109 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
109 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
/etext__/violence/violence2.txt
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BARBARIANS IN THE CLASSROOM
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by Patrick Moore
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Chief Executive Officer of Glovaroma, LLC.
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Makers of Slurm Cola since 1804.
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Imagine if you will: you enter your classroom. Your homeroom teacher
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calls the class to order. Roll is called, then your teacher tells you
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to look at the TV screen in front of the classroom. The show starts,
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introduced by a teenage boy, appropriately attired for the era, and a
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thin, seemingly vibrant young woman. "Wow! TV during school hours,"
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you think. After a few minutes of chatter, you're invited to taste the
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colors of the rainbow. "How can I do that?", you wonder. Eat candy. Some
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more chatter occurs, then you see Michael Jordan reaching new athletic
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heights. "It's the shoes", the ad proclaims. The boy and girl return,
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wrap things up...until tomorrow.
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This is no odd dream. This is the way a typical school day starts
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for approximately eight million teenagers, grades 7-12. The program
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in question is Channel One, a daily program shown in 40% of American
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schools.
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Channel One has drawn fire in recent years not only for its program
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content, but also for the main part of the Channel One broadcast: two
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minutes of commercials per program per school day. Until recently,
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few outside of Channel One schools actually see the program.
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Channel One began in 1989 as the brainchild of Chris Whittle, a former
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advertising executive. Whittle found a way to tap into a huge market:
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teenagers. By leasing (not donating) schools TV's, satellite equipment,
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and VCR's, plus mandating that almost all schoolkids view the program,
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advertisers were eager to become the teen marketing revolution.
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The early 1990's saw Channel One keep a low profile in the public arena.
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In fact, the National PTA was one of the first teacher's group to come
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out against Channel One, a position it still holds today. In fact, the
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NPTA asked Whittle to dismantle Channel One. Nonetheless, in 1994,
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Channel One was purchased by K-III Communications (now Primedia). K-III
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is more than 80% owned by KKR (Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts), an
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investment firm notorious for hostile takeovers. In fact, the movie
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"Barbarians At The Gate" is based on their takeover of RJR Nabisco.
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(RJR is, of course, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, infamous because
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of their "Joe Camel" ads for cigarettes.) Then a little thing called
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the Internet took off...
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In its sales pitch to potential advertisers, Channel One claims "We have
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the undivided attention of millions of teenagers for 12 minutes a day."
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It also caught the "undivided attention" of Jim Metrock, a retired CEO
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from Birmingham, Alabama. Spurred into action by an incident in nearby
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Jasper where a housewife named Pat Ellis was trying to remove Channel
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One due to a story about then-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders' plan to
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legalize drugs, and Obligation, Inc. was born. Under pressure from
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parents and community leaders, Channel One was removed in July 1995.
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HIGH PRIESTS OF HARMFUL MATTER
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Channel One's advertisements, to make a long story short, drive home to
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impressionable teens several points:
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1) You're ugly.
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2) Greed is good.
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3) Things are more important than people.
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4) Happiness is only achieved thru owning the latest fad.
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5) Wealth equals happiness.
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It should be no surprise that demand for Nike shoes and fad fashions
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get so out of hand that kids are actually being held up at gunpoint
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for the shoes off their feet or the clothes off their backs. Nor
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should it surprise anyone that many young girls become bulimic or
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anorexic if the "thin is in" message is repeated enough. This last
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message is sardonically pointed out in a parody ad at the AdBusters
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website: a young, skinny woman, with her back to the camera, clutches
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her stomach as she kneels over a toilet bowl. The caption mirrors a
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popular fragrance ad: "Obsession For Women".
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Their "partners", the advertisers, are frequently junk food companies
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that want to prey on teen audiences. Slogans like "Hungry? Why wait?" or
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"Have It Your Way" are thrown at kids. High-calorie fast food is treated
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as healthy sustenance while real, nutritious foods rarely get mentioned.
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DEALS WITH THE DEVIL (OR MARILYN MANSON)
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Channel One frequently partners with financially-strapped schools to
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peddle its ads to kids. Many school boards, when faced with reduced
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revenues, often turn to corporate sponsors for help. The catch: many
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companies demand "exclusive" representation at the school. And some want
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to use school buses as advertising vehicles (pun intended) as well.
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Plans were underway in California and Mississippi to put soft-drink ads
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on school buses. The plans were rejected on safety grounds.
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Conservative efforts to bolster corporate welfare and so-called
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"school-choice" (a mechanism where taxpayer money goes to fund
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non-public schools) initiatives frequently leave schools underfunded,
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and, more often than not, wide open for corporate exploitation.
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This approach is not unlike a wild animal:
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hunt down the weakest and conquer.
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FIGHTING CHANNEL ONE
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Obligation's website, http://www.obligation.org is a treasure trove of
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information for those seeking to eliminate commercialism from public
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schools. AdBusters magazine also has a site at http://www.adbusters.org,
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and the Center for Commercial-Free Public Education's website offers
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tips on activism, and devotes a goodly portion to Channel One.
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