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Hopefully, and presumably respectable parenting skills. Joel Send a noteboard - 06/05/2011 01:32:02 AM
I know I've been bemoaning ignorance of history, especially recent history, a lot lately, but how can you NOT know who Osama bin Laden was? It hasn't even been a decade since the World Trade Center was destroyed (I'll wait for those up late on a school night to google that... good, now where were we?) We're not talking about some yak hunter in the middle of Tibet somewhere (actually, they probably all know who he was). We're talking about people who are clearly well connected to the rest of the world, especially including the internet, if they made "Who is Osama bin Laden?" the fifth most popular Yahoo search on Sunday. They have access to knowledge, just not the KNOWLEDGE. Among those 13-17 (or 4-8 when the WTC went down), people asking who he was outnumbered those asking how he died two to one. I promise you that when the Ayatollah Khomeini died I didn't have to ask anyone who he was, notwithstanding the fact I was only 14. Geez, people... I dunno... if there's actually a demographic where more people know who Justin Bieber is than know who bin Laden was maybe the West HAS gotten too decadent.... :rolleyes:

My daughter didn't exactly understand who bin Laden was, she knew he was a bad dude, we just had this discussion over dinner actually. She knew from School, he had an option to surrender peacefully. and Shae is 10. we talked about why someone would intentionally try to kill other people...It's a pretty big world, why...for what end? I didn't have any answers for that one. b/c I don't understand the mindset to train hundreds, thousands of people to kill other people, and claim it in the name of your g-d. Did he use the brains Allah gave him to improve the lives of his Islamic brothers and sisters? I don't think so, I could be wrong, I've been wrong before and I shall be wrong again. Americans may be weary of Muslims, But we've learned a lot about their culture Some have grown more respectful. Not out of fear, out of tolerance, I hope. On a side note, Shae was the only child in her class that admitted knowing who Elvis Presley was.:P

That's even more disappointing in some ways. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I don't expect teenagers to obsessively pore over every single detail of current events, foreign affairs or terrorism. I wouldn't want them to spend their childhood cowering in fear under their beds, or their parents to ensure they did. That said, the level of complacency and ignorance of large scale serious threats represented by THAT many kids having to google his name is disturbing on many levels. It kind of makes it easier to understand how, despite the Al Qaeda attack on the WTC in '93, there was so much shock in 2001 that it was even attacked, let alone destroyed. Makes it easier to understand why the second attack succeeded despite so much of their plans, procedures and tactics being common knowledge. I can't help wondering if these kids know how we're never more than about fifteen minutes from a nuclear holocaust, and being very pessimistic about efforts to avert such horrors, make them impossible, in the face of such widespread ignorance and apathy. I'm not saying we should all dwell on the negative, but we should all be aware of it when it can have such dire personal consequences that our collective will could and should prevent. Seriously, there are more important things than iCrap in the world, kids.... :[
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OK, Once and for All, WTF Is WRONG with Kids Today? - 04/05/2011 01:28:52 AM 1528 Views
