02-19-06: In this rant, I'm giving you guys the title up front - It's called "Culling the Tweaked." For those who need a quick brush-up on their words, this description comes from the fine folks at Wikipedia -
"To cull is to remove from a group of animals those individuals who show signs of weakness. This process is normally done to in essence "thin the herd," which by removing the weaker animals will in itself become stronger. Culling can be used to take the animals out of a herd that would be least desirable for breeding. It can also be used to remove animals who are not living up to their production quotas, such as chickens producing eggs, or cows producing milk."

As many of you know, there has been more than enough press on MySpace, its services and its connection to awful things done by those who use it offline. Likewise, I have heard cries from the populous about how awful services like this can be and all that comes with it. This has been burning a hole in my head for years only with different targets. People, the internet is doing something that nature can't do anymore - it's thinning the herd. Look through MySpace... No, really. Go do it. You'll find a large group of people using the service to find others and make connections (i.e. - What it was built for) and an equally large group of tweaked people being nasty. Look at the ages, view the pictures, notice the lack of sense in their minds. Not good stock for reproduction, huh? That group of people is connecting with the perverts and the killers and being offed. Don't get me wrong - Death and Murder suck ass and I don't wish that upon anyone but it is happening. Look in the papers, watch the news, ask why.

Before you point the finger back at MySpace or the world at large, remember who has a say over many of those kids out there. Parents - that would be you. I don't want to be a downer but it's time to do your job. Have questions about the web? Find out about it. Think that there is nothing you can do about it? Think again. Punish your kids (Time outs don't count. Think they feel remorseful? They're playing you for a fool and deep down you know it, too.), take away their electronics - cells/beepers/two-way radio wristwatches/internet access/whatever - and do not return them unless they shape up, do that oh-so-cliche thing and Talk With Your Kids and Have An Honest Interest in Their Lives. I walked through Wal-Mart yesterday and saw some kid giving her mother lip, crying about how she never listens to her and the usual whiney Emo crud you hear on the "Top 20" format radio stations inbetween the songs about sex, violence and having more metal on your teeth than Jaws from the Bond series. I did a quick glance at the situation - Mom looks tired, like she can't control her kid and that's it. Daughter was a walking stereotype, like the girl from "The Weatherman" only she thought she was a music video chick. Long story short - I had to distance myself from the conversation before I hit them both.

Look, being a parent isn't as hard as you think. Why? Most people would lay their lives down for their kids. They are the future, ya' know. Not just a catchy phrase, it has that light taste of truth in it. Don't just step up when things go wrong because, by then, it's too late and they're gone - emotionally, mentally or just plain dead. Things like MySpace or chat rooms or AIM sessions are just communication vehicles. They don't cause this stuff. I know parents that pull down crap pay, work too many jobs and have little to no time to rest yet they somehow found a way to set their kids on the straight and narrow. No kid turns into a sex-crazed teen over night unless a true chemical imbalance takes place. Even then, it takes time enough to see it and get help for it. These kids you hear about, meeting people from their online forum of choice and having unimaginably horrible things happen to them... only a few really made a serious mistake. Others set themselves up for it. It's a harsh thing to say but it's true.

The lesson is simple - Stop with the MySpace junk. If you want to keep your kids safe, play an active role in their existance. Remember that you are the parent, not them. Do what you have to, don't worry about the busy-bodies sticking their noses into your life. I lived after having my electronic toys taken away, they will too. Don't take lip from them anywhere. For the love of PacMan, enforce some kind of fashion rules! Little girls don't need to look like booty-shaking video chicks. If you take anything from this, let it be this one point - The Internet is Culling the Tweaked of the world. Only those with something good in their heads will survive. You have to put it there or you may end up yet another unfortunate parent on the news and your kid another statistic.

Of course, that's just what I think.