Sex Education and Censorship

[bradc]

Do you think the younger generation are becoming less and less educated about sex education? While reality televisions shows are showing teenagers wearing less and less clothing on their body, and being encourage to show have they have got. On the flip side; it contradicts itself, the Internet these days have become a censorship battlefield because of what one sees, watch and reads, but we are given the choice of what we watch, see and read? Why should this matter?

What are your thoughts about what's happening in our society?

[Rain]

Pretty similar topic here:

http://www.bleachasylum.com/showthread.php?t=2345

i wouldn't say the younger generations are becoming less educated, but less aware of the consequences of what could happen

[bradc]

Pretty similar topic here:

http://www.bleachasylum.com/showthread.php?t=2345

i wouldn't say the younger generations are becoming less educated, but less aware of the consequences of what could happen

I find it becoming more of a problem being less aware of the consequences; if know learning as much as you can the fact sexual education is the one reason its being taught in the beginning of grade school to high school as the body is growing and developing at the ages 10 -13, until 14 - 16 when teenager begins to mature.

With the over-censorshipping these days; teenagers these days have to be clean about what they write and what they read being controlled by the mass media as whole; they practically not given the choice to choose what's right and wrong by themselves, or taught what is right and wrong...

[earthforge]

I think the intention of less sex-ed is to have the kids become teens and ignore the concept until they are older, but that has half proven ineffective.

But I think the cause has nothing to do with sexual education. It hasn't changed really.

My guess about the cause is stupid parents. They are too busy censoring their kids that they prevent matural growth from them. As a result they get uncontrolled in this manner.

And BTW, teens don't have to be clean. In fact, schools don't have much to do with it. I went to a similar school as many people. Some became druggies, some alcoholics, for all I know. But school, or more specifically middle and high schools, is becoming less restrictive on the teachers. That directly affects the students, who would be subject to their teacher's beliefs. So it is not the school or system kids grow through, and not really teachers because very few are stuck with such teachers (I was unlucky enough myself to get a gay teacher.)

With the internet nothing can be censored. So it's not over-censorship in society as much as helicopter parents.

And as well, do not restrict maturity to those ages. I take offense to that. It's the reason why people wanted to restrict my movement in the school systems. More students are advancing than you think.

[bradc]

I think the intention of less sex-ed is to have the kids become teens and ignore the concept until they are older, but that has half proven ineffective.

But I think the cause has nothing to do with sexual education. It hasn't changed really.

My guess about the cause is stupid parents. They are too busy censoring their kids that they prevent matural growth from them. As a result they get uncontrolled in this manner.

And BTW, teens don't have to be clean. In fact, schools don't have much to do with it. I went to a similar school as many people. Some became druggies, some alcoholics, for all I know. But school, or more specifically middle and high schools, is becoming less restrictive on the teachers. That directly affects the students, who would be subject to their teacher's beliefs. So it is not the school or system kids grow through, and not really teachers because very few are stuck with such teachers (I was unlucky enough myself to get a gay teacher.)

With the internet nothing can be censored. So it's not over-censorship in society as much as helicopter parents.

And as well, do not restrict maturity to those ages. I take offense to that. It's the reason why people wanted to restrict my movement in the school systems. More students are advancing than you think.

To a degree, but one would look back on what they have learned when they were taught sex education from grade school to high school as they grow older... I am not sure about US school system than the ones here in Canada where there are more restrictions in schools as they are private catholic schools. Students are allow to smoke but not within the school property area, but it wouldn't stop them from smoking and drinking at all being censorshipped and blocked to death.

Though I find it funny; I just recently received an e-mail from a fiction posting website I no longer post in from Anime Spiral (http://www.animespiral.com) that fanfictions are no rated no higher than PG-13, which it's probably the same stunt that Fanfiction dot Net (fhttp://fanfiction.net) when they yanked off NC-17, which became problematic later on; even rating system can't censors the mass growth of young adults and adults a like. The media went as far as labeling Naruto as an actual kid show and editing out the blood and gore where the characters isn't injured, where most of Anime Fanatics know its a not a clean kid show with violence involved. There is more violence as much as there is sex or dressing provokitively shown on television... What is the message are government, teachers and parents, media are sending out to teenagers this day and age?

