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They're certainly trying. Joel Send a noteboard - 14/05/2011 10:43:48 AM
I guess it depends on what you mean by "big", but if they're wholly ignorant of someone with the intention and proven ability to murder them in their beds I think the face more risk from him than from unhealthy habits.

You make terrorists sound like boogeymen. What I mean by "big" is that statistically, the chances that an American is killed by a terrorist is negligible.

Not sure what time it was when the bomb went off in Oklahoma City, but I know a daycare was part of the building destroyed; even if it wasn't nap time that doesn't really practically change the statements validity. It's a statistically negligible risk, yes, but the magnitude of that risk increases significantly in people completely oblivious to it.
Assuming they don't pay attention enough to learn about the latter in health classes, a doctor will almost certainly inform them before they develop anything life threatening. Their diet and lack of exercise may still kill them if they don't care about or believe what they're told, but ignorance won't.

There is a tiny amount of information available about what would be healthy, and there is a barrage of information available on what is tasty and easy. Additionally, a lot of food contains addictive types of sugar. What do you think will win? People aren't homo economicus.

There's plenty of information available about what's healthy; again, even 20-25 years ago when I was in middle and high school I got it in no less than three different health classes. The epidemic of unhealthy diets despite widely disseminated information on how to eat healthy doesn't exactly undermine my initial assertion that the kids are ignoring information necessary to their continued well being. Sugar addiction sounds a bit sketchy to me, no offense. Psychological dependence, maybe, but people are more likely to be bouncing off the walls when they ARE on sugar than when they're not. If there are sugar addicts out there, they have my sincere pity, because they're gonna remain "powerless over their addiction" quite literally till the day they die. Yes, sweet things are enjoyable; it's one of natures little ways of making us want something we need to survive. Yes, lots of people consume far more than they should, but "sugar addiction" and research seeking to prove it sounds more like an excuse for overindulging in something we need without having to take responsibility for that fact. Sugar addicts aren't out there carb loading to get their fix when grains are converted to sugars. Addiction is more than a lack of will power to refuse something you enjoy. An addict is someone whose body can't them say no, not who simply refuses to do so.
Fair point; it's why a lot of folks support home schooling, but the sad truth it's no longer a viable option for many people. I've long thought it ironic that the folks in America who've always argued most forcefully that "a womans place is in the home!" happen to be the ones whose economic and education policies have made it nigh impossible for most women to be stay at home moms.

Home schooling in the US is usually done by religious fanatics, as far as I'm aware. I hardly support such a scheme. I think that it's important to learn at school, if only it is to be around other people socially.
Also, seriously... the woman's place is in the home? 1. Why would a woman's place be in the home? 2. You think that having a baby makes a woman suddenly a skillful teacher?

Then I would say you're not very far aware on how US home schooling is done then, and that the phrase "religious fanatic" is sometimes thrown about too loosely. If you haven't yet, you might compare the academic performance of US kids who are home schooled versus those who aren't; they may be religious fanatics, but they test better than kids in public and private schools. As to your other point, social interaction needn't be confined to school, and social growth will almost certainly be stunted if it is. If schools don't provide a quality education, should a parent who can sacrifice that to add to the social interaction their child should be getting outside of school anyway? As to the rest 1. I didn't say a womans place is in the home (though it certainly CAN be, and a woman without the CHOICE is equally unfree whatever path is forced upon her), I said the people who argue that most forcefully have done the most to make it untenable. 2. Having a baby doesn't automatically make anyone a skillful teacher, but if the professional teachers and educational system is woefully inadequate only a foolish woman would rely on them for her childs education if she could take charge of it herself.

