I know, I promised a completely different subject. And I will eventually get to it, scouts’ honor. But there is something about this, http://www.justnews.com/news/22868624/detail.html that has really gotten to me. It’s a horrible thing, and I am going to say something very important first. I do NOT condone the abhorrent act this young man committed. There is NO excuse for what he did to that girl. None whatsoever. That being said, I’m going to get to the point of my little rant. Be warned, I’m going to cuss. A lot.
When in the hell did it become okay to mock someone about their recently deceased relative? When did that become acceptable in today’s society? The boy found his only brother hanging from a GODDAMNED tree, for fuck’s sake. And I know that I’m an old fogey, and I’m old fashioned compared to the youth of today. But when I was younger, suicide wasn’t really talked about. It wasn’t quite a taboo, it just wasn’t brought up. I think, and I could be remembering wrong, that there was a man in our neighborhood that shot himself in the head. He had children, if I recall correctly. Now, had I made fun of one of those kids, my mom and dad would have whooped my ass, I wouldn’t have been able to sit down for weeks. And I'd have deserved it, for being such a shithead. I don't care who you are, or who you think you are, but that kind of behavior is out of line.
Although, I don’t think the idea would have occurred to me. Maybe it's because I was raised with compassion. Or it’s because I was taught to mind my own fucking business. Seriously. If I didn’t like a guy my friend dated, I might comment to her about it. But otherwise, it wasn’t my business. I wouldn’t have brought that up to the guy. It would not be my place. As long as no one was being hurt, I’d have the decency to stay the fuck out of it.
And sure, I’ve said things in the heat of the moment that I didn’t really mean. Everybody has, at one time or another. I’ve said things that later on, I cringe about. But I cannot recall ever pulling such a low blow. A comment like what was said to that boy was completely out of line. As I said earlier, that still does not excuse his behavior, nothing does.
There’s one other thing that bugs me about this whole thing. Why the hell didn’t the girl go to the office and talk to someone in authority? Now, call me a coward if you will, but if I’d just deliberately poked someone’s button and they’d told me “I’m coming over there to snap your neck.” I’d be booking for help. I do have a couple of theories on the why; one, she didn’t think he was serious and/or two, she was ashamed.
I hope this girl recovers fully. I hope and pray for her family. And I hope that people will learn from this, and start thinking about what they say, before something like this happens again.
This is Wesfan, signing out.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
Censorship, Free Speech, and FF.NET
There is a lot of controversy on ff.net nowadays. A lot of words have been thrown around. Words like censorship, free speech, and a whole host of other things. I’m not going to delve into the cesspool of name calling right now. I’m just going to clarify what censorship is and how it’s applicable or not applicable in this case. To start with, let’s talk about the big C(and I don’t mean cancer). Here’s what dictionary.com had to say.
cen•sor–noun
1. an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.
2. any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
3. an adverse critic; faultfinder.
4. (in the ancient Roman republic) either of two officials who kept the register or census of the citizens, awarded public contracts, and supervised manners and morals.
5. (in early Freudian dream theory) the force that represses ideas, impulses, and feelings, and prevents them from entering consciousness in their original, undisguised forms.
–verb (used with object)
6. to examine and act upon as a censor.
7. to delete (a word or passage of text) in one's capacity as a censor.
So, we know what censor means. Jolly good. Now, how does this fit in with the current insanity on ff.net. For those not in the know, consider how lucky you are before reading on. If you are really that curious and simply must read on, you’ve been warned. Most of the controversy has come from the Twilight section, and MA rated fics.
As I posted in the blog previous, when I dug this old thing out of hiding, ff.net has a rating system. People have been ignoring this system for some time, and have gotten caught. Now, as any long time user of ffnet knows, there is a system in place to report stories that break the guidelines. The admins check out the stories that have been reported, and delete offending stories. To which there has been an outcry of “Censorship”, “Oppression”, “What about our FREE SPEECH!?” I paraphrase. I’ve also left out a few things, but those will be touched on at a later date.
To my knowledge, no one has told any author on the site; you can’t write about _____(fill in the blank) What has been said is, you may not post your_____on this site. Two different things. I don’t care if the muse hits, and you simply must write about Carlisle and his insatiable lust for goats in graphic, explicit detail. Have at it, and have fun. I do care if you decide that this Carlisle/Goats story ends up on ffnet. Wanna know why?
Well, since you’re still reading, I guess so. Ffnet used to allow MA stories. However, the site was hit with several cease and desist orders, from the actual authors of the real stories. The authors didn’t want their characters being used for explicit scenes on that site. Ffnet is a massive site, with no age limit to read stories on it. That’s why ffnet stopped allowing MA/NC-17 stories.
Free speech is a wonderful thing. I’m a believer in it myself. However, telling someone; this isn’t the proper site for your story, is not stopping them from using free speech. Even free speech has it’s limitations, legally. Like a person who yells “FIRE!” in a crowded theater when there is no fire. That can get you arrested. Telling the cops, “But I have free speech!” will not stop you from being in some deep shit.
So, I hope I’ve helped clear up some issues there. Have a great day.
Next up on Wesfan’s World . . . . Argument Fail, and how to avoid it.
This is Wes, signing out.
cen•sor–noun
1. an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.
2. any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
3. an adverse critic; faultfinder.
4. (in the ancient Roman republic) either of two officials who kept the register or census of the citizens, awarded public contracts, and supervised manners and morals.
