When you need to rant...

[fuzzygobo]

It seems in that football game, the winning coach did everything he could to try to keep the playing field as even as possible- sending in third-stringers, running down the clock, benching his starters, and his team still ran away with it. The losing team still couldn't mount any kind of offense. Sorry your team took such a beating, but it is NOT bullying.

Bullying is still a regrettable fact of life, and a subject still very close to my heart as well.
But I'd be willing to bet, if the father who started the bullying complaint had a son on the winning team, he'd be the first one dancing in the streets about how his son kicked butt.
None of the players on the winning team seemed to show any unsportsmanlike conduct.
And to have an undefeated record like they have now is what every coach and football team DREAM about (especially the NY Giants these days, but that's another matter).

Football is going to be a competitive sport. Some games throughout history have been total massacres. As unfair as it might sound, part of the game is dealing with losing. Same goes for life.

As much as I'd like to defend against bullying, the father's claim really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Yes, there are more pressing issues than this to lose sleep over, so thanks again for indulging me.

 

[Drtooth]

I see what you mean and I agree. Especially on the count of the term "bullying" losing all meaning by being applied to the wrong situation, thus causing a huge backlash against the anti-bullying movement. For every exaggerated case of someone overreacting to something mildly offensive that the media reports, there's some kid who's life is a living nightmare that seriously considers suicide that no one knows, cares, or does anything about. I hate that outrage always goes to exaggerated talking points some jerk found on Reddit instead of the true reasons to be angry and do something about that no one bothers to touch.

The thing is, these kinds of stories aren't for reasonable people with reasonable views. They're the old trollish "U Mad, Bro?" bits that are meant to inflame old people with old timey points of view because A) things aren't like they used to be, a sure fire sign that they're older, and that hanging onto those beliefs makes them think they're the only sane ones in the world when they're worst beliefs are growing more and more irrelevant and B) scaring people off of change is a tried and true political strategy. When we say that Political correctness went too far, the argument is stripped of all subtlety and it boils down into a knee jerk reaction of anger and misblame... and most of these stories are Urban Legends or poorly reported in the first place. The truth always lies somewhere inbetween, and often we'll see people who are wrong for the right reasons and right for the wrong reasons. In any matter, it's one town that none of us live in. it's there problem, not the rest of the world's. So, to me, this story is just like those poorly reported annual stories that some town, somewhere, calls it a Holiday Tree. It becomes some imaginary Apocalypse of faith, and yet Christmas comes all the same... with a crapload of commercialism in your face.

 

[CensoredAlso]

So, to me, this story is just like those poorly reported annual stories that some town, somewhere, calls it a Holiday Tree. It becomes some imaginary Apocalypse of faith, and yet Christmas comes all the same... with a crapload of commercialism in your face.

Christmas gets it from all sides. Commercialism has been corrupting it for decades (Charlie Brown warned us and no one listened!). Meanwhile, Secularism tries to gut it of all meaning in the name of supposed sensitivity.

 

[Drtooth]

Christmas gets it from all sides. Commercialism has been corrupting it for decades (Charlie Brown warned us and no one listened!). Meanwhile, Secularism tries to gut it of all meaning in the name of supposed sensitivity.

I love how my rant gets derailed of the actual point. My underlying point is, the media likes to make these unimportant pieces of crap masquerading as "valid news stories" into the horrifying, Politically correct brainwashing machine inducing moral panics. Essentially trying to get reactions out of the worst of people, like the trolls they are.

As for your argument... Christmas wouldn't be anything without the secular, Paegan, commercialism that everyone complains about. In fact, the holiday nearly died in the late 1800's. I forget who said it, but someone once said that Dickens's A Christmas Carol pretty much saved the holiday completely. And that is, of course, considering everyone completely ignores the message about how horrible the Industrial Revolution made Britain (like most of his works). Not saying the more spiritual meanings aren't valid, but they are just part of the message. Without the merchandising and programming on varying degrees of good to annoying and forgettable, we'd be left with a solemn, reflective religious day. Nothing wrong with it, but also nothing to look forward to.

That said, BOTH sides have their heads up their butts about it. Those who speak on the side of "sensitivity" are protecting no one, and those who get riled up because of them are fighting an imaginary war with an imaginary conflict over imaginary people. The best solution to this problem is for to everyone shut the smurf up and ignore it. Again, that sort of this is exaggerated by media outlets (far right Christian groups with a scary agenda, mostly) to get a reaction out of reactionary people. Meanwhile, hundreds die, miserable people who need help don't get any and kill themselves... there are these true outrages and we're all getting up in arms over a commercial using an offensive font or some imaginary story that gets "telephoned" to death into some moral outrage. PC going to far, wars on Christmas, the hip new club drug your kids might be doing.... all imbecilic noise that distracts us from the true evils of the world.

 

[AquaGGR]

Uck, trolls are some of the worst people ever. Not the silly little fun trolls, the seriously frightening ones that take it to a joke-gone-too-far level by hacking your computer, sending you threats, and posting your phone number online.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Christmas wouldn't be anything without the secular, Paegan, commercialism that everyone complains about.

Oh I agree the commercialism and secularism aren't entirely bad things. It's just there's been no checks and balances, so to speak.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Here's a very short rant.

Duck Dynasty? I mean, REALLY?!?!?!

That is all.

Did you have a chance to check out this month's cover of MAD magazine?

 

[D'Snowth]

I REALLY wish Comcast/xfinity would carry Boomerang, but they refuse to because it's a, "Commercial-free" channel... yet, they carried Noggin/Nick Jr. all along... AND they also added Nicktoons about ten years ago.

 

[D'Snowth]

When dumb Americans insist on pronouncing Quebec the way it's spelled! Any actual Canadian, or Geography teacher will tell you, it's, "Kih-beck", NOT, "Kweh-beck"!

 

[mr3urious]

When dumb Americans insist on pronouncing Quebec the way it's spelled! Any actual Canadian, or Geography teacher will tell you, it's, "Kih-beck", NOT, "Kweh-beck"!

Also, it's "day-TRWAH", not "deh-TROYT"!