Those who live by the sword, get shot by those who don't

Anyone remember coming home from school and running to the TV?

When I was a kid, there were only certain times I was allowed to do that. I wasn't allowed to run home and switch it on if something like, Full House, or Punky Brewster was on. No. The only way you could watch TV when you got home at my house is if there was an afterschool special on.

Afterschool Specials were hilarious. Usually they were about some young girl being pressured into smoking by a friend, or having sex. Occasionally someone died, smoked pot, or got pregnant. It was the closest thing to soap operas that we could get. But they were so unrealistic. How many of you have actually had a friend corner you behind the school and tried to make you smoke? "Come on. Smoke! Mwahaha. Smoke!!! Smoke. You're not cool if you don't smoke. You know you wanna be cool like us. (pull in, fake inhale) It's soooo cool." Fact of the matter is, if a kid wants to do something to be 'cool' no amount of these afterschool programs was gonna make that go away. In fact, the more we saw these programs, the cooler we thought these things were. So maybe twice a month we'd rush home and watch someone stick their finger down their throat and lose too much weight and get sick or get caught shoplifting and go to juvenile hall. But, was that a bad thing? Because all of the cool kids were super skinny and had been to Juvie, right?

Another show I really liked, growing up, was Degrassi. The old Degrassi were kids from Canada, a few years older than I was at the time I watched it. They were into young love, and a lot of the same problems the afterschool specials had, but on a more dramatic, entertaining level.

Last night, I was bored and couldn't find anything to watch on TV and to my surprise, I came across Degrassi. When I clicked on it, it wasn't the old Degrassi, it was the new one. I knew there was a new one, and that my younger sister, loved it, so I thought, eh, what's the big deal and sat and watched it. Holy shit, people. Young TV has come a long way. I'm telling you that the new Degrassi covers everything from rape, to handicaps, school shootings (he had to become handicapped somehow), to hard drugs, bulimia, anorexia, lesbians, homosexuals, testicular cancer (wtf), murder, teenage pregnancy, suicide, hit and runs, alcohol, gambling, strippers, teenage soft porn on the internet, sexually transmitted diseases, bi polar disorder, among other issues that kids these days have to deal with. Give me a fucking break. Now, I'm not a psychiatrist or a parent, but if I had a choice whether or not to send my imaginary kid to imaginary Degrassi, I'd rather home school. I think what bothers me the most about this show, is that number one, there's nothing wrong with teaching kids about the dangers of growing up and the pressures that come with it, but when they put it on models, actors and actresses, it becomes glamor to kids. Number two, this is not a kids show! It's like 10 times worse than All my Children. My little sister points out that of all the fucking problems these kids have had, none of them smoke. Now there's an oxymoron for you.

Sooo if you live in Canada, don't let your kids go to Degrassi. Or if you live anywhere else, don't let them watch it, because that show is for young adults, at best.

Update on my twisted life, Snow is probably leading me on. Mad Libs got boring and I stopped writing. I went out yesterday with a woman. No. I'm not a lesbian, but it's fun to pretend sometimes. Don't worry, I'm not leading anyone on, but is there anything wrong with getting a little bit of girl sex? I have a feeling that it comes with more strings than boy sex. We shall see.

So if you're curious about Degrassi, or don't get it where you live, never fear! Simply curious is here! And she has a link for you to watch crazy post traumatic teenagers online! Here you go. Enjoy!

Smooches.

-S