Parents are as fault as teachers, who are parents.

If you say an African Tribal who walks around naked and only cover certain part of their body, but Initiation of Adulthood where the teenager must defend for himself in a certain period of time from simply learning from the elders as an education and learning about their own sexuality in life; however they are not being censorshipped compare to us in our populated in cities and they are not affected.

[Lady Scaper]

I went to public school in Canada. There is Catholic school, and private shool but a lot of people go to public school. I just wanted to point that out. I don't know what is being taught in Catholic schools but Sex ed is taught in public school and advanced Biology classes. The quality of eductaion is so so, but at least it is there and they do talk about some stuff (not all though).

[BioBomber]

The thought that mental and physical maturity go hand in hand is bullcrap. Even more so now as childhood seems to be getting shorter and shorter. The bar at which a child is considered precocious is getting raised higher and higher as expectations rise, and with it, parts of children's minds are progressing forward faster than others. Specifically those attributed to social interaction, organizational skills and basic learning fundamentals.

Within the social interaction however, there are to be found sub-categories, among which is sexual behaviors. With the increased speed of learning in many other social areas, comes a slightly more tardy but apparent learning curve regarding sexuality. It is my belief that if we intend to push our social norms as we are, then we need to stop sheltering children in many ways. We cannot have double standards.

[mechaqua]

abstinence education, does not, work, up in till 2003 my middle school high school taught sex education, with a primary focus on abstinence, This is not a problem in city schools only! My school wasn't in the city it was in a suburban(rural in some parts), it was well funded. My neighborhood was middle middle class and upper middle class. But they did not teach people how to use condoms, long story short, my school district had an extremely high pregnancy rate, at one point higher then some of the schools in the near by major City,(most people say that the highest pregnancy rate is in the city, necessarily true) even in the middle school were there was several unplanned pregnancy i recently got news that a fifth grade girl had got pregnant, the fact is kids are hitting puberty earlier and earlier, I personally have had three of my friends get their girl friends pregnant, one of them aborted the other kept the kid, it wasn't till my Junior year, that the district decided to switch to safe sex education, after a crabs outbreak in an Upper class district in other town, and there was a rise in Ghanarhea in our district, the fact is when your teenager, your hormones are raging more then they ever will, be, and then we stick these teenagers in a cramped area with each other, then the networks slam them with programs like the OC and Friday Night Lights were sex, is common somethings going to happen. my school districts pregnancy rate has gone down, (not by much) it may not be tardtional, but relying on abstinence education is ineffective.

now for my rant on censorship i stated earlier that the networks, slam us with shows like the OC and Friday Night Lights (I hate these shows), but the networks have a right, to show these censorship is wrong! (although I have sign a position to stop an artist to stop starving a dog, which was considered art, its a little hypocritical, but i don't think killing something live is art!) many justify censorship so the masses are protected from the horrible truth but the truth hurts we are not a 1984 society or Fahrenheit 451 society (ironically this book was censored in some places)

[Akutabi]

For those of us wishing to continue our discussion from the Viz thread in the manga section

A lot sex goes on in the hotel... It is a love-sex hotel...

No exactlly. A lot of people check into them just because they're nice hotels. They often offer more and better comforts than regular hotels at a good price. Sure they were intended for sexual reasons but a lot of people exploit it for non-sexual reasons

I feel foreign already... Depends on how the company has animated the hentai and anime; the original version has always been the Japanese audio with the English again licensed so they can synchronize with the Japanese audio that's already available when they DUB IT. But of course, angering the costumers and making the Japanese version not available; therefore import of Japanese version among fans, instead of buying the English version.

:headscratch

Say wha? I was saying that uncensored versions of hentai are often only available through the American release. Not only that, but sometimes the Japanese company demands that the Japanese track not be available in the American release so that JAPANESE fans don't reverse import it for the uncensored version and cheaper price of DVDs in the States.

