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Originally posted by dalan.
And here is my advice, get a copy of the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers, and learn what it means to live in a republic. You have every natural right to have your opinion. You have every natural right to expect your children to abide by your standards; but you have no natural right to expect another family to abide by your subjective standards of decency.
I personally do not care about what you think of as decent or bad parenting, and I will never abide by your standards and you cannot do anything about it. Likewise, I would never force you to have your children live up to my expectations.
You seem to keep confusing forcing someone to do something, with society criticizing behavior it finds inappropriate.
Case-in-point:
Two little boys on a playground. One is average, the other is obese. The average boy teases the obese one calling him fatty-fat-fat. Now, clearly, the average boy is not forcing the obese kid to be fat, and speech, even hateful speech is free.
Both parents approach the kids. The fat kids parent says how rude and nasty the other little boy is being. The average kids parent say 'hey its a free country, if you don't like it get out of the park.'
We don't allow children to knowingly behave in such a manner. It is so obviously destructive to society.
We cannot sit quietly while children are being made to be sexual objects. It is obviously destructive to society.
Originally posted by Dark Ghost
reply to post by dalan.
It is pretty obvious now that you are trolling. You keep attacking me instead of commenting on the issue. You keep making this about me as though I am only person in the whole thread who said the way the children are portrayed in the video is inappropriate. You are grasping at straws and trying to get people fired up. It is not going to work.
Most importantly you are trying to blur the lines between what society considers acceptable and what it doesn't. This appears to be a consistent pattern with you. You can try all you want to make the sexual exploitation of children a trivial matter, but you will not convince people that it is ok and acceptable.
Originally posted by dalan.
I am not trying to troll. Seriously, you are the one who said that "people should keep it in their homes and not have it in public." Which I realize is simply your opinion, but it does come across as a slight control-complex.
I am not trying to get a rise out of anyone. I staunchly believe that people have natural rights over their children and that the State, or the majority, or any minority, does not have the authority to dictate to any parent/parents what is decent or not decent for their children. In my opinion, anyone's opinion regarding the parent's of the girls in that video is irrelevant...because they are not our children.
This entire frame-of-mind reminds me of the "Nanny-State" mentality, where the only "rights" that we have are actually privileges granted to us by the Corporate State.
Originally posted by Dark Ghost
Originally posted by dalan.
I am not trying to troll. Seriously, you are the one who said that "people should keep it in their homes and not have it in public." Which I realize is simply your opinion, but it does come across as a slight control-complex.
Is this not an internet forum where the discussion of issues is encouraged? Did I make a list of laws other posters must follow? Have I forced other people to view my opinions as the standard for morality? Again you throw in a little label like "control-complex". Who am I trying to control? Why do you think I have the need to control anyone? I have stated my opinions and given reasons why I feel the video is inappropriate. How is this forcing my views on other people?
I am not trying to get a rise out of anyone. I staunchly believe that people have natural rights over their children and that the State, or the majority, or any minority, does not have the authority to dictate to any parent/parents what is decent or not decent for their children. In my opinion, anyone's opinion regarding the parent's of the girls in that video is irrelevant...because they are not our children.
So when we see a video of 8 year-olds that are the victims of sexual exploitation, and the video is brought onto an internet forum for discussion, we have no place or right to say that it is inappropriate?
We are not allowed to call a spade a spade?
We have to worry about offending parents before we judge what they let their kids do out in public
even when it is likely to affect our own kids?
This entire frame-of-mind reminds me of the "Nanny-State" mentality, where the only "rights" that we have are actually privileges granted to us by the Corporate State.
Originally posted by dalan.
I didn't say that you are forcing your views on other people. I just said that you come across to me as being controlling.
Absurd? No. Not in a republic. Children naturally belong to their parents, the teacher can shove it and mind their own business. I realize the ramifications of my own stance. I grew up in a not-so-happy-home, but we have forgotten where our natural rights are derived from.
You have every right to express your opinions, I've already stated this. I just stated that our opinions regarding another person's children are irrelevant. Which is just my opinion.
Of course you are, but that is solely based on perception. Like I said before, what you consider indecent, I may consider completely decent.
Why would you worry about offending anyone? I said nothing about being worried about offending someone. I merely stated that what one family does with their children is none of your concern.
You could force them to walk around blindfolded.
Or stop using such a lame excuse to moderate the behavior of others.
Because that's what issues like this eventually become.
