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California City Issues Internet Cafe Moratorium
DarkZero writes: "The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the City Council of Garden Grove, California has issued a 45 day moratium on internet cafes following a fatal stabbing and several other crimes, with the justification that internet cafes are "improperly supervised environments" that very large groups of minors frequent daily (mostly to play games), and that a lot of gang violence has cropped up because of this. Another new restriction is that minors may not stay in any internet cafe past 8PM on a school night, though it isn't clear whether or not that restriction will be lifted after the 45 day period." The New York Times has a similarly breathless story, emphasizing the violence of games played at such cafes.
Clearly, we need greater accountability and responsibility on the internet. Enough planes have been hijacked, buildings blown up, children threatened and women raped to show that unlicensed, unmonitored, anonymous internet usage (made even easier with Internet Cafes) to show that's it's like carrying around an unregistered handgun, just too dangerous to allow anymore.
Good riddance I say. If you can't afford a PC and phone line for browsing ( a perfectly adeqate Pentium will do, and you can buy one for under $100), go to a public library for surfing under the watchful eyes of concerned librarians.
Roads were closed in California because they make people prone to anger and violence.
I already noticed this like 10 years ago after noticing the increase in cannabalism due to mrs. pacman.
I intend to live forever, so far so good.
Yeah, let's get violence off the computer screens and put it back on the street where it belongs.
Of course, the amusing part fo the story is that the mayor ran on a platform warning voters that without him, the town would turn into a police state [ocweekly.com].
goats.com: better than
"After all, when adults shoot each other they don't blame Tony Bennett." - Don Imus
Intercarve Networks, LLC
we'd be listening to repetitive electronic music in a darkened environment, munching pills!
Now that they're kicking the minors out early and extending the hours, that leaves 6 hours for the old folks to frag each other instead of getting fragged to oblivion by twelve-year-olds!
Movie theaters were probably thought to be similar breeding grounds for dissoluteness back in the 1920s when the problem was really that the parents didn't care enough about what their children were doing. And pool halls! 8-)
Oops. Chalk another one up to dumb-ass americans who can't tell Asian {cities|countries|people} apart.
Children who kill people in cold blood without cause are barely more than animals
Children are barely more than animals. Parenting is about making them into humans.
Reboot macht Frei.
"The Police Department report establishes that these establishments cater to minors...It has been established that gang members frequent such establishments," the council said in the interim ordinance it adopted Tuesday night.
Whee!
But you CAN'T blame the parents. I mean.. who are WE to say that parents should have responsibility over their kids? Its always someone else's fault. So in this instance, it must be the fault of the internet cafe's, or whoever else might possibly have an influence. Because it CAN'T be the parents.
:)
We all know very well that the internet is to blame for every problem since the first kid downloaded a bomb recipie. Everytime a 14 year old girl hooks up with a pedophile, its the INTERNET's fault. The fact that her parents never bothered to keep tabs on who she was talking to or that this kind of activity predates the internet is of no consequence.
Violent kids? Blame the internet. We used to blame the TV, but everyone's on the internet now so that has to be the problem. Quake and Doom is the REASON that a couple of deranged lunatics shoot up a school. There is NO OTHER REASON. So QUIT TRYING TO BLAME THE PARENTS.
Ok.. enough sarcasm. Parents have neglected their responsibility. And yes.. They need to be the ones that take care of this problem. But I don't know what we can do to make them. They can be held legally responible for the actions of their children, but this doesn't seem to be much of a deterrant factor.
But blaming internet cafe's is not the solution. Just as blaming arcades/malls/movie theatres or anywhere else is a solution. And bad neighborhoods are the kind of places where internet cafes are going to be more prominant. More people around who don't have computers at home or can't afford decent internet access. Maybe they need more supervision. If the majority of the customer base are minors, then perhaps some extra supervision is required, but its hard to require that of a low margin company without willing volunteers. And yes, a single parent accompanying their children might assist in these matters.
Yeah... like THAT's ever going to happen.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
Yes, but what did detective Emacs say?
The cake is a pie