# "Hilarious Home Video?" Not so funny, IMO



## shesulsa (Apr 11, 2008)

ebaumsworld.com has this video up with the title "Hilarious Home Video."

In case it gets deleted, the cameraman (I'm assuming a brother) is hiding when the 18 year old girl comes home to find her mom waiting at the kitchen counter. The girl was not where she said she'd be, no one knew where she was; turns out she was meeting up with someone she met on MySpace.

While her mother strongly admonishes her, she can't touch the comments made by the cameraman.

Comments on this and the prevalence of secret meetings like this?


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## Jade Tigress (Apr 11, 2008)

Ok, I can't help it, but the cameraman's comments did crack me up. 

In all seriousness, this is probably more prevalent than we'd like to think, and funny though they may be, the cameraman's comments were spot on. That very well could have happened to her. 

I don't know how to go about raising awareness. Kid's simply don't listen. They think they're invincible. One comment the girl made was, "I'm not stupid." Well, that was obviously a very stupid thing she did. Ya know how Dateline does the "stings" with pedophiles online? Maybe they should start targeting kids on myspace to meet with someone they _think_ they know. When they show up for the meeting they find out they've been duped. Air it on MTV or something. Of course, that won't happen.

It's a scary situation to be sure.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Apr 11, 2008)

Never meet a stranger by yourself.
Never go into a strangers house.
If you are going somewhere tell at least one person(a family member)


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## exile (Apr 11, 2008)

Jade Tigress said:


> "I'm not stupid." Well, that was obviously a very stupid thing she did.



...and that endless chanting of 'I'm 18! I'm _18!!_' Not 16, mind you, but all of 18...

Children know they're children up to a certain point. The danger period comes when they're still children but no longer realize that they are. Once upon a time 18 would have meant full adulthood, but not now; along with our vastly extended livespans, our childhoods seem to be prolonged as well, and this kid showed less sense and self-preserving awareness than a 10-year old a century or two ago would probably have done.

How do you make them aware that they really _don't_ have the knowledge and savvy to recognize the dangers out there? That, 18 or not, they're still _kids_ and can't assume that they really understand the possibilities?


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## shesulsa (Apr 11, 2008)

I really don't know, exile, but Jade I said the exact same thing to my family when we watched the latest Dateline sting.  They really should do a reverse sting to see how many kids would go meet someone and lie to everyone about where they were.

"I'm EIGHTEEN!!!"

Maybe in years but not in brain.

_In the *butt.*_


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## Makalakumu (Apr 11, 2008)

The paradox of extended childhood.  How much can you really protect your children when they are 16 or 18 or 20 and they make dumb decisions?  No one wants to let their child put themselves into potentially dangerous situations, but at a certain point, when do you back off?  The above audio clip is an interesting counterpoint to the video posted.  Maybe our children make childish decisions because we keep them children for far to long in our society?


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## ackks10 (Apr 11, 2008)

i have a 13 year old,i know what you mean, but for some reason when they reach a certain age the bottom falls out and they know EVERYTHING!!! 
and we, as the parents no longer know anything,( i know i live it every day):argue: what to do????.


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## exile (Apr 11, 2008)

ackks10 said:


> i have a 13 year old,i know what you mean, but for some reason when they reach a certain age the bottom falls out and they know EVERYTHING!!!
> and we, as the parents no longer know anything,( i know i live it every day):argue: what to do????.



There's the famous witticism, often attributed to about James Joyce, about how when he was sixteen years old, he suddenly realized how dumb his father was, and when he was twenty-one, he found himself amazed at how much smarter the old man had gotten in five years....


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## MJS (Apr 11, 2008)

shesulsa said:


> ebaumsworld.com has this video up with the title "Hilarious Home Video."
> 
> In case it gets deleted, the cameraman (I'm assuming a brother) is hiding when the 18 year old girl comes home to find her mom waiting at the kitchen counter. The girl was not where she said she'd be, no one knew where she was; turns out she was meeting up with someone she met on MySpace.
> 
> ...


 
Well, fortunately I wasn't drinking anything while I was watching that, otherwise, you'd owe me a new keyboard, as I found the camera guys comments funny. 

Seriously though...this girl needs a serious wakeup call.  There have been countless cases of sexual assaults from things like myspace.  You never know who you're talking to and what you could be walking into, should you choose to meet up with someone.  

I don't know why she kept repeating "I'm 18!!!" countless times, as if thats supposed to be the deciding age when you know all.  Sorry, but this is 2008.  Sexual predators didn't just come into light yesterday.  If she doesnt see the danger in her actions, she needs a serious reality check.