I always missed pain and suffering in things I used to see on TV. How come everything is always "good" and "well"? A whole lot of stuff is neglected when they create "children" stories. Why avoid such things? Even death is a reality of life, and people need an example, a way to deal with it rather than denial. And censorship, just as fairy tales about birth and death, to me are also denial.

We do have that here. In live action form though. This is due to the different paths we've taken (US towards live action and Japan towards animation). Regardless, when you think about it...Looney Toons was actually quite graphic. I mean, making death such a joke is actually quite dark when you really think about it.

And I would hardly call Bleach a series that takes death so seriously given how much of a joke it is the series except when people who are already dead are involved, sorry to say

[bradc]

For those of us wishing to continue our discussion from the Viz thread in the manga section



No exactlly. A lot of people check into them just because they're nice hotels. They often offer more and better comforts than regular hotels at a good price. Sure they were intended for sexual reasons but a lot of people exploit it for non-sexual reasons



:headscratch

Say wha? I was saying that uncensored versions of hentai are often only available through the American release. Not only that, but sometimes the Japanese company demands that the Japanese track not be available in the American release so that JAPANESE fans don't reverse import it for the uncensored version and cheaper price of DVDs in the States.



We do have that here. In live action form though. This is due to the different paths we've taken (US towards live action and Japan towards animation). Regardless, when you think about it...Looney Toons was actually quite graphic.

And I would hardly call Bleach a series that takes death so seriously given how much of a joke it is the series except when people who are already dead are involved, sorry to say


Those Hotels in Japan are design specifically for sexual interactions because Japan houses are rather small and parents can ruin the privacy of two people making love to each other. No different, per se, one goes to a friend house to make love and miraculous a parent walks in on you. It makes the situation uncomfortable and awkward.

Uncensored version are available in Japan. There are porn shops wide open in public since my last visit there. Is nothing new and same as America where porn shops exists. The American version make the Japanese audio track not available where fans have to result to Japanese import, which the American version just has more extras for a decent price. Where the Japanese version only have 2-3 video available cost about $50 pop per a DVD. A Limited Box sex cost about $100 dollars a pop.

I remember back in the good of days... Now a days is all censorship or classic television series are shown at later hour than being on regular programing consider the violence that Loony Toons has; they still air it but usually not during the after school time for kids these days.

Bleach and among other series in Japan mock death because it's something that everyone faces every day; making fun of it helps the person mentally get stronger and how to face their love ones when they pass away. Even two lovers that love each other would want to see each other in the after life, for example of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony being the two lovers of ancient history.

[Akutabi]

Those Hotels in Japan are design specifically for sexual interactions because Japan houses are rather small and parents can ruin the privacy of two people making love to each other. No different, per se, one goes to a friend house to make love and miraculous a parent walks in on you. It makes the situation uncomfortable and awkward.


I never said they weren't designed for sex, just that many people use them for non-sexual reasons. Like having a nice hotel room to spend the night in.

Uncensored version are available in Japan. There are porn shops wide open there since my last visit there. Is nothing new and same as America where porn shops.

:facepalm

I'm not talking about the shops I'm talking about the products. When you watched the porn, was it blurred? When you read the doujin, were their bars over parts? When you watch the hentai, was there also blurring?

The American version make the Japanese audio track not available where fans have to result to Japanese import, which the American version just has more extras for a decent price.

Okay if you want to stick with how American companies are screwing over people and ignore the problems on the Japanese side that's fine.

Regardless. The American release is often the only way to watch a version without any blurring on it. There are few to no exceptions to this. And the whole taking out the Japanese track is an uncommon occurrence made famous when they used that strategy on Bible Black. So basically you have to decide between some annoying blurring or turning the hentai in a comedy. Me, I just turn the volume down until it all becomes impossible to tell what it being said so it's like watching the Japanese version

Bleach and among other series in Japan mock death because it's something that everyone faces every day; making fun of it helps the person mentally get stronger and how to face their love ones when they pass away.

Or it totally kills the fights as the "Criticisms of Bleach" thread has shown. Looney Toons did it in a way that makes the characters seem disturbing when you think about it. Bleach does it in way that makes you go "why Kubo why?" Same for DBZ. All my favorite manga series take death very seriously and thus are considered better than Bleach.

