Parenting

So, I just walked past this giant poster of the Hulk in my dorm (beautiful decoration). I noticed it was promotional, because it said THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED, but the main thing I noticed was a disclaimer right beside the not rating that said THIS FILM CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF TOBACCO CONSUMPTION. So, this got me thinking of other movies that were rated for tobacco usage, and even video games that were rated for the same. "Gee, well," you might say, "they just do that so the parents know what their kids are getting into!" Gee, well, I would say, that would be a legitimate argument if smoking was frowned upon like graphic nudity and child torture. You might as well rate a movie/game because someone wore purple, and that means gay, which might offend someone (that statement's senselessness should prove my point).

Here's the thing, you don't let your kids see the movie because you're sheltering them from smoking, and if you're sheltering them from it, you're not telling them about it, so they're not going to know if it's right or wrong, so when one of their friends offers them a cigarette, they won't know that it's a health hazard, so they'll take it, get addicted, and ruin their life all because you suck as a parent.

So why would we need to warn people that they'll be watching someone smoke? If parents would just warn their kids, then there shouldn't be any problem. I mean, it's not like watching someone light a cigarette is going to ruin your life. Bah.

Moral of the story: don't shelter your kids. Teach them, warn them, help them. Otherwise, they'll end up like me and decide to find things out firsthand.