From the humor of Andy Borowitz - the only man able to tell the news before it happens:
Monday, May 7: Vice President Dick Cheney will announce that he is seeking an exit strategy from George Tenet’s book.
Tuesday, May 8: Hillary Clinton will propose building a seven-foot fence around her supporters to keep them from defecting to Barack Obama.
Wednesday, May 9: A new study will show that teenagers who watch TV shows with sexual content are more likely to have sex, while teenagers who watch “CSI” are more likely to solve crimes.
Thursday, May 10: In an historic clash of angry celebrities, Hugh Grant’s baked beans will collide in midair with Naomi Campbell’s cell phone.
Friday, May 11: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will report that the number of unemployed people in the U.S. increased by one, due to the visit of Queen Elizabeth II.
Saturday, May 12: Consumer activist Ralph Nader will announce that he is actively considering screwing up the 2008 presidential election.
Sunday, May 13: After succeeding in his bid to take over Dow Jones, Rupert Murdoch will reduce the size of The Wall Street Journal by removing the facts.
I especially like Hillary's wall, and it was the future crime solvers bit that made me bring it here. I personally never watch CSI or any of those crime-solving shows, and don't let the boys watch them either, because of all the gore that is shown. I remember watching detective shows "in my day" where the body would be laying on the floor, perhaps with a small amount of blood barely visible, or it would already be covered by a sheet. Nowadays you see the weapons going in, the guts pouring out, the anguish on the face, the blood, gore, and violence - all spelled out for you as if it were a picture book for an illiterate reader.
I do not approve. I don't necessarily think that people who watch that type of show are going to go out and commit violent crimes. But I do think that it desensitizes people to violence and pain and death, and that, in turn, changes how they act and react to real situations, making real scenes of horror seem less critical.
Thanksgiving Letter to the Family
5 months ago
3 comments:
I watched an episode of CSI and I think it's the most sordid t.v. I've ever seen. I think you're right and I don't know why people don't get it. Watching violence makes people either more violent or more paranoid.
and sometimes I think this about the news, too. I want to watch the news and I want my kids to know what's going on in the world, too. But I worry that watching such horrors will desensitize us.
another thing that really gets me is when we are watching a quality show during the day or early evening and the commercials for these shows come on - and even the commercials are too graphically violent for me, and especially for what I allow my children to watch.
I have never done anything other than complain about it, don't know what the options are for an individual in Minnesota to fight netwrok TV.
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