[Jack Van Burace]

Yeah, Bleach doesn't take death seriously. But Zombie Powder did. And look what happened: Kubo had to stop due to low appreciation for his manga. I still don't understand why the hell did a manga that rocked so much like ZP wasn't loved. Kubo had no moral restraints back then, and looking at the past and its consequences perhaps we figure why is Bleach so much censored.

But more ontopic, (this is a little long but serves a purpose) I recall a samurai movie I saw a part when I was a kid, and in it there was 2 samurai fighting: the old man oppressor (the Evil) who was a man bent on doing whatever he needed to get power, and another who was a father looking for peace. The father had a son with him, and the "evil one" had a servant. When feeling tired, they decided to continue their battle on the next day at the Horse-hour (I think it meant noon), and left their swords sticked on the ground where they were. During the night, the servant went there to poison the blades, in order to define who the winner would be. He thought: "if the good guy wins, I'm gonna be a slave to him, as I am an evil man and he knows so. But if I poison the blade that cuts him, my master will keep the hardship over me forever, and I'll always be a servant.", so he laughingly poisoned both blades, in order to give neither a chance.

Getting to the point: it was no longer a matter of good versus evil, where good always prevails. It was a 3-sided confrontation, where nobody was entirely good or bad, and that had a deep relationship involving many characters. That was absolutely brilliant to me, as the world is never about just 2 sides and just 2 views. There was always another way, rather than 'yes' or 'no', 'doing' and 'not doing'. It opened my eyes to many many things in this world I had never thought about before.

So this is what I think censorship deprives us of: thinking. Widening your view of things can only achieve good things, imo. Ok, sorry for the longest post, even I am tired of writing! xD

[Akutabi]

Yeah, Bleach doesn't take death seriously. But Zombie Powder did. And look what happened: Kubo had to stop due to low appreciation for his manga. I still don't understand why the hell did a manga that rocked so much like ZP wasn't loved. Kubo had no moral restraints back then, and looking at the past and its consequences perhaps we figure why is Bleach so much censored.

And that's a Japanese thing. No American involvement there (and being a ZP freak I've compared every line in the Viz release and the translation on OneManga and have found few dramatic changes and no artwork modifications beyond SFX)

Getting to the point: it was no longer a matter of good versus evil, where good always prevails. It was a 3-sided confrontation, where nobody was entirely good or bad, and that had a deep relationship involving many characters. That was absolutely brilliant to me, as the world is never about just 2 sides and just 2 views. There was always another way, rather than 'yes' or 'no', 'doing' and 'not doing'. It opened my eyes to many many things in this world I had never thought about before.

You make it sound like Japan's the only one that breaks the mold.

That's nice and all, but can that be said of most of the stuff from Japan? At least in shounen, it is pretty much always good or bad and good always winning. I would not call Bleach and exception. There are exceptions like that every, you just have to look at them.

[Jack Van Burace]

Well yeah, Matrix 1 was a mind-opener, and look what they did to the sequel?? Anything meant for opening the minds of the people eventually gets cut-off because of the strange belief that thinking leads to danger (if you ask me, due to religious authorities mostly).

I never said it was about Japan or US, I said it was a good thing that japanese animation had (and might be loosing some) that we hadn't in our continent, as I've never seen too much uncensored stuff on any american country I know till this day, and I know plenty of them! To me it is still a matter of culture, and people not wanting to face stuff that goes outside their small mind-world. And of course, historical influences such as Disney's in the past.

And of course, I extend the criticism about censorship and excessive conservatism to US, Canada, Caribean countries and Latin America as a whole American Continent of hypocrisy. But since my opinion comes after comparing with London, Paris and Amsterdam experience, I wouldn't take it so hard! ;)

[Akutabi]

Or maybe their ideas for the other Matrix movies really sucked that badly did that ever cross your mind? After Speed Racer I dropped any notion that they were really THAT good and started to accept that maybe they're human and can make bad decisions as well.