As Jadecloud said...if you are going to meet up with someone, let someone know where you will be.  And meet in a public place, not the seclusion of someones house.  Could something still happen?  Sure, but at least someone will know where you were last.

Common sense is certainly lacking with this 18yo.


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## Sukerkin (Apr 11, 2008)

Good and sensible comments above, ladies and gentlemen - sadly the Rep Gnomes are in a mean mood today so I shall have to be satisfied with a "Me too!" .

The know-it-all-teen is a horrible phase that I think nearly all of us went through.  I recall with great embarassment what I was like back then - how my father kept his temper I'll never comprehend (especially because I was too intelligent for my own good and, worse still, was aware that I was).  

He tried his best tho' and the ways he'd put forward the reason 'why' I couldn't go and do some crackpot 'teen thing I wanted to, have stuck with me to this day (even tho' I wouldn't listen back then).


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## shesulsa (Apr 11, 2008)

What's really amazing is that she starts to cry because the family members are insistent with her as to how very serious the consequences could have been.  And it's apparent to me that she's not crying because she feels bad or is scared, she's crying because they found out, because she's grounded, because it's as though her life is ruined.

The day will likely come when my daughter pulls this crap ... and the chessmen are already on the board for that moment.


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## exile (Apr 11, 2008)

shesulsa said:


> What's really amazing is that she starts to cry because the family members are insistent with her as to how very serious the consequences could have been.  And it's apparent to me that she's not crying because she feels bad or is scared, she's crying because they found out, because she's grounded, because it's as though her life is ruined.



And did you catch the bit where her mother, clearly at wit's end with anxiety, tells her how they called _everyone_ to find out where she was, including 'Kevin', and her response is  _KEVIN??!! Why did you have to call Kevin!??_ No registration of the effect her dropping off the radar screen had on her mother... I mean, when you're 18, I guess that means that Kevin's finding out is a much bigger concern than taking a couple years off your mum's life.



shesulsa said:


> The day will likely come when my daughter pulls this crap ... and the chessmen are already on the board for that moment.



Not all kids do that... but probably most of them do, at one point. It's different with boys, but I'm not looking forward to Adrian's adolescence....:uhohh:


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## newGuy12 (Apr 11, 2008)

Jade Tigress said:


> Ok, I can't help it, but the cameraman's comments did crack me up.



Of course they cracked you up, and me too, because they are funny.  Why are they funny?  Because it points out how absurd it really is to think that ANYONE who meets ANYONE ELSE via myspace.com is destined to be raped, in the butt.

That's good comedy, because its so absurd.  You have a tv show showing pedophiles meeting children.  Next thing, everyone thinks that this is all myspace is for.  Its just full of pedophiles trying to have sex with children (this is an adult on the tape, mind you -- a legal adult), so this pedophile idea really doesn't apply.

As children me and my brother would do this all of the time.  We would make fun of our parents in this way.  We would use this "hyperbole" type of comedy.  

OH NO, YOU CAN'T GO DOWN TO THAT ROCK-N-ROLL SHOW, YOU WILL BE STABBED!  YOU WILL BE BEATEN UP AND THEN THROWN INTO THE DUMPSTER BY THE ROCK-N-ROLL PEOPLE!!!

It was funny then, and its funny now.  Of course, I have no children, so if I am missing the point, there's no harm in it.  If I had children, I might very well see things differently.


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## newGuy12 (Apr 11, 2008)

exile said:


> I guess that means that Kevin's finding out is a much bigger concern than taking a couple years off your mum's life.



Doesn't every freaking 18 year old in the First World have a cellular phone?  Why was a phone call not placed to this person to confirm they were okay???


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## MA-Caver (Apr 11, 2008)

Dunno who decided that 18 should be the age of consent when 21 is obviously the better number IMO. I realized that when I myself turned 21 and saw myself when I was 18 and a "man". Compared to what I knew/experienced by the time I was 21 I didn't know squat when I was 18. 

The cameraman's comments did elicit a giggle from me I'm sorry to say. But in actuality it wasn't funny. Very serious family situation there. Seems to me the parents didn't stress strongly enough that while they are of legal age they are still too young to really know the full dangers of the world beyond their door step. 
Some learn quickly and other learn the hard way and still some learn far too late. Parents have the responsibility to make sure their children are aware of what waits for them once they leave home. There are a lot of good things in this world, but there are a lot of bad things as well. 
Hopefully this girl will realize in time what a good thing her mom was doing grounding her despite her claims of being 18! Still living in the house therefore still under house rules.


