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Life in the Upper Midwest

It's Official:  We're all Goddamn Hicks (Part II)

In this, the second installment of It’s Official, we take a look at something that has really gotten the area up in arms.  This one makes me embarrassed to live here, really.

Observe the source of controversy: 

IT IS THE END OF CIVILIZATION INCARNATE

For those of you who are blind, I’ll describe this image.  It is a billboard for a rock music radio station that features a woman in her underwear.  Also, I added the caption “It is the end of civilization incarnate” for both emphasis and comedic effect.

This billboard has created quite the buzz.  There have been a few around town to advertise for this station.  Now, the controversy comes down to the fact that there are two kinds of people. 

A)     Those that see this as a horrible influence on children and feel that it objectifies women. 

B)      Those that don’t give much of a shit.

It is sad that this is the cause of such concern.  I could go off on the tangent that there are worse images just about everywhere else, but that’s been done a million times before already.

I think the worst thing that is happening with this billboard is that it denigrates children.

In today’s world of the internet and mass media, there are people saying that children shouldn’t be exposed to this image.  They say that it gives the wrong impression to kids, and that it will shape how they think for the rest of their lives. 

Can we give the next generation a little more credit than that?

I grew up, quite literally from the day I could talk, watching some of the raunchiest movies on the market.  By the time I was five I was quoting Revenge of the Nerds, Animal House, Look Who’s Talking, etc.

Do I objectify women?  Yes, to the same extent most men do, BECAUSE THAT IS BUILT INTO OUR GENETICS.

Did the images and dialogue influence me and make me a horrible person?  NO. 

Why?  Because I had good parents to look up to, and I understood that what I was watching wasn’t real.  And you know what?  I think I turned out OK for the most part.

Yet these people underestimate just how savvy the next generation already is to the workings of the media.  They all have computer access to some extent.  They all watch television to some extent.  They are not the blank slate you think they are.  Even if you shield them from such things, they are just as influenced by what their friends do, who usually have no such qualms. 

The question keeps coming up, “What do I tell my daughter when she asks about the billboard?”  Tell her it is a retarded ad for a radio station.  She is smart enough to understand.  I almost guarantee it.  So simple, but of course you could never ever think of such a solution.

And the same people probably wonder why we can’t keep young people in the state.  Did you ever think that perhaps the whole "Back in my day" morality sermons we get all the damn time may be a huge reason?  Maybe it’s the flaming conservatism?  I mean come on, what the hell are we, Utah?