently?
Like I said, I'm sorry... 95% of this blog is devoted to birds, neighbors, friends, and family... But three shootings and that movie demand comment. I'll happily return to birds ASAP.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
Comments
Alan,
While I empothize and agree with most of your comments, I don't believe professional help is the answer to anything. Remember, most of our "professional help" grew up in this period of concern.
It is really not the media or schools, or anything else. Its the parents, and they have lost the knowledge of how to raise their kids.
I have to revert back to birds and how their parents raise them. Mamma feeds them from the day they hatch. She continues to feed and teach them how to fly. She shows them where and how to find and eat food. Even after their juvenile stages, she continues to feed them and teach them how be on their own.
Parents, these days have lost the knowledge of how to raise their kids. We might have to go back to the days of Dr. Spock to recapture some of these values.
If I could give the proper answer to how to raise your kids, I'd probably be rich by now. But the cause of all of today's problems with out kids, is because of our own ignorance and refusal to learn how to raise our kids.
Laws do not help nor does the media.
I'm afraid it's up to the individual parent. Mom and Dad. Just like the birds, they are the only ones to teach their kids right from wrong, principles, and ethical values. No one else can do that.
Cheers,
Harry "Gipper" Morris
West Palm Beach FL
561-965-6835
Posted by: Harry Morris | May 22, 2009 12:56 PM
Hi Mr. Morris,
Thanks so much for your readership and comment!
Thoughts...
* First things first... I couldn't agree more about the role of parenting...
* The problem is that parents can't be with the child 24/7. Parents can't always be on the subway, on the bus, in the school, on the playground, in the arcade, by the friend, etc... At least not all the time. And given today's technology, the kind of movie I described is absolutely ubiquitous.
* And children being children, they will explore. You never fooled your parents?
* Truth be told, some parents are more adept at parenting than others. Humans have this nasty habit of not being perfect, and some are less perfect than others...
* Finally, parenting aside, there is something to be said for the clinical definition of normal behavior... That is, behavior that is becoming to the well-being of the individual, the family, and as a result society in general. The movie I spoke of was abnormal in the extreme. Put another way, parents have enough to deal with... They shouldn't have to (and sometimes can't) fend off the dangerously vile.
Thanks again for your comment and readership...
CapeCodAlan
P.S... "Gipper" is a cool nickname!
Posted by: CapeCodAlan | May 22, 2009 8:56 PM