boys show there genitals to girls at school in Indiana

[misfitgirl22]

Hi i was watching tv last night and on the news they were talking about these six grade boys who showed there genitals to a girl at school,they reportedly pulled there shorts over and waved there penis at this girl. They were in SIXTH GRADE! Well i think that boys are doing stuff like this becuse they watch MTV ALL DAY, They listen to music that talks about women in degrading ways,They see magazines showing women as plain out meat. Boys are being taught not to respect women. I am sure its only going to get worse and we will see more thinsg like this happeing if we dont take a stand against porn!

[sunnysmiles]

I think boys at that age are the worst age group ever... I had a lot of bad experiences with boys who were in grade six. I think it's the lack of education on the parent's part too. They're just going through puberty/pre-puberty and girls are just 'developing' physically at that time too. By the time these idiots are in highschool - it's too late to change them, they've already been indoctrinated...

It's like this sandwich age, where people assume you are too young (and therefore innocent) and no one takes responsibility to teach them about proper respect and sexual conduct. I know 'sexual harassment' actually started in my life at the hands of grade six boys.

Obviously, societal denigration of women heightens this type of behaviour.

Remember all those grade six boys pulling on bra-straps of the girl's who had breasts?

[oneangrygirl]

*fighting the urge to correct the typos in this thread*

[sunnysmiles]

I'm a terrible editor - pls go ahead.... I usually get friends to edit my work - but oddly enough, I manage to edit other's works well (or I haven't recieved any complaints so far)....

Trust me, I know!!!

[sam]

I think small errors in spelling and grammar, while never great, are fairly acceptable on the Internet. At least to me, and only if they're limited enough that the passage is still readable.

[oneangrygirl]

Sure, but when you're writing a letter to a company and you use it's instead of its, they won't take your letter seriously.

So at the risk of alienating anyone, let me just say:

its: possessive form of it, as in, "Porn is evil and its affects are everywhere."
it's: contraction for it is, as in, "It's clear to me that porn is evil."

their: possessive form of they, as in, "When the boys showed me their genitals, I shot all of them."
there: adverb denoting a place, as in, "I sure won't go there again."

[MaddyH]

I think when hearing from women or girls who have been assaulted by pornography and/or against pornography because of other negative effects, we can expect to see all different walks of life. In other words, if someone is better at expressing their views verbally and not such a great writer... I'll afford some leniency when reading what they've written.

I know I am not a super great writer, and the reason is because I quit school during seventh grade, and did not go back to continue my education until I was almost 21. I was grabbed at, kicked, cornered in the hallway, asked to suck dicks after school - and called a slut and everyother name in the book when I did not comply. I do not feel that we should criticize people who make grammatical errors, especially when discussing this topic. At least we are sharing and wanting to make a difference in this world. As many educated people are not willing to even try. Many of the women who have been taken in by the negative effects of this industry are uneducated and this is why they are forced into prostitution and pornstitution by the need for a higher income, that requires no education or training. I am not saying that laziness or laxidazical attitudes toward this topic are acceptable, which can sometimes be taken from poor choice of words or grammatical errors, but I just think I am grateful to have another human being who is willing to stand up, regardless of education or acedemic status.

[MaddyH]

P.S. Please don't kick me out.

[sunnysmiles]

No one's going to be kicked off this site Maddy - especially for something as trivial as grammar (not trivial - but you know what I mean), but trivial in the sense that it isn't important when you're looking at the big picture (like you mentioned).

I have to admit, I don't take grammar seriously, especially when I am writing on message boards. But as my profs, in undergrad, told me - it does undermine my work significantly. So, I should. aahhh! I'm a fairly oratory writer (i.e. I write the way I talk).

Okay let's move beyond grammar.

I'm really sorry to hear about the incidences you faced in grade school, I can't imagine what you went through. I hope you had some support from parents/people who cared about you.

[oneangrygirl]

Maddy, sorry if I offended you. I think you're a great addition.
I have a copy editor's eye, and always have. When something is written incorrectly, I always notice it. I also have the benefit of an English degree from a fancy college.
Anyway, it depends on your audience. A lot of the people we write to won't know the difference between its and it's. Others will, and they will overlook a letter because of the mistakes. Just like with job interviews: if you show up in shorts instead of a suit you won't be seriously considered for the job.
I want us to be taken seriously.

[deedle]

So how about we post up letters and emails etc. here for a quick 'once over' - someone's always/soon online - before sending them off....just to make sure we've got it right?

Getting the message through is more important than our possible embarrassment at not getting the grammar/spelling right, right?

[CoolAunt]

When it comes to letters and e-mail messages to retailers, it's the numbers that count. Retailers earn their profits by selling to people from all walks of life, both the educated and uneducated, the rich and the poor, and those of us in between. In a way, it's good that the letters don't all reflect the college educated. The message is stronger when the risk is greater, and the risk of losing customers from all walks of life is great, indeed.

I believe the same can be said when writing to tv and cable networks, too, because their viewers come from all walks of life as well.

Those we're writing to need to know that it's not just college educated women who are getting fed up and ready to spend their money where they aren't offended by porn on the shelves, to name one example. They need to know that it's women (and men) who are educated, uneducated, wealthy, poor, single, married, parents, childless, gay, straight, religious, non-religious, white and black and shades in between...a majority when counted together that's ready to take their money elsewhere.

I know that in the business in which I work, we take every customer complaint seriously regardless of the verbal skills of the customer who's complaining. We also take into consideration that for every customer who complains, the rule is that there are ten more who don't complain, who silently take their business elsewhere. So, every complaint letter counts for ten customers.

