Kids Vs. Zombie

[clanglee]

This shit is hilarious, but I'm sure the kids are scarred for life after this. The first video is all setup. . the second vid is the action

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[ProfessorChaos]

that was great! 3 thoughts:

1. japan is kick-ass
2. those kids were cute and very funny
3. i need to stock up on saran wrap and tobasco sauce!

[Mr_Shadow]

that was awesome LoL

[krakenslayer]

It was good, quite entertaining, but I still think it's pretty sick to reduce kids to tears of terror like that for entertainment purposes... :|

[clanglee]

It is sick. . but I have to admit. . it was done to me when I was a kid. . and I've kind of. . maybe. . . gotten a laugh out of my daughter in mortal terror before. . . maybe. ;)

[Yojimbo]

I still think it's pretty sick to reduce kids to tears of terror like that for entertainment purposes... :|
Agreed. A lot of those Japanese TV shows really go too far.

That being said, how about that little boy? Scared out of his mind, on the verge of tears and he still stood his ground and beat on the zombie with his plastic swords. He has my vote for ultimate bad ass!

[clanglee]

That being said, how about that little boy? Scared out of his mind, on the verge of tears and he still stood his ground and beat on the zombie with his plastic swords. He has my vote for ultimate bad ass!

For real. . did you see the punches he was throwing? Man. . I'd run away too. That's when you know that the game is over.

[Wyldwraith]

Hell yea,
We all talk a bunch of trash about how we'd be headshotting/running down/carving up zombies, but to that little kid that crap was real as real got, and he did exactly what he would've done had it been the real thing. Stood his ground like a champ, and gotten himself eaten, but least he wouldn'tve died a coward.

That little girl is a perfect representation of the average person's response. If I was her brother I woulda been PISSED. "Hey, I'm over here fighting a flesh-eating corpse. STOP CRYING AND HELP!!!"

Sick to do that to little kids, but funny.

[blind2d]

too true. that kid kicks ass! I feel her pain, though. good make up and all.

[clanglee]

Did you notice how the kid started yelling at the guy with the microphone? He was like "You're not helping at all!!!"

[blind2d]

yeah. kid knows what's up.

[DjfunkmasterG]

That was great, maybe scarred those kids for a few weeks in nightmares, but almost all held their ground and got the job done.

EDIT: just watched it again, and the letter was friggin hilarious.

[Wyldwraith]

Says something about the Japanese,
It's one thing if adults consent to be on their insane game shows and reality TV programs. Quite another to thrust it involuntarily on innocent young children. The fact that an entire studio of adults were laughing hysterically, that their PARENTS were laughing hysterically at the children being reduced to tears by mortal terror tells you everything you need to know about modern Japanese culture.

What do they do for an encore? Put the parents in make-up and make the children believe the zombie got them and turned them into zombies and have their parents chase them around the house with the kids convinced their own parents are trying to devour them?

One thing you SHOULD be disgusted by. At the end of the "prank" they didn't even have the mercy to have the actor portraying the zombie remove his makeup and explain it to the kids. Then they showed the video at the kids' school. That, along with the guest commentary in the studio about what a wonderful region they live in because all the neighbors enthusiastically took part in scaring toddlers witless disturbed me profoundly. To them it was a point of pride that their community as a whole came together to emotionally traumatize those kids.

Look at it like this..Michael Jackson maintains a firm hold on his kid as he holds him over a railing and both the media and the public crucify him. Any parents who pulled a stunt like this one on toddlers in America would do prison time for it, and end up the victim's of pop culture for quite some time.

Is it any wonder that a culture which overtly revels in the dark guilty part of the human psyche that watches car races for the crashes does things like slaughter whales for what they call "Nationalist sentiment". Game shows where contestants routinely end up with compound and radial fractures from falling or being struck by heavy objects, head and neck trauma from the same sort of thing. Reality programs they consider comedy that are more violent than most Ultimate Fighting/MMA matches, and other programs where they make newlyweds believe they're responsible for the deaths of their spouses.

Sure, it's funny to us as well, because every human has that dark bridge between the reptilian limbic region and more developed areas in our brains, but it's one thing to occasionally indulge our savage side and quite another to glorify and take pride in those indulgences.

