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Hey, Answerman! [2006-04-21]

Open you eyes and realize that they are kids, and that if their parents are not teaching them the thing they need to know then maybe you should help them to learn. I have taken in well over 30 kids to help them learn how to function in the real world. I can honestly say its hard work, but its rewarding and I have made quite a bit of progress with this kids, and I am hoping they will pass what I gave them on to the next generation.

Thank you for listening.

Sam

I'm a 60 year old otaku, the father of a 22 year old, a 19 year old and a 15 year old otaku, responding to the rant and several of the counter rants.
First, one of my own pet peeves; it's not a "mute" point, it's a "moot" point. The moot was a yearly? gathering where, among other things, difficult legal questions would be solved. A moot point was one that was too difficult to solve so it might as well be dropped.
I agree with several of the other responders, it isn't the generation as such that is the problem. It's just that a few idiots are so annoying that you don't notice all of the intelligent, well behaved people. True, more teenagers tend to be noisy idiots but that's probably because the older idiots have learned to keep their mouths shut or have gone into politics.
I also question "good old-fashioned discipline". In my experience it isn't whether or not you smack the kids when they misbehave but how you, the parent, personally live your life. The children will do as you do, not what you say, however you discipline them. Yes, you do have to physically pick up a child having a tantrum and give them a time out. You do have to insist that they behave. Still, the only time I had to smack one was when my (then) 3 year old insisted on running into the street to play in traffic.

Take care, everybody.

The fact that even with the Anime more readily available then ever before, Pirates go out of their way to continue their “fan” subbing (I use this word lightly for if they where fans they wouldn’t steal to begin with.) Subbing anime has become a art form it self, where one can push out a pirated copy of an new Anime series faster then the Chinese can Pirate the latest Movie from Hollywood. I live in a glass house, I have not downloaded or gone out of my way to get a pirated Anime, but I have watched them in my youthful past. It is plain and simple, I was wrong to indulge to this form of Anime, and it is wrong for others in the community to do so as well. No argument in the world can defend the unlawful theft and mass distribution of a product that is not their’s to give. The fact that so many not only defend, but encourage this shows the moral deviancy the modern Otaku faces.

My statements come from observing the community and my dealings with them as it relates with my work and work prior. I can say that if one would ask any shrink conscious Store manager to a Walden Books, or other chain Bookstore you can find in your local mall, they will usually give you the same response on what might keep them from their bounce yet be a big seller, Manga. From my end, as a law enforcement officer, these books are simply too good to be true for those of us less inclined to have morals. Small, many times thin, sensor tags can’t be easily hidden, prefect for a quick concealment, especially in winter or those of the baggy cloths trend usually dark in color.

Well if you would have elaborated more on these illicit ativities of the "uguly otaku" it would have been more out there. Yes i also feel sickened when these "uguly otaku" go around repeating the code of fansubbers that "we will not distribute a licecend title", now thats just a white lie.

Just because the third generation is a lying, stealing bunch of "uguly otaku" doesnot mean that the first generation is a saint, in the end the intentions matter, after all the first generation sprouted out the concept of fansubs, you started it.

THe Uguly otaku also shells out millions of dollars on, beyblades, toys, and trading cards, stuff the elder generation would have thought immature or lack of gore, its not that they donot contribute at all.

valkyrie1981 wrote:

My statements come from observing the community and my dealings with them as it relates with my work and work prior. I can say that if one would ask any shrink conscious Store manager to a Walden Books, or other chain Bookstore you can find in your local mall, they will usually give you the same response on what might keep them from their bounce yet be a big seller, Manga. From my end, as a law enforcement officer, these books are simply too good to be true for those of us less inclined to have morals. Small, many times thin, sensor tags can’t be easily hidden, prefect for a quick concealment, especially in winter or those of the baggy cloths trend usually dark in color.

I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are trying to say here.

HeeroTX wrote:

Because I'm in a wacky mood, I'll play along.

Seriously, the whole “anime characters are a bad influence” thing was a moot point to begin with, so why bother elaborating? In the first place, I think the fans that actually idolize anime characters are in the minority.

Secondly, there have always been jerks and anti-socials. Two thousand years ago, was it anime’s fault? I don’t think it was. And today, are there no people with personality problems outside the fandom? No. It’s not anime now, it never has been, and most likely never will be. I’m sure if we all sat and thought, we could easily come up with 10,000 anime characters that could be seen as a bad influence, but I think we could come up with just as many movie, book, or video game characters as well (or real people, for that matter). But hey, just for a moment, let's say that, hypothetically, people are being influenced by anime characters. Anime easily features as many characters with positive personality traits as negative. If anime characters influence fans, one could argue that there should be at least an equal number of fans being positively influenced.

Regardless, I completely don’t buy into this entire “the reason kids these days are like they are is because of INSERT TYPE OF MEDIA HERE” theory. People are the way they are because it’s just the nature of people to be that way. The times change, but the core points of human nature remain the same. To say that anime itself has anything to do with the behavior of its fans (outside of things that are directly anime related) is ludicrous.

Wrong.
Yes, there were anti-socials and jerks in the past, and yes they exist today as well. But there seem to be a LOT more of the anti-socials thanks to technology.
When I was a kid, there was no such thing as the common internet. There were no cellphones, no satellite TV, no mp3s. It was uncommon for people to have a family computer, one that wasn't just used for a parent's work. So, as a kid, what did I do? I played outside. I ran around, I met the kids in my neighbourhood, I went to the community pool and met tons and tons of people. Indoors in the summer was a ridiculous notion, and TV was only for Saturday morning cartoons. I was a shy kid, but I did a lot of social stuff as a kid and was very active.

Wrong.
Yes, there were anti-socials and jerks in the past, and yes they exist today as well. But there seem to be a LOT more of the anti-socials thanks to technology.

I will admit that I was brought in as part of the Pokémon generation (even though I was in 7th grade at the time)

I'm old and jaded