The strength lies in the numbers, which is why this site is so important. Genderberg is increasing the number of actions against porn.

[MaddyH]

I agree we need to be taken seriously. If that means we need to start getting our letters edited for grammar and spelling - I am fine with posting my materials before sending them. I usally write like I am talking too. Also, I think it depends on who we are writing. The reader must be considered if we want to get the best response from our missions / actions.

[oneangrygirl]

CoolAunt, it seems like you are saying that if someone did not learn correct grammar and punctuation, either due to a substandard education or lack of college degree, that they can never learn it. I just don't believe that's true. I believe that even if you were never taught proper grammar as a child, you can learn it later in life.
I learned to drive at 17 on an automatic transmission, and only learned to drive a stick shift at age 30. You can learn new skills at any age.
But anyway, I agree that volume is what counts.

[MaddyH]

God I'm a pushy bitch sometimes. Sorry to make this such a thing... Oag) I absolutely was not offendened at what you wrote, thanks for taking notice to my thoughts / feelings though.

Soo, R wee gooing too poste hour leters / emales her ferst know? Just kidding and I apologize in advance for any offense taken.

[CoolAunt]

God I'm a pushy bitch sometimes. Sorry to make this such a thing... Oag) I absolutely was not offendened at what you wrote, thanks for taking notice to my thoughts / feelings though.

Soo, R wee gooing too poste hour leters / emales her ferst know? Just kidding and I apologize in advance for any offense taken.

MaddyH, that's just plain nasty. When you feel that you should apologize in advance for being offensive, that might be a good time to reconsider clicking the "Submit" button.

OAG, I wasn't implying anything like that but if you're asking me, then my answer would be "yes and no." Some people will never learn proper and grammar because of their particular type of intelligence. For example, I've worked with mechanical engineers who could design and draw the most complicated assemblies yet some of them couldn't spell "machine." I've also known people who could write beautifully and properly but couldn't find their asses with both hands.

Be that as it may, I told Misfitgirl22 about this site. She wants to actively fight pornstitution because her husband's pornsturbating has jeopardized her marriage. She's been made to feel low enough by him. Had I known that her spelling and grammar skill levels would be made an open issue here, I wouldn't have given her the URL. Too late for Misfitgirl22 but I'll be more careful about it in the future.

Finally, I stand by my statement that retailers don't care about their paying customers' educations and writing skills because all of their customers' money is just bankable as the next.

[rich]

For example, I've worked with mechanical engineers who could design and draw the most complicated assemblies yet some of them couldn't spell "machine."

They can't spell it because they don't have to; most of those sorts of guys have always had women to do that stuff for them or, if someone points out their mistakes, rather than internalizing it (when I goof up I feel humiliated, remember it, and change), they rebel and say "fuck you, I'll spell it the way I fucking want." Deliberate ignorance is one of the patriarchy's best tricks. My dad, who is white, spells like shit: yet he was all about Bill Cosby when Cosby was going on and on about black male ignorance. Plus there's the whole neo-redneck thing, blue collar comedy tour, where guys who make six figures go on and on about how crass they are. Hell, our President started the bandwagon.

People with less power have to be more respectable, more deliberate with the images they present.

Heck, I'm a college drop out: I often wonder *why* I try so fucking hard to have a very serious minded web page and wonder why all the bigshot feminists with fancy degrees have these celebrated blogs where they go on and on about "so what's yo favorite music to fuck to?"

But I know exactly why.

[oneangrygirl]

Be that as it may, I told Misfitgirl22 about this site.

So did I. Are you saying that she's quit because I pointed out her typos? Please let me know so I can contact her to apologize.

So I made a value judgment that using proper grammar and spelling is a worthwhile skill to achieve. I assumed that others would agree on this. I was incorrect. We should move on.
If anyone wants me to proofread what they've written, I will be happy to do so. If not, so be it.

[MaddyH]

Thank you for the offer oag. Hey CoolAunt: Sorry if I offened you or mistfitgirl - I was just tired and trying to be funny about an issue that has hurt me in the past. I was being serious too about asking if we should post our letters here first though. I will, depending on the audience as Oag suggested earlier in this thread.

I have a sarcastic personality, and knew I was being sarcastic when typing - that is why I apologized in advance for any missinterpretations. I am very new to this type of communication, this is the only forum I have ever attended and I joined only about 2 or 3 weeks ago, so I did not know how my sarcasm would be taken. As for your being offended personally: sorry. I do hope misfitgirl stays/comes back... we need to join with other women who have been hurt by this infection (porn, not sarcasm).

For future, I agree we should move on from grammar - and can we all just get along to create actions against pornstitution... that is where I want to focus my energies.

[misfitgirl22]

Be that as it may, I told Misfitgirl22 about this site.

Truthfully i dont give rats behind about my grammer as long as you get what i mean then its fine. I would never write a letter to someone important though if it has serious issues with grammer. Thing is i am great with english and that sort of thing its just that when i am on here typing or anywhere on the net i get caught up and i type fast and make a whole lot of mistakes. I do think it is quit crazy it bacame such an issue though.
So did I. Are you saying that she's quit because I pointed out her typos? Please let me know so I can contact her to apologize.

So I made a value judgment that using proper grammar and spelling is a worthwhile skill to achieve. I assumed that others would agree on this. I was incorrect. We should move on.
If anyone wants me to proofread what they've written, I will be happy to do so. If not, so be it.