Controversial Topics

[ryhoyarbie]

I want to see some controversial topics on here. I know this is a "G" rated, family oriented/ kid friendly site and I have no problem with that, I just want to see some more interesting topics besides things that address new movies, or television shows you watch, or the weather. However, I think if I created a topic, say about the family shipping their adopted child back to Russia or a thread about unemployment, it might get deleted.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well Ryan, the problem is anytime we try to have such a topic, one of the mods ends up closing/deleting in the blink of an eye... it's kind of gotten ridiculous too, this past fall thread closures were increasing to such proportions, that some members actually begged moderation to STOP closing threads all the time.

Unfortunately, we'll never be able to really talk about controversial topics, let alone touchy subjects, because of the inevitable thread closures... that's just the way MC is.

 

[RedPiggy]

To be honest, I go elsewhere for "serious" debates/discussions. Not to dismiss the conversations I have here, but it's been my experience that only in fanfiction or in certain games can the sense of taste be pushed to its boundaries. I'm trying to branch out more since I quit playing games as I got tired of talking to myself, but I'm going to continue writing essays and fanfiction here.

I kinda wish there was a private "mature" board on this forum. I recently joined a Labyrinth forum that has one that is password protected. That would keep the little innocent ones away and we adults or mature non-adults could have serious discussions.

 

[Drtooth]

You want a controversial discussion about unemployment, huh?

Brief rundown, corporations own our immortal souls, and it's been that way for decades now, and it all imploded at once, so one of the few people who weren't 100% responsible for it gets in charge, can't fix it fast enough, and takes all the blame, basically setting the stage for more people to do the same thing and give us brief initial growth and massive negative long term ramifications... to which someone ELSE will try to fix it, and then takes all the blame, leading to more of the same leading to more of the same leading to more of the same.

Basically the only controversy is everyone's either greedy, an idiot or both.

 

[RedPiggy]

Personally, I go with both. I believe people profit off of things vital to the health of the nation when they should be considered vital to national security. We gripe about shortages of certain types of workers and then when students graduate, you fill up your job postings with "must have experience" (my experience getting a job). We expect failing companies to survive, not out of usefulness, but out of tradition. We boast of innovation while teaching in classrooms the same way it's been done largely since antiquity. We confuse "education innovation" with putting a couple of computers in a classroom and letting students type their papers. These are usually the same kids who can program their cellphones and play complex video games. We value "glamorous" jobs and denigrate the blue-collar stuff as if a CEO is going to clean his own trash can.

 

[Drtooth]

Let's not forget the blue collar stuff usually gets shipped to another country so they can cheat the system and pay whatever they want and offer no benefits. But that's another story all together.

Problem is all the jobs your supposed to get after college fill up the day after graduation, and it's only for people who work during every single summer and half the time during the semester. I had trouble finding off time work, and it bit me so hard on the butt that I've been steadily looking for a crap dead end job for YEARS now.

Then we get into the private stuff. A lot of these managers higher good looking desk candy in some cases, other cases the manager highers their idiot slacker friends or people they'd want to hang out with. I've been there. If only I wasn't so poor that I had to commute, I'd probably gotten something for being someone's drinking buddy at college. Sad thing is, even if you want a crummy pay off the student loan for a week of a month's work type deal, it's very much like that episode of "The Middle" where the slacker son keeps falling butt backwards into employment while the father is killing himself to find something temporary.

Then again, there are the kinds of people who WANT to go to college to do something (myself included) and even if I had to take a blue collar job, or something worse which i could have easily got if I dropped out of high school, it doesn't pay off the loan. For me personally, the career I wanted to get into is dying like no one's business... why do you think I'm so angry at self righteous jerk groups like "Commercial Free Childhood? that are heckbent on killing kid's television" I'd be happy fetching coffee for animators the rest of my life. But everyone wants to go into that field, and there's nothing left. I could very well start an indie comic (I have ideas), but I'm afraid of the late 80's indie crash happening again just as I finish the first issue. Plus, I need a LOT of money for supplies to get startes, and frankly, I've been stuck in the "trying to get a temp job to get computer programs and paint to get started" stage for years.

 

[frogboy4]

Just my take on things...

The eventual break down of tolerance and mutual respect for opinion is the reason for the absence of controversial topics on Muppet Central. We've tried and I hope that we can improve those lines of communication, but right now topics are much more tightly controlled.

My views on the world are inclusive.

I'm not a Republican, Independent or a Democrat, yet I enjoy political debate to some extent. My basic viewpoint is whatever gives everyone an equal opportunity at living their life to the fullest.

