Posts by Stewart
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I'm with Kyle in that many young men aren't being given the right messages as they grow from infants up to men. They don't get (enough of) the right examples, suitable mentoring, etc. The strong women in my family and the dearth of domestic violence helped me to avoid most of the problem behaviours that relate to women - not so much the problems relating to alcohol which have taken years and a dedicated wife to temper.
(Still a work in progress.)
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The thing is, Sacha, that a young lady with good self-esteem & a knowledge of martial arts will not get the same message as a more retiring but still keen on boozing wallflower. And the ALAC ads are trying to be all-inclusive IMO.
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I take your point, Emma, about the difference between 'be careful' and 'be afraid'. Trouble is that when they make these ads they can't accurately predict how the message will be perceived because of the variability of the target audience. Some women would see the ads & think "yeah, got to watch out for ourselves" while ther is a whole spectrum down to "OMG, I must don a sack any time I leave the house; I'm never going out drinking with friends again".
To be specific enough in the ad would take too long and cost too much (exceeding the target demographic's attention span making the whole ad meaningless).
And good point about the prevalence of these attacks being from non-strangers. The ads are specifically about the strangers and they could probably do with having other similar ads about "when your husband turns into Mr Hyde".
BTW, Russell, I never took the inference from that ad that the bloke had taken a kicking, I just thought he ended up in an even worse state by the time he got home to the comfort of his bathroom floor. I'll have to think about your interpretation next time I see it.
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Craig, I'm all in favour of putting all the reposnsibility for crimes like burglary, robbery, assault & rape at the perpetrators' doors. But I certainly don't intend to make myself or my property look like an easy and satisfying target for the low-life scum that we are talking about.
I have a poor enough view of our species to believe that there is a small but not unimportant minority who are either amoral or sociopathic and who commit the majority of these types of crime. They are not amenable to social coercion or other liberal-type persuasion to change their ways and conform to society's expectations so I tend to make it as unlikely as possible for me to become their victim.
When I was younger I didn't perceive the risk so highly and I used to get absolutely munted and I got a few beatings in my time. Some for being a mouthy pisshead but some for nothing other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time and representing an easy target. I took it as a lesson (eventually) and developed my current attitude.
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Bronwyn, you are quite right and I agree with you, but having been in a few scary situations myself I remain unconvinced that the sort of nongs that perpetrate the assaults/rapes are going to take any notice of tv ads.
If you recognise that fact then you can appreciate why the potential victim is the one being appealed to.
Not saying it's right... -
Aw c'mon Megan, deserves is a bit of an overstatement. I can understand where you are coming from but it is still a bit of a stretch to claim that ALAC is indicating that those behaviours deserve that sort of outcome.
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There is a perception, given the stone-age attitudes of some of the APBs, that the standard of dress and the drunken behaviours enhance the likelihood of being a victim . (This is not something that I am arguing in favour of, I'm just devil's advocating)
Somewhat akin to a wildebeest with a limp, out at the edge of the herd.
As a male I have been out drinking in areas where it was important to maintain some semblance of fitness and alertness because if you looked like a weak student (for example) you were more likely to become a victim. (Not so much the dress sense in these cases although nowadays I understand that wearing red or blue in the "wrong areas" can render one liable to a beating.) There is some responsibility on us all to minimise our likelihoods of becoming a victim.
Just to reiterate, I am entirely onside with Emma's argument, I am just trying to 'flesh out' the argument.
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Re the scantily clad women in ads, I suspect this is largely predicated on the attempt to capture the 'youth demographic' and the money that teh yoof have to dispose of. They then think that they need to have young go-getters running accounts at the agencies and the base level immaturity (gross generalization alert for those sleeping at the back) is reflected in the afore-mentioned scanties.
Or is it just that I'ze old?
As an aside, I fully endorse Emma's standpoint (not a reference to the braille t-shirt) and the remark someone made about the onus being on the person viewing the outfit not to make an arse of themselves by reading into a costume something from within their own fevered imagination (like she is gagging for it - she isn't!)
And, just because I so loved it, I pass on a piece of web-wisdom I picked up today: It seems that some people believe the universe was made by a being who is also 3 beings, one of whom regularly appears as a biscuit.
Fucking gold.
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I'm seeing spots before my eyes,
my head feels twice its normal size,
and every Sunday morning I'm so sick -
Steve, in such an exhibition, how many true dalmatians would you spot?
Sophie, my understanding is that this exhibition includes items from multiple collections that would otherwise require much travelling to see. Travelling that would, ordinarily, be outside our budget. I see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity