Impressionability

[Moskitto]

If there was someone who was encouraging younger children to become involved in harmful substances, influencing young impressionable minds with socially poisonous ideas, building a popular following which only a few fearful voices can oppose in secret for fear of public outcry, who was also involved in theft, supply of illegal substances to minors, criminal damage and countless other illegal activities, should they be kept away from children?

[Just Joe]

What 'harmful substances' would you be talking about?

[Moskitto]

I'm talking about getting 12 year olds to start smoking.

[Elect Marx]

What exactly is your first post refering to? Whatever it is, it brings to mind a rising fascist government. Perhaps the Bushies? Bush does indeed lower industry standards for toxins. Also helps corporations kill the environment...

[Invader Zim]

Basically he is saying should those who encourage smoking be kept away from children. I assume other harmful narcotics as well?

[Moskitto]

also theft, criminal activity, gang culture, gun ownership, weapons in public, imtimidation, racism, and actual supply of such material to minors, not just smoking.

[Unrelenting Steve]

If smoking was invented today, it would not be made legal and therefore not be sold, it would fail the screening that new products have to go through. But it is currently being sold, so I dont see how you can stop people from spreading it if its legal to buy it, what ur proposing might seem a little too hippocratical to be put into practice.

(Edited by Unrelenting Steve at 8:27 pm on July 15, 2003)

[Invader Zim]

Quote: from Unrelenting Steve on 9:24 pm on July 15, 2003
If smoking was invented today, it would not be made legal and therefore not be sold, it would fail the screening that new products have to go through. But it is currently being sold, so I dont see how you can stop people from spreading it if its legal to buy it, what ur proposing might seem a little too hippocratical to be put into practice.

(Edited by Unrelenting Steve at 8:27 pm on July 15, 2003)


So your saying with tabbaco as long as it has been legaly purchsed, so it makes it perfectly OK to give it to kids, who have possibly not yet been told its affects, its addictivness, its costs (economically as well as physicaly) especially if the child in question is only taking it out of peer pressure? Sorry dude Im going to be a hypocrit on this one.

Allow me to place this in another light: -

Tell me if cyanide was a perfectly unregulated and legal substance readily available from your local newsagents, with only an age barrier on its purchase, would you really want your kids being tricked, bullied and encouraged into taking it? http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/contrib/sarge/Whatever_anim.gif

God bless peer pressure. :P

[mentalbunny]

Well I don't think it's possible to keep all these people away from kids, think of all those parents who smoke and enjoy it, are you going to take away their children? It's not feasable, you can't wrap kids in cotton wool, it's the purpose of schools to educate them so they are prepared for life in the "real" world.

[Moskitto]

smoking wasn't the main point in this thread.

peer pressure nearly is.

[mentalbunny]

Well peer pressure's complicated, there's no way to really eliminate it, but you can try to build up those who are likely to suffer from it. I have to say PSHE is the only real way of the government ensuring anything like this, and we all know how ineffective it is. There's no 100% sure way of making people strong enough to stand up to their peers and be just who they are, hell even I bend to peer pressure occasionally, and I'm an almost-lone lefty at school.

[Urban Rubble]

I think we should inject babies with nicotine upon birth to get them hooked right from the start ! Imagine the profit to be had !! They could come out with a whole new line of baby related cigarettes, they could call them something cute and make them pink and light blue.

[truthaddict11]

i am strongly against these measures to "protect our children" they harm more than anything else most of the time, most of the time it a a vocal minority who want to force their morals on everyone else.

[Ex Nihilo]

Communism breeds peer pressure and conformity. Even more so than capitalism.