I'm sure all of you are already groaning at the sight of my avatar even in this thread,
so I thought I'd clarify right away that any of my comments on this post are not meant or intended to be argumentary; in fact, I agree with Manga Artist 4 Jesus on many of these points. I just wanted to offer some thoughts and insight from another angle. (The areas where I <CLIPPED> your quotes was for length; I had to trim about 400 words from my post.)
Manga_Artist_4_Jesus wrote:I went to Decipleship camp this past week and it was amazing ... <CLIPPED>
I had never actually heard of "discipleship camp" prior to this post. The Campus Crusade for Christ had a camp that they went to, but they had simply called it a "togetherness camp" or something equally ambiguous. So I did some reading on the web about discipleship camps to see what they were all about.
I must say, it sounds like you had a great experience, and these camps sound like a great thing. I really wish there were such things for Pagan students, but unfortunately that's not possible. With God's help or not, it takes a lot to stand up and speak in front of that big of a group as a teenager, so I'm glad you were able to do it, and find the wonderful feeling that doing something like that gives.
he was talking about a school in florida and how they had this thing called gay day... <CLIPPED>
These are typically called "Day of Silence" days. Some GLBTQ groups still use the term "Gay Pride Day" when they wear black, but that term is usually reserved for the more open and proud celebrations, which also involve the rainbow-colored garments and flags. Wearing black is typically accompanied by silence - not speaking for the duration of the day. This is to show solidarity with those who
are not able to speak about their sexuality through fear, and to remind people that they do exist.
What concerns me in this newsbite is the inappropriate preparedness and handling of the event by that particular school district. Such mismanagement is, unfortunately, not uncommon in Florida public schools]individuals[/b] (not groups) who physically threaten or harass those who are wearing black.
<CLIPPED>...did you know that in an abortion clinic they dont call babys babys they call them specimines and fetuses
Yes, this is true. Abortion clinics approach the topic from a clinical standpoint, thus they use clinical and medical terminology. It is absolutely a dehumanizing process; for the most part, abortion clinics do not take a personal stance on abortion - the human interaction is done by the department or outside group that provides counseling when the woman is still considering abortion. Emotional attachment to the woman
or her unborn can interfere with the medical procedure and harm the woman as well.
and there was a woman working there who had to perform an abortion ... <CLIPPED>
(PLEASE NOTE - I don't approve of most abortions performed, especially those done as a means of birth control. It is irresponsible and morally inept. However, I do see a need for abortion clinics, so I have educated myself about how
proper ones are run and maintained.) There are all kinds of horror stories like this about abortion clinics. I obviously don't know the specifics about this particular case, but I do know that 25 weeks is a typical age for both the images on billboards
and for doctors to call a cut-off limit on abortions. It is a liminal stage where it is possible for the child to survive outside the womb, albeit with severe intensive care. That is part of the reason that most illustrations and photos are of either 24 weeks or 26 weeks and later; 25 weeks is a time of rapid development and the body literally changes by the minute.
About.com's Adam Healthcare has good, basic information and illustrations on that topic. These days, it is very typical for a clinic to provide
extra counseling to those more than 12-16 weeks into a pregnancy, with the hopes of weeding out those who are not personally endangered by the pregnancy. That's why almost all abortion legislation to date has still allowed for abortions for women whose lives are endangered by the pregnancy. After 20 weeks, the woman's body has begun to acclimate fully to the developing child inside her, and the physical and emotional risk of abortion is much greater.
Also, it is very typical for employees of abortion clinics to quit on the first day,
especially if they go into it with no real idea of what goes on or what abortions look like. It is
not pretty, and it is difficult for anyone - but especially women - to look at an aborted fetus of
any age.
If mtv said ... <CLIPPED>
I would not doubt it. I have watched MTV maybe once in my life, however, so I am not fully able to comment on their programming. I was not impressed with what I saw every time I was channel surfing, so I never stopped to watch a full program.
There are thousands of teenage deaths through suicide
This is also true. Most of these could have been prevented with a solid home life that fosters love and independence. Supportive and nurturing school systems and constructive, goal-oriented peer groups for the teen to participate in also reduce the risk of suicide. Teen suicides typically happen to teens who
appear fine on the outside but are especially adept at hiding their feelings, because they were raised in an environment that cultured that behavior. Also, in recent years, there has been a rise in teen suicide for teens taking prescription depression medication - even though there has been no scientific evidence to back the necessity for medicating teens or children for
any emotional problems. There are only rare cases of children and teens who actually
need medical intervention for their problems, because most are still in progressive stages of brain development. Only those with severe, noted developmental problems truly need medical treatment for emotional problems; the rest could be easily countered by an understanding and committed family and school system.
and so ya know what i personally think its time for action ... <CLIPPED>
You have a great start here on making positive changes in your life and in your generation. 9/10 of television
is garbage. I have now been without television for almost a year, because we cannot afford even the local channels. The only channels I miss are History, Discovery, Animal and PBS. I can read the news online, though sometimes it is nice to also have access to immediate, live news. Since I'm not about to pay $50 a month for five channels, it's not worth it.
And, even though you mentioned excluding anime, there is
a lot of anime that is garbage.
A lot - trust me, I'm one of the site moderators and maintainers for Media Miner's Anime site. While show-for-show anime tends to be of better quality in story telling and plot, they also have a lot of titles that I really do not care to even have on my screen.
However, making positive and educated choices in your television viewing and in other media that you're exposed to is one of the ways to start making a positive change in your life. I fully agree that, without supervision by parents who can say "no", children are far too influenced by what they watch.
One time last fall, for example, my husband and I were both disgusted by the sight of two girls, about seven or eight years old, walking alone and unsupervised along the road. One was dressed relatively normally in jeans and a t-shirt, but the other wore a low-cut v-neck blouse and a mini-skirt. She was dressed like something I'd see on "Charmed" or any other teen-pop-culture show. She didn't have cleavage to show yet and was trying to show it. And, while I commented to my husband that it was totally inappropriate, I realized that her parent may not have even realized it - walking through Wal-Mart lets one discover an abundance of such clothes in the girls' section. People need to be educated and informed enough to make their
own decisions, not simply follow what's "popular" on TV.