More regulations and less rights (sorry, I meant privileges).
Ok, if you have the opinion that you do of the video that the OP posted, chances are you would probably teach your kids to have the same moral values as yourself. In which case, your children are going to be raised to believe that if they see something in public that they do not like, it will be Ok for them to try to put a stop to it.
Which I am not saying that you would do that, but you did allude to such a thing through your own posts. It is a "Nanny-State" mentality, because I guarantee that you receive benefits from the State you don't even realize you are receiving; and you have know problem with agents of the State (teachers, your example) monitoring another persons children.
That is true we are encouraged to to trade liberty/freedom for security. Yet, your context is way off the mark once again. We are not talking about the Patriot Act here. You are suggesting us adults keep both ideals (our right to liberty and freedom), but we should be free to deprive children of both. How can you grow up when you weren't raised?
Liberty for safety. We give one up for the other all the time.
Originally posted by Point of No Return
Originally posted by Dark Ghost
Kids deserve to be kids and should be free to act like kids. They shouldn't feel pressured to act like girls in the video just to fit in and feel cool.
I respect that and I agree with that for the most.
However, we can't know, maybe those girls had the best day of their life and were not pressured at all, the video doesn't show this.
Kids should be kids, but I object to the notion that these kids were being sexualized. At least I don't see it.
Originally posted by Unity_99
reply to post by HappilyEverAfter
I have to disagree here. These girls were in a performance not meant to be viewed by millions, and I took ballet at 6, the performances where wonderful. Dance is an art, and some kids are not only talented but its their dream.
The video has been removed so I couldn't watch it but I clicked into the link and wore far more scanty as I was growing up. That is something my parents raised me to be free and liberal, and I'm suspicous of everything that is put on public agendas now as being by design. My friends parents kept her in very old fashioned modest clothes.
I prefered mine, thank you very much.
Girls dont think people should be looking at them the wrong way, the onus is on the viewer to not have strange thoughts. Kids arent sexy.
Originally posted by Dark Ghost
I say, don't these kids have the right to grow up in an environment where they are not mistreated? Don't kids have the right to grow up without being exposed to mental and/or physical distress?
Originally posted by Ellsworth
I feel sorry for these girls having such stupid parents. They are already being sexualized at a very young age.
Originally posted by dalan.
Weren't these adults once kids themselves? Do you think their childhood experiences influenced the way they turned out as adults? You want to protect the rights of the adult and let them do bad stuff to their kids because that is their right?
I agree. Perception is very important. But there MUST be certain rules and boundaries - even in your idea of a Republic. If you don't have these things then you are not living in a Republic; you are living in a chaotic world where everybody can do anything they want and not suffer any consequences because everything becomes a "difference in perception."
I do not take pleasure in offending others. I will speak out when I feel it is justified. But that does not mean I will needlessly offend others just because I can.
You really need to start thinking about this whole thing from the kid's point of view. If children are mistreated at an early age, it is very likely they will develop psychological problems later in their adult life. Do you see how this impacts them when they become adults? You are stating that people with bad childhoods should be free to grow up and raise kids with bad childhoods. Is that your idea of a Republic?
Not blindfolded, but not out in the desert surrounded by cactuses either. A happy medium maybe?
You need to read over this paragraph again. I think deep down you know there is a difference.
The point is if parents raise their kids properly, you don't need the state to do the job for you.
Maybe this is another case of perception?
You have no objections to being allowed to abuse your kid because they get bad grades, I do object to this behavior.
You believe parents have the right to treat children any way they choose because whether they nurture or abuse, it is their right. I don't believe they have the right to abuse their kids. In my head there is a clear difference between nurture and abuse.
Originally posted by earthdude
If the moves those girls were doing were not moves ment to cause sexual arousal, then I want to see ones that are (done by adult women). What could these moves consist of? I thought I had seen everything but according to some here, there are moves I have not seen.
Sexy samba dancers strut their stuff, and everything else, on stage in Rio de Janiero. They wiggle their bums and do erotic pelvic thrusts at the audience. It's a local joke that their skimpy little costumes include G-strings that are thinner than dental floss! You will have to judge that for yourself, as I'm not commenting further on these lovely young ladies who are selected from the city's thousands of Samba schools to perform in this night club show. Their mums and dads don't seem to mind!
And when the parents are on national tv crying for someone to return their daughter, I'd love to see their faces when someone asks "..do you still think it was OK now in retrospect?"