Cool story bro. *NM* - 04/05/2011 01:35:29 AM 453 Views
Clearly not. - 04/05/2011 02:16:08 AM 940 Views
Re: Duh. Winning. *NM* - 04/05/2011 01:46:39 AM 495 Views
The SEALS won. - 04/05/2011 02:17:41 AM 788 Views
They read Boing Boing. *NM* - 04/05/2011 01:57:17 AM 525 Views
And use Yahoo, apparently. - 04/05/2011 02:20:36 AM 989 Views
I guess I have a pretty bright Child. and a good school district. - 04/05/2011 04:28:24 AM 835 Views
Hopefully, and presumably respectable parenting skills. - 06/05/2011 01:32:02 AM 1023 Views
You really have to wonder if our culture is decadent? *NM* - 04/05/2011 06:24:25 AM 473 Views
Not at all, but it does make me wonder if we're TOO decadent. - 06/05/2011 01:38:42 AM 856 Views
I agree. *NM* - 09/05/2011 10:36:40 PM 558 Views
How is it the kids' fault that they are not taught (to care) about recent history? *NM* - 04/05/2011 06:54:16 AM 451 Views
I just asked my son, and he said he was a boss of a criminal organisation who was responsible for - 04/05/2011 06:56:18 AM 812 Views
Good enough for me, thanks. - 06/05/2011 01:59:40 AM 849 Views
Yes and no, but I'd think an international network trying to kill you would motivate self education. - 06/05/2011 01:57:06 AM 948 Views
Good teachers don't allow overeager students to monopolize the classroom. - 06/05/2011 02:52:27 AM 960 Views
We covered the material. - 06/05/2011 02:57:52 AM 974 Views
Which means... not a good teacher. - 06/05/2011 07:02:44 AM 767 Views
Good luck with that. - 06/05/2011 11:51:48 PM 875 Views
If they don't know about the terrorist organisation to begin with, why would they self educate? - 13/05/2011 08:06:07 AM 835 Views
If completely ignorant of terrorism itself, they wouldn't, but if not I'd expect they'd get informed - 14/05/2011 03:01:37 AM 812 Views
What?!? There are terrorists roaming the US, killing kids in their beds?!? - 14/05/2011 07:45:27 AM 952 Views
They're certainly trying. - 14/05/2011 10:43:48 AM 863 Views
Oklahoma city bombing was by American citizens, completely unrelated to Al Qaeda... - 15/05/2011 08:02:11 AM 1055 Views
They were both terrorist attacks. - 15/05/2011 02:53:51 PM 965 Views
Obesity is a much bigger killer than terrorists - 15/05/2011 04:01:51 PM 831 Views
Sure, but obesity covers a lot of ground. - 15/05/2011 04:19:51 PM 845 Views
Obesity is a new problem - 15/05/2011 06:09:33 PM 853 Views
only about a third of the home schooled kids are home schooled for religious reasons - 16/05/2011 09:35:36 PM 929 Views
Fair enough... I can imagine wanting to avoid a crappy school. - 17/05/2011 06:04:11 PM 838 Views
getting your kid in the right school can be a challenge - 17/05/2011 06:18:04 PM 734 Views
how many times have i told you "it's the internet, it's not real life"?? *NM* - 04/05/2011 07:43:01 AM 485 Views
Sure, but in this case they intersect. - 06/05/2011 02:02:19 AM 897 Views
I met a lady who didn't know who Justin Bieber was. I told her I was very impressed - 04/05/2011 06:49:49 PM 903 Views
You should be? - 06/05/2011 02:09:47 AM 939 Views
He may have been dreaming about killing them but he was actually doing anything *NM* - 06/05/2011 03:09:49 AM 512 Views
The short answer is "yes". - 06/05/2011 03:19:31 AM 825 Views
you would of have had to know who he is to know he was doing that though *NM* - 08/05/2011 06:16:39 PM 433 Views
Yes, and the fact he WAS doing that is why I expected nearly everyone to know who he was. - 08/05/2011 07:12:41 PM 840 Views
I am not saying they shouldn't know who he is just that is isn't that shocking that some don't - 09/05/2011 02:35:02 PM 716 Views
I get that, it's the size of the "some" that kinda floors me. - 09/05/2011 05:02:46 PM 832 Views
Rumsfeld was a bit of a tool but he was right about a lot of stuff - 09/05/2011 05:05:56 PM 780 Views