But since my opinion comes after comparing with London, Paris and Amsterdam experience, I wouldn't take it so hard! ;)

I'm hoping you're not saying they censor less things in the places you mentioned. Forget Viz's dub (which I don't think is really that bad), England and Germany's censorship of Naruto alone is 4Kids level

And as for England (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=65979) (I don't agree with the knee jerk reactions but still, you can see the criticism)

[Jack Van Burace]

Amsterdam -> Netherlands
Berlin -> Germany
;)

And I said city names because I know the whole England isn't like London. ;)
Paris is indeed a city with cocky people, but as far as sexual censor go, they're a little bit freer, as they do have the Moulin Rouge there, right? lol So yeah, these places are indeed very free.

But I also begin to doubt whether the Matrix guys are really that smart. What impresses me is how did they do the first one then? But then you can also say: Kubo might be not that good, because ZP has only 27 or so episodes, and Bleach fell much in quality since that time. Well, I really don't know if they are that good or not! xD

[Akutabi]

Amsterdam -> Netherlands
Berlin -> Germany
;)

And I said city names because I know the whole England isn't like London. ;)

What's the point of that? I know where they are and I know the only German dub of Naruto and the only version of the English dub aired ANYWHERE in England (London included) is heavily censored.

You're not making any sense. Were you saying they censor less or more? That what I asked and your response made no sense about that.

[Jack Van Burace]

Yep, but they are free places, in terms of behavior and all. I never said Germany in any way, but you mentioned Germany, that's why I pointed it out. I'm not talking about VIZ's translations, but rather censorship. If in England they censored it all, I doubt that they really would do a different version on account of London's 'spirit', lets put it this way.

I'm not saying these places have a better VIZ translation. I'm saying they are more open-minded than most our american cities/citizens use to be. I have seen so much more lack of care for other's behavior or exhibition of sexual content in these places than anywhere on our continent, and I've been to most of it. That's my point.

[bradc]

There was a time I downloaded quite a few handful of porn from Hentai to Yaoi; I prefer the non-censoring version with Bible Black. Then there was Yaoi with Level C with the invisible dick (sweatdrops). Quite a few hentai I have watch are not censored and censored version are available; most people prefer the non-censored version if they could get their hands on it, depends on who is animating it. The double standard of censorshipping fail at this point...

Everyone dies when they get older; from unknown illness, accidents and so forth. But why take it so seriously? When it's hard to cope from daily basis, when it can be something that can be laughed off. People talk about dead and their diseased relative when the topic crops up; there is nothing to be sorry for. Hospitals are full of these diseased and dead people in morgue, the people who work there see it all the time; how do think they react?

We can sit all day and watch all these kiddies cartoons with Barney censoring the TV screen. That's a good way to suffer if there wasn't anime and manga available breaking all borders. DC and Marvel Comics do the same thing, but I think I already saw SD version of Superman/Batman going into Manga mode pretty much changes things of American comic world is also turning towards Manga, but still keeping the American aspect of the comics from its classic origin.

[stark espada]

First off I think society as a hole is on a very big decline but that is for a different debate I think.

As for sex education I think in schools and what not it should be thought to kids at a younger age for what is know being shown on tv if you show one and do not do the other that is not a good way to do things Now I do not believe in censorship in television I think parents are the ones who should watch what kids watch and do not watch. But I think more detail in sex education should be done to truely teach how to protect yourself from what is going on in the world today and more detail should be shown on telling kids not to believe every thing on Tv that is shown.

That is the way things should be done to this way

[Hiraeth]

Not to be offtopic here people but stop bemoaning the brilliance of the first Matrix movie compared to the sequels, hardly anything in it is original:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer#Plot_summary


On topic: I've never really seen any evidence to suggest that censorship in Australia is anywhere near as bad as it seems to be for you guys, but anyone can feel free to correct me.

[Jack Van Burace]

@ Hiraeth: Well, there was a brazilian clip named 'Garota Nacional' which got banned from Australia for showing women with their bare breasts. The censors claimed it made women seems like objects. Here's the clip link on youtube if you want to check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUC4S30wAEs

EDIT: Btw, Skank is the name of the band, not the song! lol

[bradc]

When people say one needs to get out more; they right about that. The world is more than just a cubical and television screen... Although there has been cases already happened online with censorshipping, which pretty much angering writers left, right and center. Meanwhile, bookstores have erotic books available on shelf, not much different from the fandom world.