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## DavidCC (Apr 11, 2008)

In Nebraska, 19 is the legal age of adulthood.  The police came to my house and told me Yes, I can physically prevent my 18 year old from leaving the house.  YMMV.

I guess in thsi girl's world only children get raped (I'm 18!).  What a weird world that is.


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## Andy Moynihan (Apr 11, 2008)

Funny how true it is, that old saying of youth is wasted on the young.....


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## shesulsa (Apr 11, 2008)

newGuy12 said:


> OH NO, YOU CAN'T GO DOWN TO THAT ROCK-N-ROLL SHOW, YOU WILL BE STABBED!  YOU WILL BE BEATEN UP AND THEN THROWN INTO THE DUMPSTER BY THE ROCK-N-ROLL PEOPLE!!!



:uhoh: *checks list* Dammit! I KNEW there was something I forgot to do! *loads up and heads to door* :headbangin:



newGuy12 said:


> Doesn't every freaking 18 year old in the First World have a cellular phone?  Why was a phone call not placed to this person to confirm they were okay???



I think they're starting to be born with them now. Soon there will be a chiropractic condition known as "text neck," a painful curvature of the cervical spine caused by presenting the part of the hair to everyone else's face.



			
				exile said:
			
		

> And did you catch the bit where her mother, clearly at wit's end with anxiety, tells her how they called _everyone_ to find out where she was, including 'Kevin', and her response is  _KEVIN??!! Why did you have to call Kevin!??_ No registration of the effect her dropping off the radar screen had on her mother... I mean, when you're 18, I guess that means that Kevin's finding out is a much bigger concern than taking a couple years off your mum's life.



"Kevin? You called _KEVIN????_" :dramaqueen: I'm so bad I would have said, "Yes, KEVIN! In the BUTT!"


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## Andy Moynihan (Apr 11, 2008)

shesulsa said:


> :uhoh: *checks list* Dammit! I KNEW there was something I forgot to do! *loads up and heads to door* :headbangin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

ShesulsOWNED.


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## shesulsa (Apr 11, 2008)

Andy Moynihan said:


> ShesulsOWNED.


:lol2:

You know ... I think I should contact Dateline and see if we can do the reverse sting. :EG:


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## Andy Moynihan (Apr 11, 2008)

Might make for interesting festivities, it might.


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## Jade Tigress (Apr 12, 2008)

Sukerkin said:


> ...The know-it-all-teen is a horrible phase that I think nearly all of us went through.  I recall with great embarassment what I was like back then...



Oh god. Me too. 



newGuy12 said:


> Of course they cracked you up, and me too, because they are funny.  Why are they funny?  Because it points out how absurd it really is to think that ANYONE who meets ANYONE ELSE via myspace.com is destined to be raped, in the butt.
> 
> That's good comedy, because its so absurd.  You have a tv show showing pedophiles meeting children.  Next thing, everyone thinks that this is all myspace is for.  Its just full of pedophiles trying to have sex with children (this is an adult on the tape, mind you -- a legal adult), so this pedophile idea really doesn't apply.
> 
> ...



The fact of the matter is, _most_ online meetings won't end in rape or murder, but it _does_ happen. Even the slightest possibility is enough for steps of caution to be taken when meeting. 

Why did the girl feel it necessary to lie about where she was? Obviously because she knew she was doing something she shouldn't be doing. 

I think her brother (the cameraman) started out making fun, teasing his sister because she's getting in major trouble, but then he catches a glimpse of reality makes the comment, "I'm not even laughing, you _could _have been raped". 

The reason people are told when meeting someone in person they met online to let people know where you're going, meet in a public place, etc. is because enough *bad* things have happened to other people when they didn't. 

Check out this link.


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## CoryKS (Apr 12, 2008)

I was more disgusted by the son's behavior than the daughter.  She's just stupid.  This amoral bastard shot footage of a private family discussion, made a mockery of it, and posted it on the internet to humiliate his family.  If this were my child, I would push him out the door for good on the day it was legally possible to do so.


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## Jade Tigress (Apr 12, 2008)

CoryKS said:


> I was more disgusted by the son's behavior than the daughter.  She's just stupid.  This amoral bastard shot footage of a private family discussion, made a mockery of it, and posted it on the internet to humiliate his family.  If this were my child, I would push him out the door for good on the day it was legally possible to do so.



You make good points. 

Another aspect I found funny was that by the end of it he had the mother laughing. With the internet today, nothing is sacred. You have to wonder about the kids who videotape themselves beating someone else, or vandalizing property, and they POST it!, they're proud of it!!! It disgusts me but I'm glad they do it for the evidence of the offense. 

