For the 30+ crowd - Updated list

[Melusine]

Absynthe, thanks for pointing that out. You're probably right that this may go for American kids (I can't really say), maybe also because we in Europe tend to remind ourselves a lot more of WW2 (careful what I say now since an American ridiculed the idea once already - I think it's true though).
Well, in that case, it' absolutely NOT what I've seen of kids so far... and not true of all American kids, considering some of IW's younger members

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Melusine: it gives young people far too little credit. Just my 2c [/QB]

I took it more as, "what we've lived, they can only learn about". [img]smile.gif[/img]

A couple of the remarks where admittedly condescending, but I don't put down the young folks here. Without them, I'd never get any of my technical questions answered.

The one that really hit home for me? "You sound like a broken record." My son actually asked me what that meant.

[Attalus]

Melusine does have a point, because the only teenager that I really know, that would be Piestrider, knows a LOT of history and can discuss it quite knowledgably. His history project was the dissection of the tactics of the German and Allied armies on D-Day and D+1-5, all illustrated with maps and models. He is also very interested in politics, as are his friends. Republican politics, I hasten to say. He cried the night that Clinton beat Dole.

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Attalus: Melusine does have a point, because the only teenager that I really know, that would be Piestrider, knows a LOT of history and can discuss it quite knowledgably. His history project was the dissection of the tactics of the German and Allied armies on D-Day and D+1-5, all illustrated with maps and models. He is also very interested in politics, as are his friends. Republican politics, I hasten to say. He cried the night that Clinton beat Dole.

I knew I liked that guy!

Originally posted by Melusine: Absynthe, thanks for pointing that out. You're probably right that this may go for American kids (I can't really say), maybe also because we in Europe tend to remind ourselves a lot more of WW2 (careful what I say now since an American ridiculed the idea once already - I think it's true though). Well, in that case, it' absolutely NOT what I've seen of kids so far... and not true of all American kids, considering some of IW's younger members

Absolutely, Mel. Some of the "kids" on this forum are demonstratably more intelligent and aware than some of the "adults". I'm personally impressed with the number of folks here who are 15-20 years younger than I, whom I had assumed to be contemporaries from their attitudes and comments. Likewise I'm distressed at the number of old coots who mouth off like some posturing, potty-mouthed punks. Ageism is as shallow and ignorant a form of prejudice as any other. If only age did in fact convey wisdom, the world would likely not have seen the atrocities it has.
Interesting thing about the world wars; perhaps Americans would be more generally aware of the impact if we lived among the battlefields as many europeans do.

[Timber Loftis]

[img]graemlins/twocents.gif[/img]
I thought it was funny. Some truths in it, but like all jokes about a large group of people it can't be applied to each member of the group. As well, some statements in it are likely generally untrue altogether (not remembering the cold war), but funny nonetheless.

But, my biggest [img]graemlins/twocents.gif[/img] to add is that I'm certainly not going to condone holding back on the mirth and biting wit just to keep from offending our younger IW, er... EG members. When I was young, I heard all the time how stupid I was and how I knew nothing. It only made me more vehement in my struggle to learn, do, be, and grow. I think the fact that older people look down at least a bit on younger people for being young is a rather good thing. If we didn't, why would younger folks ever desire to grow and mature?

To be blunt, lots of knowledge only comes with age and no matter how bright you are lack of experience shows.

These were, after all, just jokes. I appreciate them and I appreciate the post. But, I bet this chastising has made Charean regret posting it just a bit.

[Yorick]

Charean I feel old.....

[andrewas]

I was born in 1982, and I LOLed my way through most of that. SOme of it didnt apply to me (I have used a typewriter, one of my TVs still dosent have a remote, couple other things) but some did. Same with anything really. Anyway, till I see someone my age complaining I reckon theres nothing wrong with it.

[Melusine]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: [img]graemlins/twocents.gif[/img] I thought it was funny. Some truths in it, but like all jokes about a large group of people it can't be applied to each member of the group. As well, some statements in it are likely generally untrue altogether (not remembering the cold war), but funny nonetheless. But, my biggest [img]graemlins/twocents.gif[/img] to add is that I'm certainly not going to condone holding back on the mirth and biting wit just to keep from offending our younger IW, er... EG members. When I was young, I heard all the time how stupid I was and how I knew nothing. It only made me more vehement in my struggle to learn, do, be, and grow. I think the fact that older people look down at least a bit on younger people for being young is a rather good thing. If we didn't, why would younger folks ever desire to grow and mature?

Where to start??
You ask why would younger folks ever desire to learn and grow? Because humans are inquisitive and curious beings, I'd say... because a lot of them have an instinctive thirst for knowledge.
Maybe being told how stupid you are drove you to bigger efforts, but persistently calling a child stupid can have the exact opposite effect (namely, the child BELIEVING it and ceasing to make an effort at all) and is considered abuse if it is done long enough. A majority of people, myself included, don't need to be called stupid and ignorant to be urged to learn new stuff - we want to learn because it's our nature.

To be blunt, lots of knowledge only comes with age and no matter how bright you are lack of experience shows.

*Wisdom* comes with time, but age has nothing to do with intelligence or knowledge. Sure, the more years you are around, the longer you have to gather information, but that doesn't mean that most people DO. So it is very possible for a sixteen-year-old to have accumulated a great deal more general knowledge than a sixty-year old, and vice versa.
Lack of life experience and wisdom are age-related, I agree. But the joke wasn't about those, it was about world knowledge.

These were, after all, just jokes. I appreciate them and I appreciate the post. But, I bet this chastising has made Charean regret posting it just a bit

I was not chastising, I was giving my opinion.
If you believe it was my intention to make her regret posting this, then I am sorry. You are mistaken. I think everybody should be able to post about things they like, and other people give their own opinion on their topics, that's how it's usually done.
It's a bit strange that you would object to this chastising when you have stated earlier in your post you are not going to "condone holding back on the mirth and biting wit just to keep from offending our younger EG members".
If they can take it, the older ones should be able to take it.
Edit: to come back to this quote, I'm not saying we should "hold back on the mirth" because I think the younger members here can't take it. I know most of them can take a lot more than it. I posted simply because I disagreed with the joke, don't seek to make more of it. The IW younguns can fend for themselves just fine

Attalus - that's pretty impressive of Piestrider. History's such an interesting topic, too!

Absynthe - I completely agree with your second post, well-put!

[ 10-11-2002, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: Melusine ]

Originally posted by Ronn_Bman: The original or my comment on it? [img]smile.gif[/img]

The original. I find it degrading and a little tasteless at best. If younger people discriminate against senior citizens they get reprimanded or even accused of being ageist, but when it's the other way around, it seems that anything goes. Yes, for me there has only been one Pope, simply because my lifespan has not allowed for a predecessor. That does not mean I don't know anything about the history of the Vatican, or indeed anything to do with subjects such as the Cold War.

Different teenagers have different ranges of knowledge, and yes, some are more intelligent than others. The statements in Charean's post achieve nothing. All they do is undermine and insult the clever teenagers, and make the less fortunate feel even worse about themselves. All children, regardless of how intelligent they are, should be encouraged to grow as people as they gain the confidence they need to grow into adulthood. Posts like this only make that transition harder.

It's not like the post itself is even amusing. Call me unsmiling, but I can't imagine accosting an old woman and cracking up with hysterical laughter when she doesn't know who Snoop Doggy Dogg is.

[ 10-11-2002, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: Arledrian ]