Sex education... Is important and people should be aware of it. However, sometimes is the parents that winds up blaming what's shown on television, and sometimes is the media is to blame. A friend of mine shown me a video where a 10 year old kid pretend he was Gaara from Naruto and died with his head buried under the sand... There was with no parents watching when the kid was playing with his friends...

Who is to blame? The media or the parents, or both?

[Hiraeth]

Jack VB: Not to be picky, but that was twelve years ago lol.

[Rain]

Also, that just proves there was censorship in Australia, not that it is as bad as other countries

bradc- honestly, in that situation its the kids fault, both of them

I'm not saying its always the kids fault, but it seems that the person actually doing the action never takes any part of the blame.

The kid choose to bury his friend, anyone with half a brain can see that that is just a stupid idea.

Should the parent be blamed for not monitoring the kids 24-7, no. If we say that, then the parent will be blamed for not giving her child any freedom, its a horrid double standard

Should the media be blamed for showing a show where people die from being entrapped in sand, no

Sometimes the only people that should be blamed are the ones stupid enough to do the action

[Jack Van Burace]

Jack VB: Not to be picky, but that was twelve years ago lol.

Hmmm, didn't realize it's been so long! :headscratch Thanks for reminding me, when you mentioned Aussie censorship I remembered it so easily I could swear it wasn't so long ago... Well, nvm that then! :p

[Tenonee]

A large problem I find with censorship is not only the amount of censorship but the basis for censorship. Why do we censor things in the first place? Do we want to control people's ideas? Protect people from the "bad" side of things?

Nothing short of a totalitarian government will effectively stop the spreading of those so called "bad" ideas some wish to stop from spreading (I leave this as a generalization on purpose as there are other places in this section to decide which ideas are "good" or "bad"). So instead are we left with "protecting" people from the truth?

Take sex, that seems on topic, the idea will be spread, kids will learn about sex, however we want to "protect" them from it so we withold parts of it from them. They will still get the idea. A show may have sex or sexual innuendo in it but because the bad consequences of it may be too harsh to show children it becomes glorified. A kid sees a boy lusting after a girl in the PG-13 movie they're allowed to see, but doesn't see the two teens that have to deal with a baby during their first year of high school and the troubles they go through because that movie is rated R. A t.v. show where death occurs commonly and lightheartedly doesn't get censored but the t.v. show that shows the brutal tradgedy of death won't be aired.

What happens? People are told an incomplete truth. People aren't protected they isntead get a warped view of life, one where actions don't have consequences. We try to hide certain things for certain reasons but because we can't hide the thing itself we only end up hiding the reason. Censorship is acting against itself.

If someone can't handle something, please, please, don't hesitate to help them handle it.

[bradc]

A large problem I find with censorship is not only the amount of censorship but the basis for censorship. Why do we censor things in the first place? Do we want to control people's ideas? Protect people from the "bad" side of things?

Nothing short of a totalitarian government will effectively stop the spreading of those so called "bad" ideas some wish to stop from spreading (I leave this as a generalization on purpose as there are other places in this section to decide which ideas are "good" or "bad"). So instead are we left with "protecting" people from the truth?

Take sex, that seems on topic, the idea will be spread, kids will learn about sex, however we want to "protect" them from it so we withold parts of it from them. They will still get the idea. A show may have sex or sexual innuendo in it but because the bad consequences of it may be too harsh to show children it becomes glorified. A kid sees a boy lusting after a girl in the PG-13 movie they're allowed to see, but doesn't see the two teens that have to deal with a baby during their first year of high school and the troubles they go through because that movie is rated R. A t.v. show where death occurs commonly and lightheartedly doesn't get censored but the t.v. show that shows the brutal tradgedy of death won't be aired.

