huh?

Sad, but true.

This really has been painfully obvious decades ago, society is on a very clear and direct path directly south of reality and logic. Mark my words, your neighbors won’t be so “Civil” when then electricity and water have been out for like 6 months and the local Wal-Mart’s shelves are bare. You can’t miss the habits and traits of a species in the middle of an over-populationhabitat-destruction crisis. What’s morbidly hilarious is how many people continue to ignore or dismiss the growing signs of imminent collapse. A strain here, a creak there…is that a dribble of water…?….NAHH, couldn’t possibly be. ; )

We live in a society of instant gratification, so what can you expect? What I’ve seen mostly the last few years are people with no patience and a huge sense of entitlement. It’s like watching a bunch of spoiled, whining three year olds in adult bodies. It seems like when parents stopped being allowed to physically discipline their children (and I don’t mean beating them senseless), the world went to hell in a handbasket. The kids who grew up fearing no one because of lack of consequences have grown up and this is what we’re stuck with.

Yes, its true.Two examples:Last week I was backing out of a parking space at Woodlawn, got half-way out, and a car came around the corner. Did they stop and let me finish backing up? No, they sped up and swung out wide around me. Yesterday on Vernon a garbage truck was pulling ahead out of Freeman’s, getting set up to back in and get some trash. Some bitch in a green car pulls onto Vernon from Quinpool as the truck is half way into the street and moving forward? What does she do? Honks her fucking horn and speeds up.WTF?

Does anyone else find it ironic that the OP is bitching about people being too stupid, yet he or she uses the term “stupider”…

“Stupider” isn’t in my dictionary, nor the online version I regularly consult. And since you’re so bright, I guess you know that a sentence is supposed to start with a capital letter, right?

You anal fuckers…correcting spelling here on this form…why don’t you print off this page and stuff it up your ass…unbelievable, does it make you feel smarter to correct people, or since it is not correct are you not smart enough to figure out what it means ?

Scott brings up an interesting point. More and more frequently, people are too lazy to express themselves clearly, assuming the person they’re speaking to is “smart enough to figure out what it means.”This is why you hear so many people peppering their speech with “y’know what I mean” — because they know, or suspect, they’re not expressing themselves clearly, and they’re hoping like heck the person they’re speaking to (sorry, “to whom they are speaking,” for you nitpickers in the crowd) can figure them out.I suspect that a lot of people who use “y’know what I mean” like a verbal punctuation mark really don’t know what they mean, or how to express their thoughts. They’re leaving it up to the people on the other end of the conversation to figure out what they’re trying to say. And that’s just pathetic. And, yes, Newsgal, sentences should begin with a capital letter. My finger slipped in my original post. Perhaps you could focus on the larger subject — a general decline of intellectual standards — and stop nitpicking.

I agree Scott! These grammar police are not only anal fuckers, they’re also dead boring! Newsgal, why so agressive?! If you’re going to pick on someone, atleast find something besides an uncapitalized word or tiny grammatical error to give reason!

I didn’t think I was being aggressive. I simply wanted to point out that if you’re going to make sweeping generalizations about the decline of intelligence of society at large, perhaps you should make sure you don’t use words like “stupider” and start your sentences without a capital. Seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black…

I love how improper grammar is used to correct someone else’s grammar…the comma (,) is one of the most incorrectly used items in grammar. Newsgal you should be using the semi-colon (;) to indicate pauses or breaks in sentences. I for one am unabashedly guilty of abusing the ellipsis or better known as (…) 🙂

*sigh* So close to a rational discourse between civilized adults with opposing viewpoints on an interesting topic. So close.

Shut, the fuck, up…already!

newsgal you should fuck off…seriously who gives a fuck… get a job as a TA or editor if you wanna correct spelling or grammar…but seriously fuck off… spell checking an online forum is useless… but if you want to do something useful you could go fuck your self you anal retentive know-it-all spellchecking bitch

T, I think you need to relax. Why let a silly little exchange about grammar get you all worked up like that?

yo T chill out really. Go have a Timmy’s , reflect, relax!

