>From: Zloduska <kjseelna@students.wisc.edu>
>Reply-To: virus@lucifer.com
>To: virus@lucifer.com
>Subject: virus: Re: Stupidity [21st Century Schizoid Man]
>Date: 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.
I just want to say my insignifigant bit of info about the two students in colorado. I think the kids who did it went a little too far in getting the revenge againts all the jocks. I put up with the same thing as them, maybe not on such a large scale but, I haven't went around shooting people....yet, at least... but now I have to put up with more taunts and the like from almost everyone in my school about being in the "Trenchcoat Mofia" (pardon the spelling), which I'm not, I'mjust a little Goth and I'm not planning to go around blowin' peoples heads off(without good reason). The only cool thing about this is that even more people are afraid of me now...hehehe. I think I've rembled on enough now, later
The Tyrant