Hot Button Topics (religion, politics, sports)

[Chocofreak13]

if it goes against their religion, it goes against their religion, sorry kid. if it's due to cost, that's messed up, but i understand that difficult choice right there too. if they just don't want to, well, parent ribs might make good barbecue.

[Bella]

If the child is dying of an illness (and not a trauma or injury) and is under the "age of reason" (however you define that, but basically whenever they develop a knowledge of life and death and are aware of their own mortality), then unfortunately, I kinda have to agree that it's up to the parents to consent to or refuse medical treatment. It sucks sometimes, but parents make a LOT of decisions that can impact their children's lives before they're old enough to object, and that's just the way life is.

However, if it's an accident scenario - say, the kid is in a car wreck and brought into the emergency room to be treated - then I'd say it's up to the doctors to treat the child, whether or not the parents consent to the treatment. Parents don't necessarily have the obligation to save their child's life, but I believe doctors should feel obliged to treat their patients no matter what.

On the other hand, if the child is old enough to be aware of their own mortality and WANTS to live, they should be able to seek treatment even if their parents don't consent to it. I think it's crazy that a minor would be refused, say, cancer treatment just because it's against their parents' morals, religious beliefs, etc. (Now, treatment refused due to monetary issues is a completely different issue ... I believe socialized medicine is a good idea and that medical care should be available to all people regardless of financial circumstances, but that's a whole debate for another time.)

[Chocofreak13]

hmmm.....*erases answer*copies off bella's test*
done. -w-

EDIT: http://news.yahoo.com/mother-newborn-sewer-present-rescue-065222137.html

i....i don't know what to say here....

[Simonorged]

New debate topic, should prostitution be made legal? And why?

[Chocofreak13]

....did no one see my link... >>;

yes. because people have the right to do with themselves what they choose. prostitutes will exist whether or not it's illegal. it's the oldest profession in the world.

[Nichi]

@prostitutes: I don't see a reason why not, if the person in question decides it for themselves that they want to do that. If they're unwillingly forced into it, then it's obviously wrong

@baby in sewer: More reason why abortions should be more easily accessible IMO; to prevent things like that

[Chocofreak13]

in this case, i don't think it was easy access to abortions that did it, it was lack of sex ed. but i agree on your point, and also make the point that asia needs to be a bit more forward thinking in teaching sex ed. teaching kids about how NOT to be teen moms doesn't mean you condone them going off and doing the nasty in a shibuya park. :\

honestly, in japan, it got to the point where parents and schools did so little in the way of telling teens, that a magazine took it upon itself to teach them. it worked out great despite the controversy.

[Nichi]

I didn't know that. Interesting

[Chocofreak13]

mm. better for a magazine to teach them than for them to find out the hard way. :\

[Simonorged]

@choco: Yeah I saw it.
It was terrible and she should feel terrible. That is if it wasn't an accident.

On the topic of legalized prostitution, yes I do believe it should be made legal, if only ti make it safer to those involved.

[Bella]

in this case, i don't think it was easy access to abortions that did it, it was lack of sex ed. but i agree on your point, and also make the point that asia needs to be a bit more forward thinking in teaching sex ed. teaching kids about how NOT to be teen moms doesn't mean you condone them going off and doing the nasty in a shibuya park. :\

honestly, in japan, it got to the point where parents and schools did so little in the way of telling teens, that a magazine took it upon itself to teach them. it worked out great despite the controversy.

I actually didn't know that Japan and China were so lax when it comes to sex ed. I dunno, lack of decent sex ed in school systems is something that I usually think of as being an "American problem", but I guess it's an issue that transcends national and cultural borders in this case.

I know that the thing hindering sex education in the US is generally conservatism (both in legislation and social mores) and fundamentalist religious attitudes, but now you have me sincerely curious what the causes are in Asia. I know Japan is a bit behind the times in regards to sex ed, birth control and the like, but China seems like it would be more progressive on that front? As the article said, abortion is common in the country, and I've heard birth control is readily-available there. I mean, hell, from what I've read hormonal BC is available OTC in China, whereas most other developed countries make women jump through veritable hoops in order to access it. (For instance, blood and urine tests, needing a prescription, prescriptions not being issues w/o yearly / bi-yearly gyno examinations and plenty of other bullshit). Also, I've read sterilization and IUDs are quite common among Chinese women, but I'm not sure if those are available to childless women or only those who've already had a child (that is to say, as a means of enforcing the one-child policy).

New debate topic, should prostitution be made legal? And why?

I think prostitution should be legalized. First off, legalizing it will allow people who sincerely WANT to be in sex work to go into that field without fearing prosecution. This might help clear up the problem of people being forced into sex work against their will.

Secondly, if prostitution is legalized, people who are abused or assaulted while on the job will be able to seek justice without being afraid of being punished themselves.

Thirdly, legal prostitution might help de-stigmatize that line of work. I can't be certain of this, since there are so many nasty societal attitudes toward people (particularly women) who have multiple / many sexual partners, but it would at least allow people involved in sex work to speak openly about their experiences and demand respect, which is something that isn't so easy to do now (see point 2).

Finally, if it's legal it can be regulated. If it's regulated, it'll be safer for everyone involved.

[SleepyD]

The majority of Asian parents will never give the sex talk. Things like cohabitation, not to mention premarital sex, is a major point of contention. They do preach about not having sex until marriage, but this is less to do with religion and more to do with family harmony.

"Saving face" is a EXTREMELY important part of Asian society, and the thought that one's child is participating in sexual escapades, or even just the image of sexual escapades--which is what is assumed by Asians if a male and female live together--would be damaging to their image as parents, and in turn, damaging to the whole family name. And yes, there is a major gender inequality in that it is more shameful if it is a daughter that does it, instead of a son. Recall that ero/ecchi manga/anime trope of a girl asking a guy who takes her virginity (or some other lewd thing) to "take responsibility"-- it implies that she can no longer be married to anyone else. And this trope is indeed rooted in a societal reality. A man (and more importantly, the man's family) would find a "deflowered" woman to be an undesirable mate.

Due to globalization, this upcoming generation is softening their views. But a cultural change such as this will take a lot of time.


I got a bit of a double whammy. My parents being immigrants from the Philippines, I got a little bit from Column A (Asian filial piety) and a little bit Column B (conservative Catholicism).
Thank God for sex ed. My parents were pretty surprised that I had sex ed in a Catholic school while I was in the 6th grade, truth be told. They didn't do anything about it so nothing happened, but they still thought that they shouldn't be teaching us that,

[Simonorged]

@Bella: Thank-you, that is what I was trying to say, damn sleepiness.

[Nichi]

@Sleepy: Be thankful you had sex ed. The extent of mine was "woman have breasts; men do not"; which meant I had to figure out 99% of stuff involving sex on my own :\

[Chocofreak13]

sex ed was awkward as hell. thank god i was going through my beret phase at the time. *holds hat over face*

@sleepy: you quantified most of the points i was going to make, thankyou. also, this explains why asian men seem so desirable to me since they can think of things OTHER than "hey, let's have sex". seems it's not THEM that's doing that, it's their society as a whole. :\

@simon: prostitution is legal in 2 counties of Nevada. and there, they have access to protection from dangerous/otherwise undesirable johns, health care, and other perks awarded to "legitimate" jobs like pensions and tax breaks. :3