Scary when you think about it. Many of us wouldn't admit it, but we'd find it even funnier if that little Japanese boy killed, dismembered and stuffed the parts of his father's body in the fridge, then innocently came up with an excuse to get his mother to open the fridge door to start laughing hysterically at her screams of horror and terror.

I have real admiration for that boy though. Watching him hurl his toy dinosaurs at the "zombie" and whacking that actor with whatever came to hand whenever the guy came within reach. The saran wrap plan might've seemed silly, but was actually pretty smart for toddlers. Stop the zombie from being able to bite them, then figure out what to do after. Their attempts to incapacitate the actor-zombie via their cute little traps showed intelligence. Hell, if they were 2-3yrs older they might've beat the guy down.

And wouldn't that be the funniest thing of all? Dazed and half-conscious from a blow to the head, one of the last things the actor hears is the boy shouting at his sister to throw him the hammer because he needs to destroy the "zombie's" brain.

Admit it, everyone here would come close to passing out from laughing so hard if one of their sick pranks like this went wrong in such a fashion.

That, and the producers of the show would be jumping for joy at the inevitable huge boost to their ratings. The episode would get re-run more than Law & Order + CSI combined.

Just my rambling thoughts on the subject.

[DjfunkmasterG]

I think you guys are over criticizing the videos. Seriously I mean the moral of the video was teamwork, and the kids showed they had what it took to work together to beat a zombie. now I agree they also maybe be slightly traumatized by the set up for some time, but the psychological effect will not be as drastic when they get older, or as I am already sure their parents re-assured them it was all a prank.

The problem with our society is we are too pussified by being PC and chanting oh protect the children this, or protect the children that. Here is a family who taught their children to work together and come up with a plan of action. The only thing our american society does is put an XBOX os PS3 controller in their hand so they can go out drinking. In America video game consoles became the babysitter.

Japanese culture is all about teaching children from a young age that if you work hard and work together you can accomplish great things. Something the Japanese culture is very proud of, and something we used to do until the friggin ME ME ME generation came through the door.

[Wyldwraith]

Umm,
DJfunk, don't you think that sort of emotional trauma to the psyche of a child might raise the incidence of violence versus their perceived tormentor(s)?

Don't know about others, but speaking for myself my objections were solely for this sort of thing being done to children like 6yrs and younger. Again, can't speak for anyone but myself, but I had nightmares and nearly uncontrollable hostility towards my biological father for the sick pranks and joy he took in scaring me and my even younger brother witless.

Perhaps I'm biased on the issue however. I'm sure I'm either the entirety of, or a member of a microscopically small minority of individuals here that have actually shot a biological parent in fear for my life. I can't say with any certainty if, based ONLY on the situation occurring in that moment, I would have reacted as I did. The years of consistent if random and infrequent inflicting of terror on me from the time I was 4 until I was 9 by my biological father, who was obviously enjoying himself MUST have played a part.

Well, that and the criminal negligence he exhibited by leaving a loaded .25 pistol within the reach of a 9yr old.

It's EASY to think that kids forget things that happen when they're very young. Or that the memory grows dim and blurry, when quite the opposite is true. I'm 30yrs old now, and though the incidence and power to frighten of those memories that crop up as I dream have decreased greatly over the last 12yrs or so, they were with me in all their terrifyingly crystal clarity at least every other or every third night from the time I was 9 until I was 17-18.

Admire the Japanese for their accomplishments, and condemn America for its failures, but don't wrap misanthropic practices in the sacred cloth woven of their society's achievements. Only a drooling moron could honestly believe the incredible Japanese work ethic is based in any meaningful way on the practice of terrifying small children on television for the entertainment of the masses.

They do it because enough people find it funny/entertaining enough to make the program a viable vehicle for commercials. Or more simply, for money. TV programs aren't created to go around helpfully instilling the virtues of teamwork two kids at a time. I think we can all agree that the motive here is commercial in nature.

