If you haven’t seen it yet, Adam Lambert performed tonight as the final act for the American Music Awards. I have to say – it’s quite disgusting what they let musicians do these days. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no ultra-conservative. I think America does need to “lighten up” when it comes to sexual stuff in the media. How is it OK that we let our kids go watch movies or play video games with tons of violence (a la Modern Warfare 2) but one little nipple and people are up in arms?

Anyways, Adam Lambert’s performance was just…  ugg. I know I’m probably going to his fans up in arms but really…  I’ve already seen people praising this craptastic junk. I didn’t like him in American Idol and now I have even less respect. His voice was utter crap, off-key in many spots. Then the actual show…  he DRAGGED a woman across the stage? Yes, let’s get back to where we are degrading women…  way to go AMA’s. Then he has a chain linked to two guys crawling around like dogs, followed by some hip thrusts with his crotch in one guy’s face??? Shortly after, a dancer wrapped her arm around his leg and literally had her hands right on his crotch. When the hell did it become OK to do this type of stuff on a live performance that is nationally televised?

I couldn’t care less that he kissed a guy during the performance – he’s gay and just showing off, imo. It’s no bigger a deal than the Britney/Madonna kiss…  it’s showbiz and gets them attention. But come on people…   this type of stuff is really getting out of hand. I really hope there weren’t many kids watching this. Honestly, what has happened to the classy musicians?

The couple seated behind me was having a conversation – but not your normal run of the mill conversation. They were holding their conversation – a bit loudly – over their “walkie-talkie” cell phones. You know, the ones that Nextel promoted for so long, that beep at you, then someone else’s voice comes out loudly through the speakers? Well, this couple who looked to be a mother & son, were holding conversations with someone on the other end and we could hear the entire thing. I’m fairly certain I could easily repeat just about their entire convo. Something about someone joining the Army… blah blah blah.

Anyways, it really got us to talking about how the world around us has changed so much over the past 20 years. I ask you, fair reader – Where has the common courtesy gone? These people seated just behind us had to know that others could overhear them – those phones are annoyingly loud. Not to mention the fact that I turned completely around in my chair to look at them a couple times – of course, this got totally ignored by either of them. The only reason I decided not to cause a bit of a scene was I really didn’t want to embarrass my wife. Seriously though, I know Olive Garden isn’t really “fine dining”, but I’d consider it a bit of an upscale restaurant compared to most in the area. I’d expect something like this in Golden Corral.

Something else very similar happened just last Friday. We went to see the movie Law Abiding Citizen (good action flick btw), at 10pm. You would think such a late showing, a week after the movie came out, would cut down on the number of younger children in the theater. Not to mention the R rating… you would think (again) that this would cut down on those under the age of 10. You’d be wrong. Oh and let us not forget the wonderful invention known as cell phones. Seriously people – they repeatedly ask you to turn them off – so why then, do we see your glaringly bright cell phone screen DURING THE MOVIE? Is it that damn important to send a text message, are you so worried about missing that so ever so important message that you just can’t sit down for 90 – 120 minutes without looking at your cell phone? Klutzy Shutterbug was complaining throughout the entire movie about a woman about 3 rows ahead of us that was constantly on her cell phone. Have some respect for those around you… if it’s that damn important, step outside! This is the point where I really just have to say THANK GOD for Netflix. It’s getting to the point I’d rather not pay for a movie that is going to be ruined by the people that are apparently super important – I mean obviously they are going to prevent World War III by sending a text message while watching a movie.

Another story to relate – this one is a tad older, but glares bright in my mind as a perfect example of how this trend is being passed on to children. Klutzy and I were having dinner at a wonderful place already mentioned – Golden Corral. Now, mind you, I don’t go into this establishment expecting uppity, higher class citizens or fine china. Far from it… but what happened on this evening just blew my mind. We had both eaten our fill of the food from the serve-yourself bar… so I decided I’d like a little machine-made fake ice cream. I got up, moseyed my way over to the big silver machine… and just as I placed my small bowl under the dripping milk – only to feel a push against my leg. I look down to see two young children (I’d estimate between 4-6 yrs old) pushing their way through me to get their bowls under the same machine I was about to use. Being the type of guy I am, I step back… and look around, expecting to see an adult that would chastise the kids for their behavior. No grown-up is in viewing distance, so I watch entranced as both of these little evil-doers try their best to dispense the ice cream into their bowls. A waitress walking by sees them struggling and asks where their parents are. The little devil children by this point are frustrated and are starting to whine (loudly), so the waitress helps them fill their bowls and they run off screaming… to the front register, where their mother is apparently still paying for their meals. One thing I should point out here… Golden Corral is a buffet, so you pay before you eat. Meaning these little bastards hadn’t even eaten any normal food, and already they had ice cream (which they were currently dripping all over). The mother never once said a word to them, she just picked up her tray and found a table.