5. (in early Freudian dream theory) the force that represses ideas, impulses, and feelings, and prevents them from entering consciousness in their original, undisguised forms.
–verb (used with object)
6. to examine and act upon as a censor.
7. to delete (a word or passage of text) in one's capacity as a censor.
So, we know what censor means. Jolly good. Now, how does this fit in with the current insanity on ff.net. For those not in the know, consider how lucky you are before reading on. If you are really that curious and simply must read on, you’ve been warned. Most of the controversy has come from the Twilight section, and MA rated fics.
As I posted in the blog previous, when I dug this old thing out of hiding, ff.net has a rating system. People have been ignoring this system for some time, and have gotten caught. Now, as any long time user of ffnet knows, there is a system in place to report stories that break the guidelines. The admins check out the stories that have been reported, and delete offending stories. To which there has been an outcry of “Censorship”, “Oppression”, “What about our FREE SPEECH!?” I paraphrase. I’ve also left out a few things, but those will be touched on at a later date.
To my knowledge, no one has told any author on the site; you can’t write about _____(fill in the blank) What has been said is, you may not post your_____on this site. Two different things. I don’t care if the muse hits, and you simply must write about Carlisle and his insatiable lust for goats in graphic, explicit detail. Have at it, and have fun. I do care if you decide that this Carlisle/Goats story ends up on ffnet. Wanna know why?
Well, since you’re still reading, I guess so. Ffnet used to allow MA stories. However, the site was hit with several cease and desist orders, from the actual authors of the real stories. The authors didn’t want their characters being used for explicit scenes on that site. Ffnet is a massive site, with no age limit to read stories on it. That’s why ffnet stopped allowing MA/NC-17 stories.
Free speech is a wonderful thing. I’m a believer in it myself. However, telling someone; this isn’t the proper site for your story, is not stopping them from using free speech. Even free speech has it’s limitations, legally. Like a person who yells “FIRE!” in a crowded theater when there is no fire. That can get you arrested. Telling the cops, “But I have free speech!” will not stop you from being in some deep shit.
So, I hope I’ve helped clear up some issues there. Have a great day.
Next up on Wesfan’s World . . . . Argument Fail, and how to avoid it.
This is Wes, signing out.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ratings and an Explanation
I can't believe I haven't updated my blog in so many years. Last post in 2006. Wow.
I’m adding in my two cents to the lovely brouhaha, that’s happening on ff.net. Before I really get moving though, I thought we could all benefit from a few term definitions. I’ll start off with the ratings, specifically M and MA. It should be noted beforehand that FF.net does not allow MA rated stories on their site.
http://www.fictionratings.com/
M rated , as per ff.net: Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.
MA rated, as per above source: Content is only suitable for mature adults. May contain explicit language and adult themes.
Now that that issue is cleared up, let’s move on, shall we? From www.dictionary.com
ex•plic•it
–adjective
1. fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal: explicit instructions; an explicit act of violence; explicit language.
2. clearly developed or formulated: explicit knowledge; explicit belief.
3. definite and unreserved in expression; outspoken: He was quite explicit as to what he expected us to do for him.
4. described or shown in realistic detail: explicit sexual scenes.
5. having sexual acts or nudity clearly depicted: explicit movies; explicit books.
6. Mathematics. (of a function) having the dependent variable expressed directly in terms of the independent variables, as y = 3x + 4.Compare implicit def. 4.
So, as you can read, I’ve bolded number five. That’s the pertinent one, for this case.
Case 1, Edward and Bella are going to have sex, and there are innuendos left and right. However, the author does not depict the actual act of sex, instead using the traditional ‘Fade to black”. This story would be properly rated as M.
Case 2, Edward and Bella are going at it again. In this story, every part of their anatomy is described in great detail. This story would be rated as MA. MA stories are clearly not allowed. I hope maybe this clarifies a few things.
Tune in next time for my words on censorship and free speech.
Wes
I’m adding in my two cents to the lovely brouhaha, that’s happening on ff.net. Before I really get moving though, I thought we could all benefit from a few term definitions. I’ll start off with the ratings, specifically M and MA. It should be noted beforehand that FF.net does not allow MA rated stories on their site.
http://www.fictionratings.com/
M rated , as per ff.net: Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.
MA rated, as per above source: Content is only suitable for mature adults. May contain explicit language and adult themes.
Now that that issue is cleared up, let’s move on, shall we? From www.dictionary.com
ex•plic•it
–adjective
1. fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal: explicit instructions; an explicit act of violence; explicit language.
2. clearly developed or formulated: explicit knowledge; explicit belief.
3. definite and unreserved in expression; outspoken: He was quite explicit as to what he expected us to do for him.
4. described or shown in realistic detail: explicit sexual scenes.
5. having sexual acts or nudity clearly depicted: explicit movies; explicit books.
6. Mathematics. (of a function) having the dependent variable expressed directly in terms of the independent variables, as y = 3x + 4.Compare implicit def. 4.
So, as you can read, I’ve bolded number five. That’s the pertinent one, for this case.
Case 1, Edward and Bella are going to have sex, and there are innuendos left and right. However, the author does not depict the actual act of sex, instead using the traditional ‘Fade to black”. This story would be properly rated as M.
Case 2, Edward and Bella are going at it again. In this story, every part of their anatomy is described in great detail. This story would be rated as MA. MA stories are clearly not allowed. I hope maybe this clarifies a few things.
Tune in next time for my words on censorship and free speech.
Wes
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