Of course with the exception of the facts from my own history divulged here, all of this is simply my opinion. No matter how strong my belief in the validity of my statements, I acknowledge that other views certainly exist, and are just as valid to their proponents, and just as entitled to be put forward here.

Though I ask you honestly DJ. Wouldn't a part of you that you aren't particularly proud of or comfortable publicly expressing have found it even funnier if the kid had managed to seriously harm the actor in the zombie get-up?

My inclination I've already given. THAT would be real comedy to me. Watching and listening to the laughs of the studio audience as they progress from thinking the actor twitching on the floor in a pool of red spreading from his head is still just acting, slowly dying off uncertainly as the grim truth hits them.

I mean, if we're not going to be a pussified society we're capable of acknowledging that if teaching a child the value of teamwork through terror is good, then teaching him/her to effectively defend themselves early in life must be even better in this ever more uncertain global village. The principle is the same, it's just being taken to its most extreme conclusion.

It could even be a bonus episode. Teaching the importance of being able to shoulder the consequences of ugly but necessary decisions, instruct the child in the truth that sometimes even doing the right thing leaves you scarred for life, even giving the child important and valuable self-knowledge concerning how effectively he/she responds when a life-or-death situation is suddenly thrust upon them.

All of these things have value, true. Certainly the value of all these lessons combined must be greater than a parochial intangible. The innocence of a child for example.

Maybe that would be the most important lesson of all. That the world is exceptionally cruel to the innocent. Best to do away with it as swiftly as possible, right?

Extreme, right? That's how I view the proposition of teaching a toddler teamwork via terror. Take the principle behind that to its logical conclusion and you will almost certainly discover a point at which you would say it was insane.

Just my opinions though. Your mileage may vary.

[Yojimbo]

Says something about the Japanese



Is it any wonder that a culture which overtly revels in the dark guilty part of the human psyche that watches car races for the crashes does things like slaughter whales for what they call "Nationalist sentiment".

Wyld, I'm sorry to hear about what you had to go through. I can't imagine how difficult things must have been for you.

I did want to say that I don't think it is entirely fair to make a sweeping statement about the Japanese and their culture based on this television show. As an American, for instance, I would feel it to be a great disservice if someone based their opinion of American culture on what they had seen on "JACKASS" or "JERRY SPRINGER"

You can hold whatever opinion you choose about Japanese Culture, of course, and please do not think that I am defending practices such as Whaling (something that I agree is reprehensible). Japanese Culture certainly has it's flaws - just as every other culture has it's own quirks, flaws and bad things that even we Americans are not without.

[DjfunkmasterG]

To me, those videos are no different than the BS put on America's Funniest home videos when kids get their nuts kicked in, or some other dumb prank. People never seem to have a problem with those, but if a foreign entity does the same thing people suddenly have a cow.

I am sure both the parents and the show probably spoke to the kids after the fact, especially if there were any nightmares or prolonged effects, but honestly even as scared as those children were they stood their ground and took on what they thought was a real threat, what you find disturbing I found not only entertaining but educational at the same time.

Sorry for your history and what you went through, but life doesn't deal everyone a royal flush and you sometimes have to roll with the punches so to speak, but through life experiences and growth.... whatever doesn't kill you.. makes you stronger.

[krakenslayer]

To me, those videos are no different than the BS put on America's Funniest home videos when kids get their nuts kicked in, or some other dumb prank. People never seem to have a problem with those, but if a foreign entity does the same thing people suddenly have a cow.

There is clearly a huge moral difference between passively presenting a spontaneously occurring accident as entertainment, and actively engineering a traumatic situation with an unwilling victim for fun. It's like comparing a psychopath who goes out and murders women on camera to make snuff movies, with a bloke who just edits together war and newsreel footage into "faces of death" style documentaries.

[Wyldwraith]

EXACTLY,
Look at Scare Tactics for an example of appropriate boundaries in this sort of activity. 18+yr old targets and the pranks are ALWAYS called to an end before they get out of hand. Targeting children is good for the cheapest sort of laughs, but they lack the mental protection a mature brain affords adults. Just look at the stuff that could give you nightmares when you were 4-7. Those things are probably light comedy compared to what you absorb for entertainment these days.

