Are we too SOFT as a society?

I think as a general society we are ignorant and becoming actually stupid with the up and coming generation(s). We are also becoming “softer” in the sense that while you have the right to be offended at anything and everything, it is institutionally supported that you have the right to prosecute the one who offends you. Thereby insulating yourself and society from being offended. … Which in my humble opinion is one of the greatest fallacies and lies of “the institution”.

Would I have killed myself in this situation?: highly unlikely. However, I would be incredibly ashamed to have been so gullible and stupid, in front of my country and the whole world. I am not British, and while I respect the Queen and the Royal Family as an American, such an infraction must have been unbelievably embarrassing for an English person.

I feel very bad for this girl, even more so now. And her death was certainly unnecessary. But whether she was simply gullible or afraid of possibly denying the “Queen” personally on the phone… she clearly was not the person for the job.

I am not sure that her suicide was because she was so offended, saddened or hurt by others, or that she is indicative of societal softening, but rather an immense weight of shame; which, while it did not warrant death, is not incomprehensible to me. Since this is a WWII based forum, there were a number of WWII commanders/soldiers who took their own lives out of shame and failing their country. I think this girl had a similar motivation.

I don’t think the DJs did anything wrong either. In bad taste… perhaps… but most comedy is in poor taste from someone’s perspective. I cannot believe that even they thought that they were going to actually get through to the Duchess. Certainly, a prank such as this should never have resulted in a situation where someone could be physically injured; the DJs could never have predicted that, and I don’t think anyone else would have either.

Is society too soft and/or stupid? Yes.

My gut reaction, however,  is this story has less to do with a “soft society”, and more to do with tying up loose ends :-o. Its already odd that Middleton was hospitalized for morning sickness, and this just makes the story even stranger.

The question that seems just as relevant that comes to my mind is “Are we too CRASS as a society?”

I don’t think the DJ’s should go to jail but what they did was wrong even had it not resulted in a suicide.

We have confused having a lack of compassion and empathy with being tough and hard as if these things are on the same coin. We have confused crassness and vulgarity for its own sake with a fool’s or comedian’s prerogative to speak ‘truths’ no one else will.

@frimmel:

The question that seems just as relevant that comes to my mind is “Are we too CRASS as a society?”

Good observation. I think that very little is sacred anymore. Case in point here.

@frimmel:

We have confused having a lack of compassion and empathy with being tough and hard as if these things are on the same coin. We have confused crassness and vulgarity for its own sake with a fool’s or comedian’s prerogative to speak ‘truths’ no one else will.

Is speaking truths no one else will (only) a comedian’s prerogative?

Are you saying that vulgarity and crassness, for its own sake, has become comedy, whereas before comedy was more about intelligent irony (or at least it was not about being an idiot)? If so, then for the most part I do agree.

Too soft.  There are people among us who have seriously bad luck and somehow they get the strength to put their boots on every morning and persevere in quiet desperation.  At the same time we also have another bunch of crybabies who whine for sympathy and demand special consideration because they are disabled, discriminated against, have low self esteem, got themselves pregnant, are ugly, or whatever.  blah blah blah blah blah.  I am sick of it.  This is the result of socialism IMHO.

I think we are getting softer and more compassionate on average as a society.  A good thing in general, over the top and too much in some cases.  To be honest however, I never liked segments where DJs make prank calls.  I suppose it depend on who the victim of a prank is.  Prank call a bully and its all good.  The last one I listened too consisted of the DJ calling an old lady about her lost dog, pretending they had found it etc….it kinda made me sick.  I sure didn’t see the humour in getting the hopes up of that old lady about her lost dog.  I am the minority it seems, Howard Stern is incredibly popular but I don’t care for most of his humour.

Sure, we should be more tough, but just because we should be tough, does not make it fun and ok to torment people who are not as well adjusted.  The DJs should have realized the impact a successful prank would have on a victim.  DJ’s are guilty of poor taste but certainly not criminal.

@LHoffman:

@frimmel:

We have confused having a lack of compassion and empathy with being tough and hard as if these things are on the same coin. We have confused crassness and vulgarity for its own sake with a fool’s or comedian’s prerogative to speak ‘truths’ no one else will.

Is speaking truths no one else will (only) a comedian’s prerogative?

Are you saying that vulgarity and crassness, for its own sake, has become comedy, whereas before comedy was more about intelligent irony (or at least it was not about being an idiot)? If so, then for the most part I do agree.

It isn’t only a comedian’s prerogative but there is a line between saying things that need to be said in a knocking over sacred cows sense and perhaps ‘shock’ funny and just being rude and crass and vulgar and mean and nasty. So you are taking my point as I mean it. It seems an extension of the lack of civility we seem to be having.

@frimmel:

So you are taking my point as I mean it. It seems an extension of the lack of civility we seem to be having.

Oh, good then. Do you also mean a general lack of civility as a society… or here specifically?

That nurse must of had issues with her life before those DJ’s did that… it was just the last straw for her. If she was happy and stable in her own life, I’m sure she would have found a way to deal with it… maybe even laugh about it.

There is no problem with living in society other than the blurring speed in which you’re expected to live in it each day. We are not “soft”… we are “sensitive”. We don’t call people nigger, fag, or fatso anymore, although a small portion of the worlds population still do. That doesn’t that make us soft, we’re just sensitive to the differences of others.

Regardless, I’m not sure what being soft has to do with suicide… I’ve never considered doing it, but it seems like a hard thing to do. Â

Here is a recording of the prank call. http://www.heavy.com/news/2012/12/jacintha-saldanha-kate-middleton-prank-call-suicide-dj/

First off, I don’t see what is so embarrassing about it. Secondly, do we even know if Saldanha was the one answering? I think it could have been any lady with a good Indian accent. Thirdly, she left behind what looks to be a nice family. Yet I don’t hear anyone in the media suggesting the possibility that it was not a suicide. Should we really accept the official story?

@LHoffman:

@frimmel:

So you are taking my point as I mean it. It seems an extension of the lack of civility we seem to be having.

Oh, good then. Do you also mean a general lack of civility as a society… or here specifically?

I am not referring to a lack of civility here. Just society in general. I think here abouts we’re pretty reasonably civil. At least as civil as any group of guys ever is.

@frimmel:

I am not referring to a lack of civility here. Just society in general. I think here abouts we’re pretty reasonably civil. At least as civil as any group of guys ever is.

Yes… yes you are right.

Is teasing somebody with a mental illness cool?  I would expect most people to say no.  So we can agree on that, most people would.   Can you guarantee a stranger is 100% mentally balanced?  I would expect the answer to be no.  A logical conclusion from these two premiss should then be, it’s not cool to tease strangers because you can’t guarantee they are sane and its not cool to tease insane people.

How about this defense.  I place a live wire with 2500 volts on the road.  I place a sign on it saying “If you touch the wire you will die”.  So somebody touches it and dies.  I do the happy dance and say “Well its not my fault that idiot couldn’t read a sign”.   Well maybe that person was an idiot for not reading or heeding the sign.  But am I innocent?

Here is an example of how utterly soft and pathetic we have become as a society.

‘Bad’ Santa insults three-year-old
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2012/12/06/20414201.html

Now by insult we mean Firstly, comparing the kids look to the look of Paul Bunyan.  I loved Paul Bunyan, Hamilton had a place called Paul Bunyan Burgers, loved them!  A big burly guy swinging an ax most boys would love that image.

Secondly commenting on the kids Maple Leafs hat.  I have always been a leafs fan, the blue maple leaf is a national flag for most of my friends.  They SUCK ASS.   Half the teams make the playoffs each year, its been over 8 years for the Leafs.  With 50/50 odds even flipping a coin means its 256 to 1 odds you never make the playoffs in 8 years.  This for the most valuable hockey team in the league worth over a billion dollars.

If the kid doesn’t know by now the Leafs suck he will believe in santa when he is 44….much like me believing the leafs will ever win the cup again…

So the result is the kid comes home crying?  Really, reminds me of most leafs fans once the leafs are officially out of the playoff hunt…oh wait, that’s me in the mirror!

What’s worse, is that this is making news… day after day…

Mom of tot insulted by Santa declines Leafs’ offer
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2012/12/07/20416861.html

I’m not sure I get what is so bad about saying the kid looks like Paul Bunyon.

@Vance:

Too soft.  There are people among us who have seriously bad luck and somehow they get the strength to put their boots on every morning and persevere in quiet desperation.  At the same time we also have another bunch of crybabies who whine for sympathy and demand special consideration because they are disabled, discriminated against, have low self esteem, got themselves pregnant, are ugly, or whatever.  blah blah blah blah blah.  I am sick of it.  This is the result of socialism IMHO.

I think it’s stupidity.

Case in point: your post.

(If you disagree, grow a pair and quit being so soft)

I am assuming the last post was parodying his original post to prove a point Jermo…?

I’ll just throw it out there, keep it civil guys.

GG

@Guerrilla:

I am assuming the last post was parodying his original post to prove a point Jermo…?

I’ll just throw it out there, keep it civil guys.

GG

Certainly seemed to me that Jermo was making a point and rather a good one.

Yeah… but as usual he makes them in a jerk-fashion.

We are NOT too SOFT as a society!…
If we would be soft as a society ,we would more care for each other and would think about our actions first before we do them.

We are too pride as a society, and it is getting more and more stripped off of us; our pride.
It is more like a wake up call but it clearly seems that a lot off people going to miss this wake up call.
If people nowa these days loosing their so called status, they imediatley starting to trip over it.
Peoples kill them selfs for less and peoples care less with their actions for others.
If you really know who you are and are based on solid ground then nothing can disturb your peace!, If you chasing an imaginary status of society in your life, then one day you will find out that everything you are and have, is based on sand and it will be washed away.