I did think he took heat unfairly for that comment; he's an interesting figure. - 09/05/2011 05:59:58 PM 941 Views
see that is why political comedy isn't really comedy - 10/05/2011 02:15:48 PM 791 Views
He was a college offensive lineman. - 12/05/2011 01:47:52 AM 874 Views
It was the media tqaking offense not just internet nutjobs - 13/05/2011 04:16:34 AM 951 Views
You're "the media" now? - 13/05/2011 10:27:42 PM 930 Views
you live in a fantasy world *NM* - 16/05/2011 02:27:20 PM 443 Views
Not a rebuttal. - 16/05/2011 09:10:33 PM 847 Views
I am trying to be more concise and that summed it up *NM* - 16/05/2011 09:26:32 PM 449 Views
Concise is nice, but that response was solely about me rather than my arguments. - 18/05/2011 11:30:38 PM 815 Views
No it was about your reply I am just to lazy to break it down - 19/05/2011 12:54:38 AM 752 Views
"You live in a fantasy world" is 100% about me. - 19/05/2011 01:53:07 AM 650 Views
OK *NM* - 19/05/2011 03:15:04 PM 402 Views
Check. - 20/05/2011 12:08:24 AM 1116 Views
13-17 year olds. - 05/05/2011 01:51:27 AM 1028 Views
Call me crazy, but I tend to notice people who want to kill me when they've shown the ability. - 06/05/2011 02:53:26 AM 862 Views
Re: Call me crazy, but I tend to notice people who want to kill me when they've shown the ability. - 06/05/2011 09:21:10 PM 897 Views
As I asked below, did you click the link? - 06/05/2011 11:35:45 PM 727 Views
Re: As I asked below, did you click the link? - 09/05/2011 05:37:29 AM 763 Views
And yet you found a way; full marks for effort. - 09/05/2011 07:50:32 AM 1034 Views
Thanks for the mis-analogizing. - 10/05/2011 06:26:40 AM 1216 Views
Not a mis-analogy, but perhaps ambiguous. - 10/05/2011 07:02:31 AM 825 Views
Re: Not a mis-analogy, but perhaps ambiguous. - 10/05/2011 04:58:59 PM 873 Views
Re: Not a mis-analogy, but perhaps ambiguous. - 12/05/2011 01:22:38 AM 811 Views
Re: 13-17 year olds. - 06/05/2011 09:14:47 PM 845 Views
What are you doing to earn a living now? *NM* - 05/05/2011 03:04:28 AM 464 Views
Jeg øver norsk, men ikke mer nå. - 06/05/2011 02:54:44 AM 816 Views
Debt collection is kind - 06/05/2011 07:16:53 AM 800 Views
Just don't repeatedly say you're seriously buying tickets to come kill them. - 06/05/2011 11:40:51 PM 755 Views
Theres a reason you're banned from skype chat. Dont be a cunt - 07/05/2011 02:22:30 AM 814 Views
it must be a very good reason if they haven't banned you as well - 09/05/2011 05:09:07 PM 802 Views
And that is your analysis? Really. Kids sure are dumb to ask questions and do research. - 06/05/2011 10:15:41 PM 759 Views
I wish there were an applause smiley. - 06/05/2011 11:02:01 PM 825 Views
I don't think the article says much of anything at all. - 07/05/2011 03:28:35 AM 720 Views
Maybe; I don't always appreciate deadpan jokes online.... - 07/05/2011 03:43:51 AM 909 Views
I think the linguistic conventions governing search engines and typical conversation differ is all. - 07/05/2011 04:00:38 AM 791 Views
Hopefully that's all it is. - 07/05/2011 04:17:21 AM 781 Views
actually, search engines are getting better towards "questions" now - 11/05/2011 11:06:42 PM 741 Views
Fair enough then, if surprising; objection withdrawn. - 12/05/2011 01:17:28 AM 898 Views
I think you're reading too much into this - 10/05/2011 12:58:20 AM 857 Views
Possibly; I really hope so. - 10/05/2011 04:01:50 AM 761 Views
Re: Possibly; I really hope so. - 10/05/2011 05:18:43 AM 853 Views
Again, fair enough. - 12/05/2011 01:52:07 AM 809 Views
Re: Again, fair enough. - 12/05/2011 02:04:53 AM 840 Views
Acknowledged. - 12/05/2011 02:41:38 AM 819 Views
HA! - 12/05/2011 10:50:50 PM 1022 Views

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