America's Funniest Home Videos also EXPLICITLY denies entry to any footage of a traumatic or abusive nature they feel there is the tiniest possibility was engineered to be recorded when it comes to kids.

My biggest problem was with the parents though. How do you set up your kids days ahead of time to be mortally terrified, then laugh your head off as it happens? I just don't get that. Didn't get it when it was my biological father doing it to me either, and I can tell you I came to HATE him for it. Haven't seen him in 18yrs, but to this day I would love to tag team torture him with a professional torturer if I could avoid the consequences of doing so. "Hahahah Dad, I just splashed your nuts with sulfuric acid. Isn't that hysterical? Hahaha."

Yojimbo's point about not judging Japanese society by the excesses of on TV program is well taken. I too wouldn't want America judged by a glance at Jerry Springer. Although look at the profound difference between Jerry Springer and their program. On Springer the guests are the source of aberrant behavior, and the mainstream audience in large part boos and hisses at their screwed up antics. With the Japanese program the audience, parents, neighbors, guest celebrities and show hosts all thought it was hilarious. So to me the difference was the absence of anyone at all that thought what they did was screwed up and twisted.

I dunno, as I said before my own bias could perhaps explain my reaction. I don't think I need to say much more than I've never experienced a moment of regret for shooting my father about anything except the fact I only hit him in the shoulder. If I could go back in time I would've emptied the clip.

If that Japanese boy slits his parents throats in a few years, could you really blame him?

[DjfunkmasterG]

There is clearly a huge moral difference between passively presenting a spontaneously occurring accident as entertainment, and actively engineering a traumatic situation with an unwilling victim for fun. It's like comparing a psychopath who goes out and murders women on camera to make snuff movies, with a bloke who just edits together war and newsreel footage into "faces of death" style documentaries.

I fail to see the difference, even some of the AFHV vids were set up pranks, which no one had issues with, so to me it is being very hypocritical to say one is ok, and the other is not.


EXACTLY,
Look at Scare Tactics for an example of appropriate boundaries in this sort of activity. 18+yr old targets and the pranks are ALWAYS called to an end before they get out of hand. Targeting children is good for the cheapest sort of laughs, but they lack the mental protection a mature brain affords adults. Just look at the stuff that could give you nightmares when you were 4-7. Those things are probably light comedy compared to what you absorb for entertainment these days.

America's Funniest Home Videos also EXPLICITLY denies entry to any footage of a traumatic or abusive nature they feel there is the tiniest possibility was engineered to be recorded when it comes to kids.

My biggest problem was with the parents though. How do you set up your kids days ahead of time to be mortally terrified, then laugh your head off as it happens? I just don't get that. Didn't get it when it was my biological father doing it to me either, and I can tell you I came to HATE him for it. Haven't seen him in 18yrs, but to this day I would love to tag team torture him with a professional torturer if I could avoid the consequences of doing so. "Hahahah Dad, I just splashed your nuts with sulfuric acid. Isn't that hysterical? Hahaha."

Yojimbo's point about not judging Japanese society by the excesses of on TV program is well taken. I too wouldn't want America judged by a glance at Jerry Springer. Although look at the profound difference between Jerry Springer and their program. On Springer the guests are the source of aberrant behavior, and the mainstream audience in large part boos and hisses at their screwed up antics. With the Japanese program the audience, parents, neighbors, guest celebrities and show hosts all thought it was hilarious. So to me the difference was the absence of anyone at all that thought what they did was screwed up and twisted.

I dunno, as I said before my own bias could perhaps explain my reaction. I don't think I need to say much more than I've never experienced a moment of regret for shooting my father about anything except the fact I only hit him in the shoulder. If I could go back in time I would've emptied the clip.

If that Japanese boy slits his parents throats in a few years, could you really blame him?

Yes, I blame anyone who slits someones throat, murders or shoots someone. While there are some seriously mentaly distrubed people, which i do not argue there are, others use insanity as a means to get away with murder so to speak. Sorry if I seem brash about this, but again, you allow one group to go on as they please with no reprisal, but criticize the other for doing the exact same thing. Yet one group does it for shear entertainment while the other used the video for the purpose of a learning experience.

[blind2d]

Geez guys, get over it! It's just a dumb TV show! Don't make such a fuss. Japan isn't a perfect place, but neither is any other country, because humans are flawed and weak. Except maybe for those kids.... they really kicked ass.

[Wyldwraith]

Wait a second,
I have NEVER said I'm ok with ANYONE torturing kids mentally, emotionally or physically for laughs. I'm pointing at the Japanese atm because that video was the most extreme example of apparently culturally sanctioned behavior I've ever seen. If AFHV did the same thing next week I'd be just as angry.

Hope I've clarified the fact there's no double standard at work in my views at least.

[EvilNed]

I fail to see the difference, even some of the AFHV vids were set up pranks, which no one had issues with, so to me it is being very hypocritical to say one is ok, and the other is not.


The difference I guess is that there are harmless pranks (see AFHV) and then there are those kinds of pranks that can end up really badly for all people included... See this one. Try putting yourself in that kids situation. Did you see him crying? He was fighting for his life. That kid's going to have nightmares for months.

How can you fail to see the difference between two very, very different kind of pranks? One light, the other extreme?

[DjfunkmasterG]

Ask the guy who has been kicked in the balls then humiliated on National TV and see if he thinks there is a difference.

A prank is a prank no matter how gentle or how extreme and both have lasting psychological effects.


Geez guys, get over it! It's just a dumb TV show! Don't make such a fuss. Japan isn't a perfect place, but neither is any other country, because humans are flawed and weak. Except maybe for those kids.... they really kicked ass.


This is the thing... The video was about kids coming up with a plan to fight a zombie and they did, albeit an actor, but they did it, and us as zombie fans rooted for them and watched them claim victory, albeit with some scary moments for the kids themselves, but everyone is turning this into something it shouldn't be, I mean honestly it is time to move on about it and enjoy it for what it was.. a bunch of kids kicking ass and taking names.

[EvilNed]

Ask the guy who has been kicked in the balls then humiliated on National TV and see if he thinks there is a difference.


Well, uh. Yeah, there is? Because kicked in the balls and "then" humiliated on national television doesn't traumatize you with nightmares from a young age. I'm starting to think you actually didn't even watch the videoclip this thread was about, because you don't really seem to know what it's actually about...

Also, as for the teamwork bit. I don't buy it. There are hundreds of ways to teach kids how to use teamwork, and most of them do not involve making them cry, fighting for their lives (or having them believe they do) or more or less getting a mental breakdown.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Well, uh. Yeah, there is? Because kicked in the balls and "then" humiliated on national television doesn't traumatize you with nightmares from a young age. I'm starting to think you actually didn't even watch the videoclip this thread was about, because you don't really seem to know what it's actually about...

Also, as for the teamwork bit. I don't buy it. There are hundreds of ways to teach kids how to use teamwork, and most of them do not involve making them cry, fighting for their lives (or having them believe they do) or more or less getting a mental breakdown.

I didn't watch the clip eh? Ok, yeah would you like me to discribe it in detail? Seriously, MY OPINION is THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME. The same prank just a different scales with the same outcome, someone being traumatized or embarrassed by the actions of another.

Pot Kettle still Black.

[EvilNed]

I didn't watch the clip eh? Ok, yeah would you like me to discribe it in detail? Seriously, MY OPINION is THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME. The same prank just a different scales with the same outcome, someone being traumatized or embarrassed by the actions of another.


Uhm. Okay, so someone falling flat on their ass into the mud (slapstick) is the same thing as scaring a kid into tears over a 10-15 minute period. Sure. Fine. If that's the way you see it.

Ps. I hope you don't have kids. ;)

[Yojimbo]

I'm pointing at the Japanese atm because that video was the most extreme example of apparently culturally sanctioned behavior I've ever seen. If AFHV did the same thing next week I'd be just as angry.

But if AFHV did the same thing, would you then interpret the show as "culturally sanctioned" and in that sense reflective of the morals of the people of the United States of America?

My thought is that it would be reflective of the producers of that show and whatever audience finds that appealing and not necessarily an indicator of the moral temperature of the nation and it's culture at large.

[EvilNed]

But if AFHV did the same thing, would you then interpret the show as "culturally sanctioned" and in that sense reflective of the morals of the people of the United States of America?


Of course! I mean, the title of the show is AMERICAs funniest home videos, isn't it!? ;)

[Yojimbo]

Of course! I mean, the title of the show is AMERICAs funniest home videos, isn't it!? ;)
:lol::lol: Oh crap, we are doomed aren't we? :lol::lol:

[clanglee]

:stunned:

wow. . . this has touched some nerves. . . . .

:stunned:

[Craig]

This discussion reminds me a bit of a time when I was quite young and my older brother was staying round my grandparents for the night... My mum and dad followed me around the house on all fours with a wide eyes and weird smiles on their faces. From what I remember though I took it all as a bit of a game and once their cornered me and I started getting a bit over-excited (trying to hit them) they stopped. I still remember it fairly vividly though.

[clanglee]

Parents just do that. . . My parents did anyways. My grandparents were expecially bad about it. I was scared, and yeah. . maybe I had nightmares about the stuff, but I lived. And I think I turned out ok.

This was a bit extreme maybe, and I wouldn't ever put MY kid through something quite like it, but damn if it wasn't funny to me.

Now I guess I see your point wraith, but from reading your posts. . I think you are reacting overly strong to the situation because of your own history. And nothing wrong with that, but I am sure that these kids are not constantly tortured with fear on a daily basis.

And hell. . . maybe putting a little real fear into a child is not a bad thing. In today's society we tend to over pacify our children making them soft and unable to cope in the real world. Maybe this kind of thing could help children learn their own abilities and give them a sense of worth and confidence.

Probably not of course. . it was a little too much. . . but really. . just a little.

[Mike70]

And hell. . . maybe putting a little real fear into a child is not a bad thing.

sometimes not. my grandparents had some property and a small cabin type place on the ohio river where we'd all hang out in the summer. my grandfather had me convinced and i do mean convinced as a little kid that an ogre lived in a den near the river and would eat anyone who ventured too near.

well i know now that it was all a ruse to keep me away from the ohio river and let me tell you, it worked.

[EvilNed]

And hell. . . maybe putting a little real fear into a child is not a bad thing. In today's society we tend to over pacify our children making them soft and unable to cope in the real world. Maybe this kind of thing could help children learn their own abilities and give them a sense of worth and confidence.


Maybe not. But then again, just because that's how it used to be, we shouldn't automatically assume it's good for them.

Putting the fear of death in kids... For your own amusement... Infinite amount of wrong!

[krakenslayer]

No one's claiming the kid is really gonna be scarred for life, but that's not the only part of the issue. Beating him with a big stick won't leave life-long scars either, but that doesn't make it okay.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Maybe not. But then again, just because that's how it used to be, we shouldn't automatically assume it's good for them.

Putting the fear of death in kids... For your own amusement... Infinite amount of wrong!

Then what is the point of having children? :p

[Wyldwraith]

Ok,
Wanted to point out a few things, since I was the one that came out so strongly on this.

1) I find ANY instance of terrifying small children deliberately to constitute psychological abuse. The details are only relevant insofar as determining whether or not inflicting terror was the intended goal. Japanese Reality-TV, AFHV, maladjusted parents in the privacy of their home, my reaction remains the same. Such behavior leaves a lasting negative impression on young children, that in many cases will last years or even decades.

2) I freely acknowledge, and have acknowledged at multiple points/places in this debate that my own history is an obvious source of bias that affects how I perceive and react to issues related to the abuse I suffered when young. While I do not feel this bias invalidates any of the (IMO) well-reasoned and articulate points I've made about the negative aspects and consequences of the sort of behavior demonstrated by the architects of that show/the "prank", I freely admit I am certainly not the most objective arbiter, because my empathy is with the victims as a former victim myself.