I remember from a very early age, as I grew up, my parents and even those adults that were simply around me would discipline me for various things. Back in those days (and I’m only 30), it was not unheard of for me to get a stern word spoken, a slap on the butt, or a threat of what I would get when we got home. God forbid if I was to do something like these kids did that evening – my father would have surely ripped me a new one. But it wasn’t just my father – any adult that was a friend of the family was allowed to discipline me if I was acting up. Hell, one of my introductions to my step-father in my teenage years was getting my hand “forked” for reaching across the table.

Anyways, I really have to wonder what has our society degenerated into when common courtesy is no longer used in today’s world. Where are the gentlemen that open a door for a lady (and not just on a date, not that this happens anymore either)? What happened to the grown adults that actually discipline their child for acting like idiots in public? Why do people have no respect for those around them? How did we let our society get to this point, that a little respect for your fellow human beings is looked down upon by the majority?

Hell, maybe we should dust off the old books that were used in school in the old days to teach a woman how to “act like a lady”, update them for the times and make them a requirement for every student in every grade. LOL, sorry I found this pic and just couldn’t resist including it.

Feel free to share your own stories.

They vary in age, race, sex…  I’ve seen people often refer to them as “kids” or “children” but many times I have come to find out that even those out of their teenage years can be a GIM. Their tactics vary from game to game as well. My first real MMO was Ultima Online, where people would frequently corpse camp your body after killing you. The term, “Player Killer” or PK, really originated from Ultima Online, where your character would turn red for frequently killing others, giving anyone free reign to attack the PK without consequence. Many PK’s wore their red color with pride though.

Player vs Player (PvP) combat was only one of many tactics for a GIM to try to ruin your gameplay. In World of Warcraft, I saw GIMs that would purposely exploit various game mechanics to ruin others day. Stealing raid ID’s, attacking a quest mob before you could do enough damage to it so you wouldn’t get credit, purposefully ruining a market for a crafting skill…  the list could go on for some length. WoW was that much worse too because of it’s huge popularity and lesser learning curve – the more people there were, the more GIMs that abounded. I’ve seen guilds destroyed just because a GIM decided he didn’t like the guild.

Console gamers have it worse than most from the little bit I’ve seen. I’m not sure if it’s because the majority of console gamers tend to be younger or what, but anytime I have joined a game on my PS3, the smacktalking over voice chat is just ridiculous. I had thought that my days of playing Battlefield 2 on the PC would prepare me for it, but all I can do is shake my head as I think about the cursing, the belittling of others and the “teabagging” that goes on in these games. It makes me wonder many times what the parents of that 13-year old is doing while he screams epithets into his mic while shooting your already dead body.

I only recently have started playing Eve Online again. Many times I’ve heard it described as a more adult-oriented game. Sure, there is a younger crowd that plays it but I doubt many 10-14 year olds play. The game mechanics and user interface themselves just aren’t as user friendly to the younger gamer in my opinion. This does not mean there isn’t a sizeable crowd of GIMs around though. Huge scams have happened several times in the past. Can flipping, or stealing from another players can of ore, is a popular tactic as well – many times it’s just an attempt to try to get the miner to agress the can flipper so they can be blown into space debris. Of course let’s not forget the GIMs that find it amusing to fly around highsec, declaring war on industrial or newbie corps, getting their kicks out of destroying these player’s new ships. Playing station docking games when a sizeable fleet is brought against them, smacktalking in local chat while safely docked up.

Sometimes I really have to wonder what these GIMs do in real life. Is it some young kid sitting in his parents basement, laughing away as he ridicules others in some game? Perhaps its a group of college kids, drinking and having a good ole’ time at the expense of the new player that doesn’t know how to defend themself? Really though, it doesn’t matter. All of them fit into a category of people that enjoy the misfortune of others. Is this the new generation of player?

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