TV is bad.

In a news group recently, I got into a discussion about TV. This has nothing to do with tantra really, except the obvious fact that TV is bad for tantra.

My attitude to TV comes from my own experience and an experiment, some 12ish years back.

I experimented - on my children (who I've always said needed traumas, neglect and such to bitch about to their therapists later in life, thus rationalising my conscience into submission).

I remember being out with them, and, feeling magnaminious, giving them the choice of takeaways to go with the video (probably something educational like South Park, Life of Brian, ) They answered in unison "KFC".

Puzzled by this (they were agreeing? What was happening to my strategy of divide and rule..) I paid attention to what they did that evening for a change, noted that the fried bits of something didn't get finished, not much delight in their eating. But the TOY! - there was a plastic injection moulded aeroplane. Small. Ugly. But they were in love with the things.

I recalled the KFC ad, with a magnificent aeroplane flying out of the bucket and zooming impressively around at a kid's party,and the delight, the adoration of this wonder on the little faces. What the PUA's call "social proof" deluxe.

The next day, I surveyed (in Honeydew, there was still room for that) my lands. I noted the tree squatter-shack I'd built. Still ugly. The 7m bungee swing from it hanging, limply. The block and tackle lift, without break or any safety device, with which a little one could lift a big one all the way to the top if they had a goodly attention span, and persistence. The small, yet horrifyingly fast kid-size little motorbike (look, darling - it's so cute! Think how they'll look riding that) 2 acres of garden, 3 acres of wild land, 1/2 acres of roof, big trees, a ride-on lawnmower that could wheelie, horses available two plots away, two dogs, five cats, peacocks that weren't ours, and kept getting eaten by the dogs. Even the cats providing entertainment by trying to take out peacocks. Ticks, all sorts of insects. Nature. Even a perennial stream goddamit. I noticed two children, clean children, unscarred, unbruised. No laughter, no tears. At 5pm. Watching TV.

So I experimented. Changed a factor in the situation, just to see.

I climbed on to the roof, disconnected the aerial, and informed the beloved children that TV would no longer work, we would just do videos. They didn't like it. Tried to petition the mother and all. I stood firm. Windmills don't scare me.

Not three months later, they were sharing complaints about the latest thing the kids at school were into. There was this toy.. a lump of plastic (the island) for which they were collecting various other bits of plastic that made up it's (on TV, no doubt Star Wars grade) defences. I offered to get them one, get the next takeaways there if they liked, but no. My son then 6, 7ish said "but dad, it's just crap". The daughter agreed. I said "that's why we don't have TV".

I'd be embarrassed if I had to admit that I'd noticed I'd bought into some of the TV nonsense myself. I don't have to, so I won't.

From my own experience, I deduce that

1 TV is bad.

2 Occasional, relevant viewing is not practical in a household with children unless there's a strong military-style (don't spare the rod, and trust they're too stupid to cut your throat while you sleep) discipline in place.

3 TV is insidious. Watch a scheduled something... and there's some mind numbingly stupid story of people behaving as greedily, with personalities as deep as politicians'. The story will remind the wife of her second cousin's friend's new sex slave who had exactly the same issues, except... and she'll tell you all about it.. just like I'm telling you here, long winded and all. If you want to turn the TV off, you then "don't empathise". (giaconda)

4. Tv is bad. Good people don't watch TV. Repetition works, I hope..

5. TV is bad. It leads to premature ejaculation, cancer, rickets, polio, substance abuse and AIDS. In that order.

6. TV is bad. It leads to finding yourself or your descendants in a conscript army, or marked for the attention of said army.

7. TV is bad. Love is good. You are good. Loving yourself is good. Better than TV if you do it right. If you get good at that, you can try loving someone else too. This is what people did before TV. TV is bad.

8. I hope that makes things clear. Surely it couldn't be said that often and not be true. TV is bad.


Rahasya

PS:

As my token of empathy with your suffering, your endurance, having skimmed or hopped to here, I didn't use the "copy paste" function once. Typed out "TV is bad" each time, keystroke by keystroke. At this time of night. TV is bad.