What happens? People are told an incomplete truth. People aren't protected they isntead get a warped view of life, one where actions don't have consequences. We try to hide certain things for certain reasons but because we can't hide the thing itself we only end up hiding the reason. Censorship is acting against itself.

If someone can't handle something, please, please, don't hesitate to help them handle it.

There's a line to everything and people should make their own decisions what is right and what is wrong based on those experiences, whether it be good or bad. A lesson is always learn. Unfortunately, there has been too much censorship from government before the media... Giving the people mix messages and signals, and we are the ones who have to figure them out?

Even in music videos these days where musicians, usually the female artists are close to either stripping or wearing close to nothing, and it's OKAY being aired on television where teenagers look up to these people as idols. We have been censorshipped to death and in this day and age it with technologies; THE CALL OF THE WILD OF THE INTERNET, it's pretty pointless to even censor and block off porn sites. Some people who have been labelled as pedophile, when most people out there aren't, leave that to reality.

While anime and manga such as Bleach and other series have tragic story are never aired to teach the younger generation these lessons, and so the same problem keeps cropping up. The government aren't doing anything to reduce the problem and creating more problem with their legislation that becomes ridicule due Conservative Governments feel the need to sensitize everything and feel the need to ban what we can watch and what we aren't allow to watch...

... Is for the parents to decide what their children should be watching while they are still young, and when they get older between ages 13 - 18 they should have the rights to start making their own decisions, which not every decisions are good but it's a learning experience either way.

People are born stubborn... Some people are basically uneducated and their ACTIONS always have consequences from what the person do and say; whether the person choose to learn from their mistakes, or continue to make the same ones and their life basically goes nowhere, and it backfires against them.

If someone can't handle something, there's always a best solution. Click the back button, ignore it, move on... etc and avoid it. No one asks a person to read and watch something they don't want to see and hear. Sadly, some people don't like taking other people's advices and some people won't listen result of their own stupidity. When a person tries to help; they most likely don't want your help, until it's too late.

[Tenonee]

I am not for censorship at all, if anything I just posted so I could gripe about its flaws. I not only believe censorship can't succeed but that it shouldn't succeed. We grow because of the experiences we have, be they through media or real life, censorship just stalls maturity. A 21 year that's lived in a bubble their entire life lacks a certain maturity that a 15 year old may have because they experienced more in their lifetime. In my opinion nobody is completely prepared for something the first time they encounter it, better to introduce it in a way that wont hurt them than have their first experience be first hand.

Information wont hurt you, but information that's witheld from you can. A girl doesnt get pregnant by accident because she learned about sex, she gets pregnant because she didn't learn how to prevent it.

Now there are things a parent may not want their child imitating but instead of hiding it from them they should educate them as to why it isn't a good example. Instead of putting all the focus on hiding "bad" examples focus on encouraging "good" examples. Having someone make a good decision by themselves is better than saying "don't do this... trust me".

[Rain]

Information wont hurt you, but information that's witheld from you can. A girl doesnt get pregnant by accident because she learned about sex, she gets pregnant because she didn't learn how to prevent it.

while i almost completely agree with you, there is some information that can hurt you

younger kids can't handle certain things, so they must be shielded from them

sex isn't necesarily one of those, but the fact remains that some censorship is necesary

although the current amount in many countries (especially the US) is overkill

[Tenonee]

And parents should be able to judge whether their child can handle it or not. At the age where a child can't handle certain T.V. shows or whatnot the parents, hopefully, know them better than anyone else. And, ideally, the parents would have enough respect for their child to accurately judge when to expose the child.

No, this is not the case. There are some cases in which it is, but not all cases for sure. Soooo.... that sorta ends my post on a crappy note... uhh...

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41500000/jpg/_41500264_mrhappy.jpg

He makes everything ok :D

[Rain]

Tenonee- i agree that parents should be able to judge (and should be responsible for it)

Parents should parent their child and not just shove them in front of a TV to keep them quiet, then complain about whats on TV

But even with that, even though it should be the parents responsibility to shield them from potentially harming information if the parent ignores this responsibility then the child will suffer

Im not saying that we should keep the current amount of censorship, but i think some is needed, if just to protect the children from what is actually harmful xD