We're kinda far afield here, but if the schools aren't adequate why wouldn't a responsible parent who could educate their own children do so? If they are adequate then kids with unhealthy diets and habits despite multiple health classes teaching them how to maintain both (and physical education classes and extracurricular sports assisting with the latter) are victims of precisely the willful ignorance I feared "Who is Osama bin Laden?" represents. Are they willfully ignorant, or do parents merely sacrifice their health for more social interaction in inferior schools that don't teach them how to maintain health (or much else)?
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OK, Once and for All, WTF Is WRONG with Kids Today? - 04/05/2011 01:28:52 AM 1527 Views
Cool story bro. *NM* - 04/05/2011 01:35:29 AM 452 Views
Clearly not. - 04/05/2011 02:16:08 AM 939 Views
Re: Duh. Winning. *NM* - 04/05/2011 01:46:39 AM 493 Views
The SEALS won. - 04/05/2011 02:17:41 AM 787 Views
They read Boing Boing. *NM* - 04/05/2011 01:57:17 AM 524 Views
And use Yahoo, apparently. - 04/05/2011 02:20:36 AM 987 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 1022 Views
You really have to wonder if our culture is decadent? *NM* - 04/05/2011 06:24:25 AM 470 Views
Not at all, but it does make me wonder if we're TOO decadent. - 06/05/2011 01:38:42 AM 855 Views
I agree. *NM* - 09/05/2011 10:36:40 PM 557 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 450 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 848 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 945 Views
Good teachers don't allow overeager students to monopolize the classroom. - 06/05/2011 02:52:27 AM 958 Views
We covered the material. - 06/05/2011 02:57:52 AM 973 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 873 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 834 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 811 Views
What?!? There are terrorists roaming the US, killing kids in their beds?!? - 14/05/2011 07:45:27 AM 950 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 961 Views
Obesity is a much bigger killer than terrorists - 15/05/2011 04:01:51 PM 830 Views
Sure, but obesity covers a lot of ground. - 15/05/2011 04:19:51 PM 842 Views
Obesity is a new problem - 15/05/2011 06:09:33 PM 851 Views
only about a third of the home schooled kids are home schooled for religious reasons - 16/05/2011 09:35:36 PM 927 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 731 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 484 Views
Sure, but in this case they intersect. - 06/05/2011 02:02:19 AM 895 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 937 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 822 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 839 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 715 Views
I get that, it's the size of the "some" that kinda floors me. - 09/05/2011 05:02:46 PM 831 Views
Rumsfeld was a bit of a tool but he was right about a lot of stuff - 09/05/2011 05:05:56 PM 779 Views
I did think he took heat unfairly for that comment; he's an interesting figure. - 09/05/2011 05:59:58 PM 940 Views
see that is why political comedy isn't really comedy - 10/05/2011 02:15:48 PM 789 Views
He was a college offensive lineman. - 12/05/2011 01:47:52 AM 873 Views
It was the media tqaking offense not just internet nutjobs - 13/05/2011 04:16:34 AM 949 Views
You're "the media" now? - 13/05/2011 10:27:42 PM 929 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 845 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 814 Views
No it was about your reply I am just to lazy to break it down - 19/05/2011 12:54:38 AM 751 Views
"You live in a fantasy world" is 100% about me. - 19/05/2011 01:53:07 AM 648 Views
OK *NM* - 19/05/2011 03:15:04 PM 401 Views
Check. - 20/05/2011 12:08:24 AM 1115 Views
13-17 year olds. - 05/05/2011 01:51:27 AM 1025 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 861 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 896 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 760 Views
And yet you found a way; full marks for effort. - 09/05/2011 07:50:32 AM 1033 Views
Thanks for the mis-analogizing. - 10/05/2011 06:26:40 AM 1213 Views
Not a mis-analogy, but perhaps ambiguous. - 10/05/2011 07:02:31 AM 823 Views
Re: Not a mis-analogy, but perhaps ambiguous. - 10/05/2011 04:58:59 PM 870 Views
Re: Not a mis-analogy, but perhaps ambiguous. - 12/05/2011 01:22:38 AM 810 Views
Re: 13-17 year olds. - 06/05/2011 09:14:47 PM 844 Views
What are you doing to earn a living now? *NM* - 05/05/2011 03:04:28 AM 463 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 798 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 813 Views
it must be a very good reason if they haven't banned you as well - 09/05/2011 05:09:07 PM 801 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 824 Views
I don't think the article says much of anything at all. - 07/05/2011 03:28:35 AM 719 Views
Maybe; I don't always appreciate deadpan jokes online.... - 07/05/2011 03:43:51 AM 908 Views
I think the linguistic conventions governing search engines and typical conversation differ is all. - 07/05/2011 04:00:38 AM 790 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 740 Views
Fair enough then, if surprising; objection withdrawn. - 12/05/2011 01:17:28 AM 897 Views
I think you're reading too much into this - 10/05/2011 12:58:20 AM 856 Views
Possibly; I really hope so. - 10/05/2011 04:01:50 AM 759 Views
Re: Possibly; I really hope so. - 10/05/2011 05:18:43 AM 851 Views
Again, fair enough. - 12/05/2011 01:52:07 AM 806 Views
Re: Again, fair enough. - 12/05/2011 02:04:53 AM 839 Views
Acknowledged. - 12/05/2011 02:41:38 AM 815 Views
HA! - 12/05/2011 10:50:50 PM 1022 Views

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