Believe it or not, a serious note from Quorthon.

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I'll keep fingers crossed for you.

Don't worry if the result won't be as you wished it to be I'll send you my russkie killer. Cheap but solid. And the prob will be blown away

[Quorthon]

spacer said:

I'll keep fingers crossed for you.

Don't worry if the result won't be as you wished it to be I'll send you my russkie killer. Cheap but solid. And the prob will be blown away

You're going to send me Capitalism??

Thanks for the finger-crossing. With this system the way it is, we'll need all the help we can get.

[Quorthon]

Well, I'm plenty pissed off these days. And as usual, somehow, I manage to operate very well under extreme duress and anger has always been one of my strongest tools.

I didn't get custody of my son. I got joint legal custody and visitation, and that's it. I'm fucking furious. To top it off, his psychotic mother is making everything harder, and it's part of why my marriage is falling apart. She will have to be trained to follow what the fucking court says, and one day, she will be beaten into submission.

At any rate, our local politicians have also taken an extra step to totally piss me off. They want to fine kids for, get this bullshit, buying "inappropriate" M- and AO-rated video games. They think this is fucking helpful. I've sent the following letter to our local newspaper, the Star Tribune--and a less clean version straight to the politician, Jeff Johnson, most responsible for this trite. I doubt much will come from it, but at least I tried. And since I'm saving a ton of copies of it, I can send (further altered versions of) it to other papers, and perhaps local news outlets. I'm fed the fuck up of this bullshit. As per my previous, ultra-long letter, I have yet to decide how I want to proceed with it.

Here's what I sent:


This is an Open Letter, To Our "Brilliant" Lawmakers, Jeff Johnson in particular,

I was just reading about the bill our politicians are pushing to fine kids for buying "unsuitable" video games (read on IGN.com). Wow. Am I ever offended. Thank you so much for totally wasting my tax money. No really, thank you. These kinds of asinine bills fail in every other state all the time, and this one is just about the most ridiculous. Am I offended as a gamer? Hell no. I'm offended at just how far removed you are from the world called reality. I'm offended that you think you know what's good for our families and children, and yet, totally ignorant of what kind of asinine system we live under.

What do I mean? Here's my problem: We live in a state where the family court system languishes in ancient, unrealistic foolishness. We live in a state where the children don't even have rights. I've come to learn that if a child wants to choose which parent he wants to live with, the court, lo and behold, doesn't give a damn. So, if we aren't going to give kids rights at all, why the hell should you fine them for buying video games that you simply don't agree with? Congratulations on the hypocrisy and ignorance, fellas. Oh, and I do know what I'm talking about. I'm a father of a great little boy, whom I love more than anything, and I'm upset--strike that--I'm pissed off as to how this court system deals with families and children. "Let's fine kids, but give them no rights and no say." Brilliant, just brilliant. In case you didn't notice--that, was sarcasm.

We live under a horribly obsolete child support system, horribly one-sided family court system, and our kids have no rights whatsoever. Oh, but this bill will surely curb the violence in schools. Wrong. In fact, it borders on being dangerously obscene in its stupidity. How about giving children some rights, and hey, while you're at it, we fathers would like ours back as well.

I'm sure by now you'd like an example of what I'm talking about--something to back up my obvious anger. Okay. Take my situation: I was told that I wasn't financially stable enough to have shared physical custody of my son. Okay, maybe I could understand that--but wait, the reason I'm financially unstable is because the government is taking 45% of my income in child support! Talk about being kicked while I'm down. Hey, they also overlooked the fact that my son's mother has repeatedly used him as a weapon to hurt me and even filed a fraudulent Order for Protection against me--which was so weak, I might add, that I defeated it without a lawyer, representing myself--my first time ever in court. Oh, and they didn't seem to care that she also has mental disorders, yes, being Bi-Polar and having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are the building blocks of positive parenting. And believe you me that they didn't bat an eye at the fact that she smoked chronically while pregnant. Let me tell you, there's a lot wrong with the family court system, and a lot needs to be done to fix it. Fining our kids for buying video games that are "inappropriate?" The only thing that will accomplish is creating embarrassment in our political structure. Who are these monkeys we're electing? I'd just like to add that the stress from this system is so bad, and the laws so archaic and uneven, that my marriage is crumbling from the pain. I have to join the armed services to get the money I need to get by.

You people. Damn, you're ignorant. I'm sorry for the harsh language, but just imagine how angry I am. You're wasting our tax dollars on trite little laws to punish kids, when you won't even give them rights to begin with. This bill will not curb violence, it will not help families, it will not help children--it will not have any positive effect on absolutely anything. It is a waste of money, and it will be destroyed--just like these pointless, bandwagon, anti-video game laws have been shut down in pretty much every other state. If you really want to help our children, I suggest you tear down that archaic family court system and child support system and rebuild them so it's fair and equal and intelligent. And you can start by giving children the right to choose with which parent they want to live. Don't even try fining kids when you're too close-minded to even give them rights.

Otherwise, I'm voting you out. Not just you Mr. Johnson. All of you. