Rou

I sat today, waiting in the mall by the fountain while my girlfriend was finishing her Christmas list.

Near me sat a grouchy old man in his late 70s or so.

He was chatting with another elderly gentleman about the effects of aging and how much the body goes as the years pass. A few feet down from him sat a man not much older than me. Early 30s, I would guess.

This elderly man looks over and jokingly quipped to the man "You'll feel the years soon enough. Time wears down everyone sooner or later."

The man looked up and I saw a look I've rarely seen before.

The man replied "Time wears people at different rates. I may not be as old as you, but I buried my 3rd child this year. Age comes in its own time."

With that, he stood up and walked away.

I really don't have a rant for this. No witty commentary. It was just poignant and I thought I'd share.

I'm not a Grinch. Not really. I like giving and sharing and pending time with the people that are genetically similar to me and all. My family is all crazy but it's not the shockingly embarrassing kind. More the laughing so hard you start to get tears in your eyes kind. All and all, a good thing.

But, there is a dark side to the holidays. And it started a few weeks ago, but really got into high gear last Friday. Shopping.

I hate it.

I despise it.

I loath it.

The whole deal sucks. Going to stores is like pulling teeth. Too many idiots stopping in the middle of walkways. Too many stupid kids screaming their little lungs out. Too many annoying clerks peppering me with question or trying to force some other dumb product on me. Too many people in general. I'm not a people person. This time of year, I'm much worse.

Of course, the wonder of the internet has saved me much aggravation. Buy online and wait for it to ship to my door. That's the way for me. But that doesn't solve all my problems.

My family never gives me a fucking clue. Not a hint, not a suggestion. Some of this is my fault because I don't visit them very often (I'm quick to retort that they don't visit me either). But when I ask questions like "Any idea what you want for Christmas?" I kinda am looking for more than 'I don't knows' and 'whatever you get will be fine'. Drives me up a fucking wall. I think I've gotten my sister a Borders gift card 3 years running now. Bitch refuses to give me any ideas.

I'm seriously considering refusing to exchange gifts next year.

Fucking holidays.

I'm male. Growing up, my parents instilled a number of attitudes in me that are inherently sexist. But they're also considered gentlemanly. Open doors, walk on the road side of the lady, and carry items for her. Standard fare, but not as wide spread anymore. One of these "sexist" attitudes is a built in sense of worry and protectionism for females. And that brings me to my point.

Shortly after 1AM tonight, the bars all closed, the college kids all started stumbling back to their dorms, and I headed out to grab dinner. On my way from the parking lot to the takeout joint, I saw a girl walking down a dark street, alone, clearly drunk, and clearly not paying attention to her surroundings.

I was really annoyed at her. In fact, I fumed about it for most of my journey. I mean, it drives me up a wall that someone can be that fucking stupid. She did so many things wrong at the same time, it literally annoyed me.

1) Alone: Fucking wrong. No walking alone late at night.
2) Drunk: Fucking wrong. By itself not bad, but when combined with the rest of this list, it's very bad.
3) Dark street: Wrong. Unless you live on that particular street, there are alternative routes that are faster and better lit.
4) Oblivious: Wrong. Pay attention damn it. Thieves, rapists and vicious drunks are easier to spot if you're not staring at your shoes.

Now, I don't want to give the impression that my little town is a hotbed of crime. It's not. I went to that school. Nearly 20K students. And a half dozen times a year, the paper would have a story about a girl like this getting yanked into the bushes, and raped. It's idiotic to ignore the risk so blindly. On top of that, there are a number of programs that offer either a campus cop or a volunteer to walk you home safely. Or hell, ASK A FRIEND. There have to be others like me there. I told every female friend I had that anytime they needed, even middle of the night, they could call me, and I would walk them home. Most of my buddies did the same.

Halfway through this thought about her, I realized something. It's sorta sexist. I know it's gentlemanly and all, but in some ways, it's sexist. It assumes that a woman needs someone to protect them just because they have a uterus. That they're somehow so weak they need help to walk home.

I dunno how to deal with that dichotomy. On one had, I don't feel like it's right to let her walk alone. On the other, it's wrong to assume something about her because she's female. I clearly wouldn't behave the same if she was male.

Fuck it. She'll get over it. I walked a few dozen feet behind her until she turned into her house. She probably never knew I was there. And it wasn't that much out of my way. Sexism be damned. I'll live with it.

And so will she.

Before I begin, let me admit that I know in some ways this is hypocritical coming from a person who bitches as often as I do.

That said; let me move along to the meat.

Recently, to much fanfare, Take Two released their much anticipated Columbine simulator, Bully. The media, led by Herr Thompson, began assaulting the game in development stages. Multiple court cases were launched sight unseen. But, the game finally went public with a T for Teen rating. The “Think of the Children”™ crew gnashed their teeth and howled for blood.

The reviews came out and they were good. Not stellar, but good: 8/10, give or take.

More importantly, the reviews touched on the fears of the masses saying that the game didn’t seem over the top particularly. With a good review base and several decent recommendations, my girlfriend decided she wanted it. So I bought it for her. What can I say? I’m a softy for my game loving hottie.

Anyway, she played it through, thought it was fun, and had a good time. Watching the game, I was a bit surprised at how NONVIOLENT the game was. No deaths or blood, AFAIK. There was some basic assault and theft, but with criminal penalties for getting caught. All an all, pretty tame by any standard. Most importantly, a large portion of the plot is not BEING a bully, but instead defeating them or defending others. Ok, eventually you supplant them. But most of the time, you’re trying to deal with people bullying YOU. Not vice-versa.

All of which leads up to my next point. Since release I’ve seen dozens of articles about it, and about various groups still working against the sale of this game. One teen started a grass roots campaign to ban it in her town. She admits she never played it. Nor has she seen it played. Or even a trailer of it. She only knows about it from the media hype. She says that she was bullied in school and this game will promote that type of activity.

Similar tales can be found across the media. Stores that refuse to sell it to teens despite the rating. Store that have it locked up behind the counter, but have GTA and God of War out on the floor. Parent groups condemn the game as if it was the decline of Western society. Or demand governmental control of the industry.

I don’t get it. The game doesn’t warrant the reaction. More importantly, an hour sitting down playing it PROVES that. In some cases, it could just be people pushing a political agenda who just want to ride the publicity. But in many others, these people are ranting at shit they have no idea about. They’ve been scared into believing something that is false without any serious attempt to discover the truth. It’s fucking bullshit.