I don’t think anyone purposely hijacked the post…I think it is just a symptom of the frustration with Newsgal and her ilk constantly pecking away at minor and useless issues and wasting everyones time. Rather than comment on the OP she decides to focus on oatmeal when the steak is on table…Back to the subject; I think it is a confluence of many stressors on the population that are not being addressed. The rising cost of life with the rising cost of taxation and the rising suspicion that we are definitely NOT getting what we paid for in terms of service from the Municipal, Provincial and Federal governments. The widespread knowledge that our judicial system can no longer protect the innocent and punish the guilty; let alone ensure a safe and viable environment to raise children that are not terrorized by youth gangs and rampant young-offenders.Let’s not forget that many kids are raised with the practice of “you are absolutely special” which only imparts a wrongly felt sense self entitlement. It’s time to re-allow spanking and put some teeth into the young offenders act so that these monsters that are presently being raised have an understanding of responsibility and community awareness.

To continue the discussion: How about starting with not allowing your kids to wreck/ruin stuff in the grocery store? You’re teaching them that the staff are there to pick up after them, and that the things of value (people buying and selling them) are there for their own amusement. You needn’t even spank your kid, just stop their action immediately, admonish them and take them out of the situation if necessary. Also admit that kids (yes your kid) do foolish things and need to learn from the situation. Do not march into the school/grocery store/playground and tell everyone what an angel your child is and how everyone is out to get your kid. Same for yourself. Admit humility from time to time. Belong to some organization that fosters belief in something bigger than self-interest, that reminds us to be humble from time to time, and to think of someone other than ourselves once in awhile. Treat others like you know them personally, and rise above any nonsense, treating others like you would like them to treat you (or your mother!)Celebrate people who do rise above the fray. I make it a point to report GOOD Service. Employers tend to treat everyone the same now – even tips often get split evenly amongst employee. Good people tend to get lost in the shuffle. Don’t give up on the idea of community. I for one chose to join this forum, instead of any one in the world, because I like to hear about the people in my town and contribute to and shape it’s voice.Just a thought….

lmao @ “you’re so childish… don’t talk to me or I’M TELLING”… Irony rules.

One thing I do think is getting worse (and I could be wrong) is the relationship between kids and adults. I’m not old, but I can remember myself and my friends not being allowed to get away with half the stuff kids do nowadays! There seems to be some sort of role reversal happening lately, and I think the media plays a huge role in this. Since when has it been cute for a child to be a bossy, precocious, status-aware, back-talking mini-adult? If I got cheeky with my parents, I’d be grounded or have priveleges taken away. It sucked, and I rebelled a fair bit sometimes, but looking back I’m glad I had some structure in my childhood and was taught to treat others with respect. It can be very hard to be a little kid; they’re people too and I think they should be respected.. but I cant help feeling like there should be more limits.

I agree with NMH – there has definitely been a decline in the whole child/adult relationship. I’m not that old either, but I remember as a child being scared of my parents to a certain degree. Not that they were physically going to punish me for bad behaviour – they never did – but that they were going to yell, take away my television or phone privileges, or worse – tell me how disappointed they were. Young people today don’t seem to have that element of fear.And for the record – yes, I did start this post by saying I agree with NMH!

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but it seems lately like kids are the new fabulous accessory to have. A-holes I know who a few years ago couldn’t care less about kids are all of a sudden reproducing like rabbits… seems suspicious.

I will stil continue to post, couldn’t give a shit about the rest of you.

There has to be a middle ground between the abusive practices of the past and the overindulgence of today. I know the fear of being grounded was always enough to keep me in line because my parents were MERCILESS. They would take away every single thing I had that was fun or interesting, and eventually I was left alone in my room with nothing but homework to keep me occupied. I never felt that I was being abused, or my self esteem was being threatened – I just did my homework so I could get my stuff back.

qwerty I agree too. Violence doesn’t solve anything especially trying to teach a kid the right way. I think you’re parents did the right thing rather than resorting to spanking etc. Bravo to your parents.

