The “dumbing down” assertion is perhaps the more foolish of the two, not just because people historically have not [...]]]> One of the ongoing conversations I keep having with people I know concerns their assertions that society as a whole is being “dumbed down” and that children these days are more spoiled than they’ve ever been.

The “dumbing down” assertion is perhaps the more foolish of the two, not just because people historically have not had much access to education, but the fact that even statistics over the last several decades don’t bear that out. Moreso, though, because it’s a theory propounded by idiots themselves. “Look how dumb everyone else is getting,” a guy will say on Facebook, as he follows it up with some monumentally ignorant observation about politics or culture.

But the thing with kids is perhaps worse because of the sheer meanness of it all. Telling an entire generation of young people that they have personal failings that will prevent them from being successful betrays the uncertainty and anxiety of an older generation that is realizing, consciously or not, that their position in society isn’t permanent and their control over the course of human events is slowly eroding as it has with each previous generation.

Oh, and by the way, it’s not a new observation.

We’re clearly having another of those moments — and they do recur, across the generations — when parents worry that they’re not doing their job and that the next generation is consequently in grave danger. In cultural convulsions about how spoiled the children are, disapproving adults look back fondly on the rigors of their own childhoods. But many of the same parents (and grandparents) who are now worrying were members of the generation that Vice President Spiro T. Agnew accused Dr. Benjamin Spock of having spoiled.

Indeed, the overprivileged and overindulged child was a stock character in 19th-century novels: As veteran governesses who presumably knew the territory, the Brontë sisters wrote powerful portraits of spoiled older children. The culture changes, but many of the battlegrounds remain the same.

Yep.

So, you know, just because teenagers have iPhones doesn’t mean they’re screwed. The kids are all right. What you do at the voting booth matters a lot more than what twelve-year-olds do on Twitter.

Hey, quit harping on fights that won’t happen like the one between Josh Koscheck and BJ Penn (he already told you he was retired! Leave BJ alone!). There’s plenty of interesting stuff that IS going down this weekend, even if many of the fighters involved [...]]]> My introductory post for Spike TV is up!

Hey, quit harping on fights that won’t happen like the one between Josh Koscheck and BJ Penn (he already told you he was retired! Leave BJ alone!). There’s plenty of interesting stuff that IS going down this weekend, even if many of the fighters involved face more uncertainty once their evenings are over.

Read more: http://www.spike.com/articles/fxjx89/uncertain-proving-grounds-barnett-vs-cormier-and-bellator-69

————

Also, as a reminder, I’ll be live-blogging tonight’s Star Boxing card at the Times Union Center, part of which will broadcast live on ESPN as part of Friday Night Fights. You can check that out over at the Mixed Marshall Arts blog. The live blog will kick off at 7:30pm EST.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

(scan courtesy my friend Dennis B.)

Like I said, it was amicable and stuff like this shows it. So long and thanks for all the fish.

…wait a minute, NO MENTION OF KEVIN MARSHALL ONLINE DOT COM?! You’re dead [...]]]> The Times Union saw fit to feature my departure today in its print edition:

(scan courtesy my friend Dennis B.)

Like I said, it was amicable and stuff like this shows it. So long and thanks for all the fish.

…wait a minute, NO MENTION OF KEVIN MARSHALL ONLINE DOT COM?! You’re dead to me, you corporate shits.

Some of you have asked why I moved off the Times Union blogroll. There’s been some talk that it was due to a gross invasion of privacy from a Times Union staff member (although that did actually happen, it [...]]]>

a likeness

Welcome to the new home of Kevin Marshall’s America here on Kevin Marshall Online dot com.

Some of you have asked why I moved off the Times Union blogroll. There’s been some talk that it was due to a gross invasion of privacy from a Times Union staff member (although that did actually happen, it was done out of spite, and still nobody can tell me why) or a falling out of some sort.

The truth is a lot less sexy: it was just time.

When I joined the Times Union reader blogger army, it was with one goal in mind: to get some exposure, build a rapport with readers, gain some valuable experience, get connections, and above all do some good with all of it. With all that in mind, I can only say and will continue to say that I have no regrets about my time spent with the Albany Times Union and that it was a resounding success.

Well, except the part where I never got paid. But as much as I frequently joked about it, it was just that – joking – and it was a volunteer gig all along. That said, I had gotten everything I was going to get out of the arrangement, so it was time to move onto my own space and monetize it.

This space will continue along the same trajectory as the old blog, but with some tweaks here and there. What to look for over the course of the next several weeks:

• New features
• Plugs for (and the return of) Mixed Marshall Arts, my fighting/MMA blog.
• All of the old material from the old TU blog, plus all comments. Continue the same shitty conversations as before! Speaking of which…
• Occasional cussing
• Details on my foray into stand-up comedy(!)
• And, hopefully, much more.

Thank you to all of those who have followed me over and especially those few of you who have followed this blog in its various incarnations, from its pathetic beginnings in LiveJournal to its move to a WordPress.com blog to the Times Union to here on my very own space.

Onwards and upwards and all that…