Hopefully it is not because I am getting older, but, when I first signed on to the message boards I jusr happened to read a couple of responses from people who seemed to be OK with the website and that also seemed to be promoting the "What one does at Home is their business,: attitude. This is where I surpprised myself. As a member of the "Woodstock Generation" I couldn't possibly be disagreeing with this, could I?
Well, I am, not because I do not believe that what people do in their personal life should not effect them at work. I do believe it, I just have gained enough experience to know that it can effect them, know more than ever.. Unless someone feels so strong about this that they are willing to risk their future for a borderline case at best, they had better wake up and realize the potential sacrifice they are making for the cause.
I do not thinjk the substitue teacher should necesarily have been fired. I believe it could have been handled better. The reason I feel this way is because he certainly has the argument that the use of a 4 letter word, and the use of a moment of nudity was in the name of his art. It certainly is within his first ammendment rights.
Now, I know I said I was surprised to find myself moving (God Forgive) to the right on this issue so let me explain. I have become this way because for better or worse people are going to live under the scrutiny of the internet and what it may bring to bare. (No Pun Intended).
The woman who represented this "Facebook" website certainly did not come prepared. I could have presented a better justification by simply saying that it is and was meant to be nothing more than a "Shock-Jock" website, meant to make money and following in the footsteps of the Howard Stern's of the world and even more so , "Girl's Gone Wiild.". I would still not be in favor of someone I know putting themselves on it but it would at least come across more sincere than the responses we heard. Attempting to justify underage drinking and promoting alcoholism and the resultant horrific behavior is, crossing a line that I can find no moral, social, or political statements resulting from it. At least we felt that some of our outragous behavior came along with a true attempt at making a difference, and we did. We did not win the war but we definetly won some battles along the way. Our youth let us combine our enthusiasm that unfortunately led too many of us to alcoholism and drug addict ion and many of us paid the price for that part of our behavior.
I do hope that someone, comes to the rescue of the 17 year old,and I hope they come soon and fast. That she can openly state pride in getting drunk, getting arrested, (and we all know rthat she drinks most likely not only every weekend but I suspect some weeknights) in front of her mother, a studio audience, and a national TV audience, does not take a Dr Phil to know she needs help NOW! I was floored that the mother could sit there and be seemingly not that much more concerned, than if she had a daughter who was coming home late on a weekend date. I realize it may be hard to express oneself in this setting, but even so, I would find it impossible not to break down, if I learned that my daughter started drinking at 13, and became a regular at 15! She needs a plan now and obviously her mother is not capable of handling the situation herself. I do not mean for this to sound demeaning at all. It is hard for people who have had no experience with this kind of problem, and I am sure that a loving and caring mother can talk herself into believing that even this maybe some kind of fad. Please let her know that its not. Its downhill from here and there are not too many ways back up.
Just to end on the fight between the facebook woman and her adversary, an email war has no place to go but lead to name calling, and after 2 or 3 emails what else is left to say, but a littany of verbage that will ultimately end up as ugly as the pictures on Facebook to begin with. I haven't visited the site nor do I intend on, but please do not try to tell anybody that this is some kind of forum for furthering the cause of feminism. I am quite sure that the most ardent feminists can't wait until the site has posted its last pix.
Girls dancing on bars half-naked, passed out on the beach, hugging the porcelain … these are photos posted for all to see on the Web site Facebook, in a group called Thirty Reasons a Girl Should Call it a Night. These shocking and provocative pictures are supposedly submitted by the women in the photos themselves. The women say they love to have fun, and this is a way to bond with other girls just like them. But are there unforeseen consequences to letting the public behold you at your worst? Dr. Phil speaks with women on both sides of this debate. Jasmine is the moderator for the group Thirty Reasons and says, although she’s responsible for taking down questionable photos, she hasn’t found one yet! Amanda and Norma are incensed that women would degrade themselves in this way. Hear from the president of a company who uses Web sites like Facebook and MySpace to weed out potential employees. Could documenting your good time on the Internet become your biggest regret? Then, a teen who loves to drink says criticism of Thirty Reasons just reinforces the double standard of gender inequality. What do Dr. Phil and the teen’s mother think? Plus, a mayor’s sexy photo has her town’s residents outraged. And, meet a substitute teacher who says he was unfairly fired from his job two times for what’s on his MySpace page. Share your thoughts here.
