Cynical-Chick

Making a point.


And Viscous....*cracks up*


Maybe he doesn't like girls? *shrug*

Jinto

This is your problem: you go to a forum for self-described victims and then wonder why everyone there has or expects a victim mentality. Don't worry: not everyone is like that, you're just looking at a biased sample.

Now if only I could say the same thing about ChristianForums...

livius drusus

What studies might those be?

Teen pregnancies are hardly the norm in this country. For one thing, they have declined 19% since peaking in 1990, and for another, the overwhelming majority of them (79.2%) occur in 18 and 19 year olds. So much for the 5 children by 4 fathers before the age of 18.

As for the litany of adjectives, they sound like stereotypes to me, and as such are hardly realistic descriptors of people who live below the poverty line or suffer whatever other disadvantages Ms. Drake has in mind.

It's not.

This is a cliche presupposition worthy of talk radio, and does not reflect any actual societal consensus I have ever seen. I would like to see some real evidence that "society" excuses people who don't know right from wrong because of poor childhoods. I hear people complain about criminals being coddled all the time, but how often does it actually happen that someone is let off or gets a reduced sentence because of their pitiable childhood? This is the land of the War of Drugs, after all, and such excrescences as three strikes laws provide no discretion room whatsoever for even the most bleeding-heart sympathetic judges and juries.

The only people I see getting off scott free are the rich kids who either never get arrested in the first place or get daddy to make a few calls or if that doesn't work, hire F. Lee Bailey. I can think of several examples of people raised in extraordinary privilege who traffic in excuse-making and are constantly protected from the consequences of their illegal and/or anti-social behaviors. The current president of the United States with his disappeared DUIs and year long desertion from the National Guard sinecure his father had arranged for him so he wouldn't have to rub shoulders with the great unwashed in Vietnam leaps instantly to mind.

Then Ms. Drake should take responsibility for her assertions and provide evidence of these putative sociological studies. What were the hypothesis being tested? What were the conclusions? What methodology was employed and who employed it?

Daytime television is not an effective measure of societal trends. It is self-selectingly outrageous, choosing guests who are as annoying, bizarre and narcissitic as possible. Guests must not only inhabit the tiny little corners of any given bell curve, but they must crave attention to a degree that verges on mental illness. I do not accept that the Jerry Springer Show is a reasonable sample from which to draw conclusions on the state of the union.

Fine rhetoric, but I find that your friend's argument lacks specificity, relies pretty much exclusively on groundless assumptions and hot air. Usually such chest-beating is accompanied by at least one media-pimped story of shocking injustice. Of course even then it is ludicrous to extrapolate social trends from a single case, but Ms. Drake didn't even throw us that tiny bone.

But enough about her.

That's not society you're talking about. That's marketing. The studios who make so-called chick flicks do so because their hired team of survey experts assure them that even if (single) men avoid such movies in droves, a large part of the other half of the country (plus all their boyfriends, dates and husbands) won't. Not even the marketing gurus think that all women are going to like Jennifer Lopez's latest romantic, look at how many cute outfits I have offering, never mind society. They're just playing the numbers, and they're usually right.

I have to ask you, who has ever told you that you shouldn't understand sci-fi or IIDB level discussions? Society is an amorphous concept, and I know for a fact it doesn't actually say anything to anyone. I would like to see one single citation from a mainstream societal outlet such as the evening news, stating that 18 year old white females are on the whole incapable of grasping the challenges of science fiction and rarified internet discussion fora.

In other news, welcome to IIDB. Feel free to introduce yourself in The Lounge, if you are so inclined.

Division By Zero

Why does that matter?

excreationist

Cynical-Chick:
You accuse "society" of over-generalizing and expecting many things about you.... but you yourself are guilty of something a bit similar - you are lumping everyone together and saying that that is "society". You're being too black-or-white. Society is made up of many people including old people and really old people - and biker type people, and people who like hip-hop and gang-stuff, and those who like country music, and ultra-conservative Christians, and people from lots of different cultures such as conservative Hindu people, nerdy people (who can be cool in a way), goths, and new-age enthusiasts, etc.
Maybe the "society" you're talking about are high-school girls who tease those who make fun of Britney Spears. Or it could be some older person who assumed who liked girly pop music

So maybe lots of people don't understand what modern girls are like. But those that are in touch with reality would.

Sociological studies probably would show that most of those activities aren't very widespread... you don't seem very interested in portraying them very accurately.

You mean that over 93% of studies lie about the research they said they've done? I suppose it makes sense in a way, due to university students being lazy (but they'd risk getting kicked out of university).

Some of the things you say (like what I recently quoted) make you seem like a hypocrite.

Only some people would insist that... not society as a whole. You exaggerate too much - i.e. stretch the truth to try and be more convincing. It might work with some political speakers but it isn't very honest - yet you criticize other people (like sociological researchers and "society") for not being accurate.
You also seem to be kind of playing the victim in the opening post - expecting the sympathy of others (maybe).

Anyway, welcome to the infidels' boards.

Derec

What point?

Quote:

And Viscous....*cracks up* Maybe he doesn't like girls? *shrug*

Why shouldn't I?

Normally it doesn't, but it seems to matter to her, otherwise she wouldn't have mentioned here. And it seems that she views it as a superior state, with having 5 babies by 18 as an alternative. This might indicate an unhealthy attitude towards sexuality.

UMoC

YouWannaDoWHAT?

N'Sync, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys are aimed at 18 year olds? Wow. Even my 13 year old sister says she's too old to like them...

Cynical-Chick

That was one thread. I suggest you read the rest; we're freaky perverts.

Cynical-Chick

I misread that; thought you were saying you don't like virgins. I read it after an insomnia bout, so forgive me.


And I've noticed that's what many adults view teenagers as.

Jesus Tap-Dancin' Christ

You.