Different set of circumstances, I know, but it's indicative of the publicizing everything trend.


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## exile (Apr 12, 2008)

Jade Tigress said:


> it's indicative of the publicizing everything trend.



This is the thing that I find so mysterious about modern life.

I don't know if was just me and my circle of people, but when I was a kid, we didn't have a sense that there was anything inherently interesting or important about our moods, reactions, feelings, etc. It's not that we were any less self-absorbed and self-involved than any other generationwe were Baby Boomers, after all!but we didn't regard the mundane details, screwups and tiny triumphs and defeats of our own lives as particularly _interesting_, except maybe to our girlfriends/boyfriends.  What I find to be widely true these days is that the reverse is the case. Stuff that would have once been regarded as too banal to mention now fills up the pages of magazines of the 'personality cannibalism' sort, the content of TV talk shows, the blogs of everyone and his/her dog, and the annals of YouTube video records. Even after all these years of it, I can't stop myself from wondering, _why do you think this is interesting??_ Are we _that_ starved for things to engage our minds??


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## Sukerkin (Apr 12, 2008)

exile said:


> Even after all these years of it, I can't stop myself from wondering, _why do you think this is interesting??_ Are we _that_ starved for things to engage our minds??


 
Oh thank the gods!  I'm not alone! .


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## Makalakumu (Apr 12, 2008)

exile said:


> Even after all these years of it, I can't stop myself from wondering, _why do you think this is interesting??_ Are we _that_ starved for things to engage our minds??


 
I think the short answer to this query is YES.  We live in a culture of perpetual dumbness where even using polysyllabic words in public brands you as an elitist.  Further, even though we are linked to each other ways we never thought possible, we are more physically isolated from each other then ever before.  

Our physical disillusion coupled with our disabled imaginations has turned the banal into entertainment.

Welcome to the age of 24 hour infotainment.


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## shesulsa (Apr 14, 2008)

It's on-line reality entertainment. "They need dirty laundry." And reality TV is some of the cheapest stuff to produce.


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## hongkongfooey (May 4, 2008)

The constant bleating of I'M EIGHTEEN, should have been met with the following response. " You are living in Mamma's house. If you wish to continue to live the good life, in Mamma's house, you will follow Mamma's rules. If you no longer wish to follow Mamma's rules, you are hereby notified that you have thirty days to find gainful employment, and a place to live. After all you ARE eighteen years old and legally an adult" This of course would be met with "you can't throw me out, I'm only eighteen!".


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## TheArtofDave (May 14, 2008)

*You know what? I'm still trying to figure out why the "friend" of the guy she met on Myspace didn't call the house to let her mom know where she was. Or why the hell didn't the guy she met tell her to call to let the family know.*

*It does give you the sense that maybe she was going to do something she wasn't suppose to.*

*"I'm 18" is not a valid excuse. Of course taking away her net access, and her car is enough of a punishment to at least warrant a "Hey, I haven't stopped meeting myspace people but I will call, and bring them by so you know they're not criminals" type of thing.*

*I don't have any kids right now but I'm guessing this can serve as a good example how to least look around the corner so a moment you don't want broadcast doesn't end up getting broadcast.*


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## Kuk Sa Nim (May 14, 2008)

How about her whole attitude and language? Did anyone else notice that she was raising her voice, yelling at her mother, and using foul language. I could NEVER talk like that to my parents, much less use profanity. She used the "f" word! Even today, I watch my words around mom and dad. 

I guess, that was a different time, but respect is respect. I can honestly say my kids do not behave that way in my house. It will not be tolerated, and would be corrected on the spot.

This poor child is so dumb that she doesn't know how or why she messed up with  basic family rules, much less how really dangerous her actions were. 

Clueless...comes to mind.


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## punisher73 (May 14, 2008)

In Michigan age is kind of a grey area.  The age of consent is 16 for sex and dropping out of school, the age to be criminally charged as an adult is 17, but your are not considered "an adult" until 18 (Nice on that one, your 17 year old child commits a crime and is charged as an adult, but since they are 17 you are financially responsible for their restitution if they order that).

I think all kids have the "it can't happen to me" attitude.  They do think they know it all.  They don't realize the dangers that are out there.  They "know" there are bad people out there, but they aren't the ones that THEY KNOW.

On to the issue of hiding with a video camera knowing that your sister is going to get her butt chewed out is just plain rude,childish and disrespectful.  That kid has issues of his own.


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