"In 18th-century England, the king and half his ministers were involved in a whole network of strange and violent sex clubs, whipping parlors and half-secret cults that embraced everything from Satanism and human sacrifice to flagrant white slavery and public bestiality.
"In the early years of the century, there were a large number of 'Rakes' Clubs' in London, where the high point of most evenings was hitting the streets in a drunken, brainless frenzy and raping, beating and maiming every human being they could get their hands on."
-Hunter S. Thompson ('The Hellfire Club' -- 'Generation of Swine: Gonzo Papers Vol. 2: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80's')
Last night (Friday, February 8, 2013) I walked up to Piedmont and Bancroft, near some of the Frats, and listened. I watched and I listened. And what I saw and heard doesn't shock me. Drunken college kids is nothing new. Hell, I am not even frowning on the behavior. It's a way to blow off steam. There are kids this age dying for your "freedoms" halfway around the planet. However, when one set of kids are targeted for partying, illegally, then so should the other. Now I am sure there are "of-age" students at these parties, but I also imagine there are plenty of underage kids at those parties as well. And the reason you are going to delineate between the street kids and those wealthy college students is because...? Oh, money. It's always money.
Class, rather. And let's examine the difference in the two groups. On one side, the street kid side, you have kids who have been tossed away, sexually abused, physically abused, emotionally abused, some of which are extremely mentally handicapped. Sure, not all of them are abuse victims. Enough of them, though, have never seen anything except instability and constant transition to "normalcy." They never get there because their view is opposite the lesson being taught.
Again, the Master points his finger at the moon and the Fool looks at his finger.
On the other side of this debate you have kids with more privilege. Now, I am not saying they are all monsters because of this fact. I am merely pointing out the dichotomy of the situation. The message here is to point to the disparity of application and the reason for that discrepancy. And I am not attempting to start trouble between these classes. I am merely pointing out what I see. Again, perception is reality. If we are to bridge that gap we are going to have to make real efforts in doing so.
One side has a place they can perform their debauchery and the other does not. One side has the money to control the language; and if you control the language, you control the content; and if you control the content, you control it all; and if you control it all, you employ police as babysitters. The police are the ultimate middlemen (and 'middlewomen') in this entire Farce. They are pitted against both sides. They are told to look the other way on some things and to accentuate on other behaviors, allegedly.
Partay.... if you're white and privileged by davitydave
Application of the law, in this fashion, only exacerbates an already problematic situation. On one hand you have wealthy kids promoting and financially supporting illegal parties, but since their parents have influence... since their parents are the Aristocracy, there's a moderate eye, at best, watching all of it. More like a babysitter who picks up the messes and only punishes (or incarcerates) if the situation rises to a certain level. I guess that's fair. I guess that's what they're (City Hall) doing with the street kids. Only with the street kids there is a moral application.
So, money does not have to abide by the same moral codes?
"'Thank you, Mr. Chinanski, for speaking to us . . .'
'Sure . . .'
Then Jon Pinchot was there. 'Hello, Sarah, hello, Hank . . .
Follow me . . .'
There was a small group with cassette recorders. Some flashbulbs went off. I didn't know who they were. They began asking questions.
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