Actually, I did. It wasn't a big deal and the thread moved on.

What do you want from me? I didn't make the world. I just have to find ways to deal with it.
Young men are not good at figuring out what's ok for little kids. This is not news. Whether it's a hardware or a software problem (nature/nurture) is a matter of opinion, but it's still one of those timeless realities. There's nothing new under the sun. And you're in good company.

Well, I took one glance. For a second, I thought of listing in this post the topics on that first page. Then I remembered the point -- that this is a family-oriented board, and that even the titles are inappropriate.

Maybe that's the trouble -- a definition for words like "questionable" and "inappropriate." These words do NOT mean, "Bad from every angle, no matter who you are or where you go."

College is the perfect place to discuss some of those topics. They are extremely important issues and absolutely should be discussed, thoroughly and even heatedly.

The gutter is a good place for other topics. While they have no redeaming social value, they're harmless enough in their place. As long as you don't include eight-year-olds.


A few decades ago, some people might have used the phrase, "boys will be boys," but that out-dated phrase implies a tolerance for certain behaviors that are, today, intolerable.

While a significant improvement over the barbarians of the past, the young men of today remain stupid in some, less offensive, ways. Like the honest inability to comprehend why a link like that would be objectionable to anyone. If you don't get it, no explanation will suffice.

Make a copy of the link that started this discussion, tuck it away, and read it again when you have a twelve-year-old daughter. It will suddenly take on a whole new meaning.

Make a copy of the front page that I just saw, and you'll only need to wait until you have a five-year-old.

Not much chance of that. I have no desire to be your mom. But I do have a prejudice: I don't like divisions.

That outdated phrase, "boys will be boys" acknowledges the timeless reality that young men are stupid, but also implies a profound hopelessness. Lots of people, even still today, want to draw lines between certain age groups to avoid contamination. I do not accept this hopeless attitude.

For example, New Jersey State Law says that we must draw a firm line between the fifth and sixth grades, limiting their opportunities for social interaction. They want as little contact as possible between the little kids and the big kids. The Great State of New Jersey bases its laws on the assumption that all kids go bad when they reach a certain age, and that there ain't nothin' you can do about it. Then they draw another line betweem middle school and high school.

(Don't tell anyone, but we ignore this stupid law at my kid's tiny school. Our multi-age groupings are working just fine. The older kids are aware that they are role models and take the job seriously. We have eighth-grade boys hugging kindergarteners, zipping their coats, helping them at lunch... No adult tells them to do anything in particular, it just comes naturally when the setting allows it. Try that in most schools and... well, no one would dare.)

My own prejudice is that I don't like divisions. I like the idea of this club as a single community.
Maybe trying to put this concept into a sound bite was a dumb idea -- presenting a string of arguments you've probably never heard, then saying that they're all hogwash. If you're still awake and want an expanded explanation, let me know.