virus: Re: Stupidity [21st Century Schizoid Man]

Zloduska (kjseelna@students.wisc.edu)
Wed, 21 Apr 1999 23:19:10 -0500

Trey wrote:

>But I just _had_ to comment on the memeoid behavior demonstrated in
>Colorado.
>
>It wasn't long ago that I carried a concealed .38 revolver to high
>school on almost a daily basis(I still do but thats a secret ;-)).
>"Students" were robbing other "students" for cash, clothes, jewelry,
>shoes, gang raping young (beautiful and promising I might add) women,
>engaging in fisticuffs with the faculty, shooting other students, gang
>wars, car theft, drug sales, gambling...you name it.
>And all this happened at a school smack dab in the middle of good ole
>American suburbia, about 30% white, 30 Hispanic, 25 black, and 15
>'other'(excuse lack of politcal correctness I fail to find interest in
>such trivialities)

Thanks for your story, Trey. I have an experience of my own to add. One of the classes I'm taking this semester is "Urdu Prose Fiction in India and Pakistan". Our professor is a very interesting and knowledgeable old Muslim man. (Stay with me; I might actually go somewhere with this.) Two of the students are young men who were born and raised in Pakistan, and another is from Sri Lanka. Our discussions tend to be very lively, and one day the topic of punishment in Middle-Eastern/Asian schools came up. We were talking about a young boy in a story, and eventually about the obedience of children in that cutlure. The professor was demonstrating a particularly cruel form of punishment that was used in his childhood school (imagine and elderly man trying to tuck his head between his ankles while standing up, and holding that position), and administered in public. The previously mentioned foreign students in class began to relate the kinds of punishment they used to receive from teachers, being struck in various places by various kinds of whips and sticks, etc. They were all laughing and smiling as they shared these stories with us, almost with a tinge of nostalgia. Naturally, the other American students and myself were a surprised at what was seen as 'acceptable' in their schools. It's hard to picture this happening in our public schools, unless they were willing to be sued by a million different furious parents.

My point is that although I am initially shocked and a bit angered when I hear of the harsh and severe measures used to discipline kids in other, stricter countries, it now seems more sensible. I used to be strictly against public education instructors having this kind of power to enforce rules-- I thought it was child abuse. I've since changed my mind. I wonder, what if these gun-packing, gangsta kiddies that are going on murder sprees had been raised in India, or a Muslim country? What if they were beaten or publicly ridiculed by teachers when they got out of line from an early age? What if they were forced to obey because it was expected of them by parents and peers alike? Taught RESPECT by adults-- a concept that is alien to most kids, in these days of a television-fixated generation X and corporate youth. I doubt tragedies like this would happen, don't you?

I grew up in Chicago but forcefully relocated and graduated in a tiny town deep in the heart of rural Wisconsin. My high school was the complete opposite of how you described yours. Although I sacrificed a lot by going to high school in a remote one-room schoolhouse on the prairie (literally), at least I was assured of my safety. Unless you count being run over by a deer on the way to school or eaten by a bear. No gang violence to speak of, except perhaps the assault of my ears by wannabe ghetto-blasters blaring Tupac. Very dense redneck population, but little theft, narcotic drug dealing, or gun problems (hunting rifles not included). Nearly everyone was white, except for the occasional Hispanic from IL or Native American.

Now that I think about it, I would have been in favor of corporal punishment for the insolent and lazy students. I was a covert, mischievous little tart in the guise of a goody-goody overachiever and well-behaved, but I'm sure plenty of my fellow classmates could have used some rigid discipline instead of the wrist-slapping, pathetic (yet fascist) methods employed by the faculty. I would have preferred seeing them get caned or flogged, rather than the weak, insufferable self-esteem programs they put us through, which were considered a joke by us all. I would have enjoyed the justice of a hearing the average hick's usual homophobic slur to another-- "You stupid faggot."-- promptly followed by a *THWAP!* to correct them. ;-) Sure, I often dealt this out *myself*, but it would have been nice to see the teachers and staff not be apathetic for once. Active behavior modification- there's a concept!

Man, the U.S. education system really bites, I must say.

>When I was 14 I carried a Sykes-Fairbairn Commando dagger with me to
>school. I've been shot at, robbed at gunpoint, stared down the barrel
>of a revolver, cut with razors in a melee...I can almost name 25
>former classmates who ended up in the penitentiary, addicted,
>prostituting, murdered, and 1 who vanished suddenly under suspicious
>circumstances. Does it matter if 25 die in one incident as opposed to
>25 over a five yr period?

And here we have the politicians fighting a war against *drugs* and throwing Deadheads in prison when we should be getting tough on (pardon the expression) these fucking brats before it's too late. I empathize, and wonder what happened to all my former classmates that now have such screwed-up lives. Fortunately, I am where I am and ended up much different, although I often wonder why I'm not one of them. To answer your question: It matters superficially because 25 sudden deaths as opposed to a hundred "normal" deaths raise at least some attention. It's a good thing the media is able to look at people and say, "My gosh, we are really fucked up, indeed," but it's too bad we still don't do anything about it!

>Would it be morally wrong to take advantage of the carrier of an
>auto-toxic meme? exo-toxic? If he/she/it refused to see their
>error(read stupidity) of their ways? Why not prey on those who CHOOSE
>to be stupid, paranoid, ignorant for the overall advancement of the
>species?
>
>I think this Millenial Meme like many others can be symbiotic to very
>few opportunistic individuals/packs and parasitic to all the rest.

It's easy to say "Oh, they deserve what they get for being stupid and gullible," until you realize that you just included many of your friends, relatives, and relatives. At least that's true for me. It ain't that simple. I may sound like Barney the Dinosaur or some other insipid character by saying this, but after all, people are people. Forgive them, they are naive and know not they are retarded. So yes, I would say it is morally wrong to victimize them.

>Think about the billions you could make if you created a computer
>virus that sovled th Y2K problem. Ever thought about owning a gun
>dealership, selling storable food, ammunition, biowar vaccines???

Okay, this is a tangent, but humor me. I'm really pissed about this Y2K thing for very selfish reasons. Why is it that now, when my wish has been granted and I will be in the place of my dreams (Prague) during this next New Year's Eve, that everyone says the world is going to fall apart? Many cynics, misanthropists, cultists, and religious fanatics seem pleased that the world is going to end (or so they think) and they just can't wait for hellfire, Judgment Day, and all that jazz. Not me. Can't the *$%@# Apocalypse wait another year until I'm done?! Damn it all!!! Figures.

>**He was harassed, but still he spoke with authority. He was, in fact,
>characteristic of the best type of dominant male in the world at this
>time. He was fifty-five years old, tough, shrewd, unburdened by the
>complicated ethical ambiguities which puzzle intellectuals, and had
>long ago decided that the world was a mean son-of-a-bitch in which
>only the most cunning and ruthless can survive. He was also as kind as
>was possible for one holding that ultra-Darwinian philosophy and he
>genuinely loved children and dogs, unless they were on the site of
>something that had to be bombed in the National Interest.

<snip>

>from _The Illuminatus! Trilogy_ Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson

LOL! *English accent imitation* That's bloody brilliant!

~kjs

PS: Did anyone read about the elderly schizophrenic man in Salt Lake City, Utah that went berserk in a Mormon library and on a shooting spree which killed/injured patrons, until he himself was shot to death by police? In that case, they can't easily blame MTV and Metallica.