GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change

[zombie-a-go-go]

I sold my children on the black market for beer money and dental work.

[LvJ]

I sold my children on the black market for beer money and dental work.

Hey, that's more than what DanO would have gotten.

[Johnny Footstool]

I sold my children on the black market for beer money and dental work.

No pectoral implants?

[Roy Tucker]

Change is a funny word. I can't say that becoming a parent changed my core being.

But it certainly did bring out heretofore underdeveloped aspects of my personality while pushing others to the background, i.e. I went from a wild man to a true family man. And it was a bumpy trip.

If done properly, being a parent (not just a biological sperm donor and/or passive custodian) is an all-encompassing job. Your job is to bring all of your powers to bear on behalf of this young person and raise them in a way that will give them the best shot at being the best person they can be. The number of the facets of things you should pay attention to is very high. And any decision you make very directly affects a number people very close to you. Your life goes from a black and white me-me-me world to a world with infinite shades of gray, many layers, and infinite worries.

I can't say my opinion on video games is any better or any worse than anyone elses. However, I do know that it is a well-informed and a well-thought out opinion and it is the one I've chosen to have in regards to my kids. My motivation factor is very high on things pertaining to my kids and my focus is diamond clear and laser sharp.

And for all of these things regarding my kids, these opinions are no longer the academic but are now the pragmatic, i.e. what I think and do directly affects my kids. And I am serious as a heart attack about that and I don't screw around.

As far as video games and many other things in modern day culture goes, you get to see the direct effect of things things upon your kids. It's no longer an academic philosophical exercise. It is how these things affect *your* children and how *they* see the world. And I do thing that brings a certain urgency and immediateness to it.

I think other people *can* appreciate this if they take the time to truly think it out, but I can't say that many do.

So I'd appreciate it if the people that tell parent to "do their friggin jobs" to remember that many of us *are* doing our jobs to the utmost of our abilities and that we take offense at someone out in left field telling us that.

[RFS62]

Roy, will you adopt me?

[zombie-a-go-go]

Roy, will you adopt me?

Me first.

[Falls City Beer]

So I'd appreciate it if the people that tell parent to "do their friggin jobs" to remember that many of us *are* doing our jobs to the utmost of our abilities and that we take offense at someone out in left field telling us that.

But that goes both ways. There are a ton of bad parents--they're everywhere. And there are a ton of good people who would make great parents who aren't parents.

Does the "sperm donor" parent have more say-so in "doing the friggin' job" than, say, a teacher who shows up to work everyday and puts his/her attention and affection toward 20 kids for 5 hours a day?

I'm saying the job description of a "parent" is nebulous, and if you're someone who cares deeply about decreasing the suffering of or even helping manage the lives of those around you, you understand what it is to parent, IMO. Being a biological parent doesn't give you special dispensation--it's merely the call to get to work.

[Roy Tucker]

Roy, will you adopt me?

We have a spare room in the basement. But you'll have to park in the street, the driveway is getting full. Dinner is at 6:30 sharp. Monday is laundry day, have your clothes down Sunday night.

You now have the job of picking up the dog crap out of the yard since you now inherit low man on the totem pole (my previous position, I get to move up a notch) and get assigned all crap jobs.

[WVRed]

As i was reading this thread I was wondering the same thing. Maybe this sounds harsh, but if you don't have children of your own, your opinion on this matter means very little to me. Kids are influenced by just about everything they come into contact with. Yes, it's true. If you think the test for whether or not something is detrimentally inflential to a child is whether or not it will make then go commit murder, then I'm not sure how to respond to that. That response to questions like this is irrational, IMO. Until you've had the future of another human being entirely in your hands, then you have no idea what you're saying.

Even though I dont have kids, I agree with this post wholeheartedly.

[Johnny Footstool]

So I'd appreciate it if the people that tell parent to "do their friggin jobs" to remember that many of us *are* doing our jobs to the utmost of our abilities and that we take offense at someone out in left field telling us that.

Parents like you *are* doing their jobs -- taking time with their kids to see what they are actually doing. Watching them play their games, watching movies with them, watching their TV shows, and in general finding out exactly what they are putting into their brains.

The ones who aren't doing their friggin' jobs tend to yell the loudest when someone calls for complete and total ban of something. "The TV news told me this is bad for my kids, so let's get it taken off the shelves." It wouldn't have been a problem in the first place if the parent had actually taken 10 minutes to learn what was going on.