I'm not a Christian, Muslim, Jew or Buddhist, but respect those who are. Religious tolerance doesn't always work that same way as I feel some of those are more condescending toward others than accepting of them. But again, that's not everybody or even the majority. Most people are very accepting of others without a heavy-handed need to indoctrinate others into their way of thinking.

Some examples of my views:

The idea that and or all religion is evil and should be banned for a better society is ludicrous and could never happen. Sure, some religious folk do try to enforce how other people should live, but that’s not really the majority.

The idea that gays should have limited rights because they don’t fit an arbitrary model of family is equally ludicrous. Hey, that’s not everybody’s idea for how to raise their family, but even in “traditional” family arrangements there are vastly different ideas. Everyone should be given a fair shot at things without the encroachment of neighbors or the government.

As for public schools – they should be places where young people are exposed to many varying viewpoints. That can be tricky and many liberal and conservative agendas have been pushed at young people in that context. Humans are fallible no matter what age or social standing. Endorsements of particular beliefs should come from the home! The only endorsement schools should teach kids is to respect the rights of others with whom they disagree. That’s it.

-----​

In a nutshell, I think we will all live richer lives if we listen to one another to gain understanding and respect everybody's right to live and thrive under their individual beliefs. It is also important to know that one group's existence should not limit the rights of others and we can all live and believe as we wish in our own homes.

We all deserve rights, love and respect. They haven’t seemed to figure out how best to implement that anywhere else and so I think it will be a while before we can practice much of it at Muppet Central.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Seriously, you want to have controversial topics on a MUPPET FAN FORUM? What's fun in that? You should want to come here to escape the woes of the world, not find it amidst the discussion of our favorite fleece and furry friends.

No. It never works. There is always a flame war that breaks out. Feelings get hurt. You know how it goes because we've already seen all that happen before. Then, moderation has to shut it down and that raises the fur on the backs of those who consider us a gestapo in a forum where the membership has more freedom than any other forum out there.

Yes, if you post about the adopted child being shipped back to Russia or some other such thing then it will be deleted. There are websites out there to discuss that kind of topic--not this one.

It's a lot more fun to talk about other topics that are Muppety in nature and family friendly, which is what this forum is about. I would suggest if you want controversial topics then go sign up on cnn.com or msn.com and discuss things in those forums.

At least let MC remain the one last place we fans can go for some relaxation from the woes of the real world and escape, for just a few moments, into a fantasy world.

Of course, this is my take on things. Phil, who owns the site, may have a different take on it. But, you know me: If it was said or discussed on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street or Fraggle Rock it's game here.

 

[ryhoyarbie]

I can see why things might get a little crazy with some topics like religion, politics (debating politics is always a bad idea because no one ever wins), etc. etc., but I respect everyone's opinion (although it isn't the norm for other sites when someone tries to give their opinion on something and are bashed and ridiculed). seen it plenty of times at sites like imdb.com.


However, I would like to add what has been touched on about unemployment. Greed has really corrupted the people who head companies such as AIG and Goldman Sachs. My father used to work for AT&T and they would always lay off workers who's salaries were getting to big. Then they would hire new workers and pay them peanuts to do a job while the ceo and all of his big shot suit friends would earn millions of dollars. The top brass claimed they needed to save money, so they would use that excuse to lay off people and hire new people cheap.

I've been reading up on the unemployment in this country and how people are resorting to getting any kind of job. However, a lot of these people are trying to get jobs they're overqualified for because nothing else is available, but they're not getting those jobs simply because they're overqualified. Some of those people are dumbing down their resume and deleting jobs, degrees, certifications just to try to get an interview for some odd job. Meanwhile you have people giving themselves and their top people millions of dollars worth in bonuses. This is really sad. It reminds me of the medieval times where you had kings, queens, lords, and knights and then you had everyone else who were nothing more than peasants. Sadly, this is what the United States seems to be heading towards.

 

[ryhoyarbie]

It's a lot more fun to talk about other topics that are Muppety in nature and family friendly, which is what this forum is about. I would suggest if you want controversial topics then go sign up on cnn.com or msn.com and discuss things in those forums.

I just think this place would be more interesting if you had different topics besides what you have here in the general section. Maybe more people who haven't been around in a while would start coming here and add their two cents on something.

But yes I do agree that these kinds of topics are a reflection of a reality a lot of people want to forget about when they come here, or imdb.com, or maybe youtube.com.