3) The idea that the calculated/premeditated inducing of prolonged terror in young children is a productive and constructive means of child-rearing is repugnant to me. While it has been unarguably demonstrated that positive/productive reactions can be elicited from the target by such methods, I consider the concept akin to the use of choke-chain leashes and rapid-activation shock collars on dogs to achieve their obediance/other training milestones. The question should not be whether these methods can produce desirable results. It should be whether or not the negative consequences of such methods outweigh any positive gains.

This isn't simply a matter of scale as DJ insists. To follow that principle to its most extreme would be to say that if spanking a misbehaving child results in a 10% drop in the demonstration of undesirable behavior by the child, then inflicting 10x as much pain is acceptable, because spanking is acceptable and it's only a matter of scale.

Finally, I want to point out that despite everything I've said, and all the things I've experienced, that I laughed at the video just as hard as anyone else did. If I wasn't SURE that this kind of terrifying incident will haunt those children at least for a while, I probably wouldn'tve reacted so strongly.

I think what bothered me the most, or at least what stood out the most to me was the effort to condone/justify the event by an ends justify the means argument.

There are legions of people, places and incidents that will introduce every child to their first moments of absolute terror. Everything from sadistic bullies at school, to being involved in a frightening incident for real, to being unable to avoid violent relatives. Fear finds each of us just fine on its own, so I see no need to help it along by intentionally exposing children to it during the brief period where the comforting illusion that all is right with their worlds is still intact. They'll find out otherwise soon enough, so why take that from them?

[mista_mo]

the videos shown on Americas funniest home videos aren't even funny in the least.

It should be re-named to "Videos of Americans doing stupid things, and some people will laugh, but really, these things aren't funny at all".

[krakenslayer]

Ok,
Wanted to point out a few things, since I was the one that came out so strongly on this.

1) I find ANY instance of terrifying small children deliberately to constitute psychological abuse. The details are only relevant insofar as determining whether or not inflicting terror was the intended goal. Japanese Reality-TV, AFHV, maladjusted parents in the privacy of their home, my reaction remains the same. Such behavior leaves a lasting negative impression on young children, that in many cases will last years or even decades.

2) I freely acknowledge, and have acknowledged at multiple points/places in this debate that my own history is an obvious source of bias that affects how I perceive and react to issues related to the abuse I suffered when young. While I do not feel this bias invalidates any of the (IMO) well-reasoned and articulate points I've made about the negative aspects and consequences of the sort of behavior demonstrated by the architects of that show/the "prank", I freely admit I am certainly not the most objective arbiter, because my empathy is with the victims as a former victim myself.

3) The idea that the calculated/premeditated inducing of prolonged terror in young children is a productive and constructive means of child-rearing is repugnant to me. While it has been unarguably demonstrated that positive/productive reactions can be elicited from the target by such methods, I consider the concept akin to the use of choke-chain leashes and rapid-activation shock collars on dogs to achieve their obediance/other training milestones. The question should not be whether these methods can produce desirable results. It should be whether or not the negative consequences of such methods outweigh any positive gains.

This isn't simply a matter of scale as DJ insists. To follow that principle to its most extreme would be to say that if spanking a misbehaving child results in a 10% drop in the demonstration of undesirable behavior by the child, then inflicting 10x as much pain is acceptable, because spanking is acceptable and it's only a matter of scale.

Finally, I want to point out that despite everything I've said, and all the things I've experienced, that I laughed at the video just as hard as anyone else did. If I wasn't SURE that this kind of terrifying incident will haunt those children at least for a while, I probably wouldn'tve reacted so strongly.

I think what bothered me the most, or at least what stood out the most to me was the effort to condone/justify the event by an ends justify the means argument.

There are legions of people, places and incidents that will introduce every child to their first moments of absolute terror. Everything from sadistic bullies at school, to being involved in a frightening incident for real, to being unable to avoid violent relatives. Fear finds each of us just fine on its own, so I see no need to help it along by intentionally exposing children to it during the brief period where the comforting illusion that all is right with their worlds is still intact. They'll find out otherwise soon enough, so why take that from them?

^ this

[zombiekiller]

that was great! 3 thoughts:

1. japan is kick-ass
2. those kids were cute and very funny
3. i need to stock up on saran wrap and tobasco sauce!

don't forget wet sponges and toy dino's on a string in a doorway.