I think the internet has something to do with it, too. It’s a familiar formula: annonymity + audience = asshole. Ten years ago, I was astonished at how people were so hateful to each other on the internet. The internet has become so ubiquitous that for some people it’s their main form of human interaction. I think it was inevitable that eventually that online attitude would begin to bleed into real life.

Whenever society moves in one direction (ie away from corporal punishment), there’s always a big push to keep things the same. Progress happens, though, it’s inevitable.

No, I think my computer just spazzed and I freaked a little… sorry for the interruption…

qwerty again i agree with you. this sort of takes away from individuality doesn’t it.

My mom never spanked me as a kid, but there were defenitely some empty threats with the old wooden spoon. I can remember running up the stairs and she’d hit the stairs behind me with it, or just make noise in the drawer with all the utensils moving around, and i’d take off running. Haha..it’s funny, but it worked. I don’t ever remember any real spankings though.

PoopMy son has ADHD and we would never have tolerated the behaviour you have described about your cousin. It seems to me the greatest problem was with the parenting and not so much the child. ADHD kids are a real challenge. They test you and your patience constantly and often end up being disliked by their peers and relatives alike. There are enormous challenges involved in raising a child with ADHD – the most important being consistency. Everyone involved in the child’s life must be on the same page at all times. Discipline is difficult because the kids have a real (not imagined) problem with focus. They are compulsive and hyper active to the point of suffering anxiety attacks daily. The first victims of ADHD are those who suffer from it. It’s a chemical disorder that takes no prisoners. I agree with you that the absolute worse thing you can do to a child suffering from ADHD is to spoil him/her. That’s the easy way out and eventually does a great disservice to the child. Behavioral management is the key. When the child is in crisis (throwing a tantrum or having an impulsive moment), he or she needs to be constrained. That’s the parents’ job. Your aunt and uncle would have served the child better had he been made sit beside them and wait until the gifts were offered to him. At the very least they should have stopped him and firmly let him know that his behaviour (not him) was not acceptable. I’m sure your whole family would have appreciated the intervention. When my son was in crisis, he was given a short time out and had a privilege or object he desired removed. If he wanted the item back, he had to EARN it back by behaving appropriately. This kind of punishment was consistent and HE KNEW IT. By the time he reached the age of 8, he was able to stop himself from misbehaving or pull himself out of a tantrum. He wasn’t rewarded with gifts, but merely a nod or words of praise for his self control. He’s now in his early 20s and is a productive and responsible member of society. It could have turned out to be a horror story had we (the parents) denied his condition or we had not sought out expertise on how to parent a child with ADHD. Children who are out of control (for whatever reason) are NOT in the majority. Most kids are average, well brought up, and thoughtful people. Most parents try very hard to bring their children up to be responsible, contributing adults. There are exceptions, of course, and the media loves to sensationalize the few bad apples – it sells the papers :).

NMH I was saying that poop’s mom was great as she never inflicted corporal punnishment on him. Most parents will use idol threats from time to time like the wooden spoon but never act on it. When you act on it that is the problem.

Oh jesus. It’s not like she held a knife to my throat or anything.I see your point Matt, but my mom never seriously threatened me with violence. She’d just get out the spoon if i was bugging her, and i always knew she’d never use it, so there was never a real threat. I’d always take off when it came out though, but it was always kinda funny. Point was, that’s how i knew my mom meant business. The real punishment for me was being grounded..and i was. Plenty.

Being grounded today is nothing, though – I don’t think kids even go out to play anymore, they’re stuck inside watching tv and playing video games and eating… and it seems like parents are afraid to take their stuff away from them, because it might hurt their feelings and they won’t be “cool” in their children’s eyes anymore. When I used to get grounded, I was GROUNDED. Getting to go to school was a treat.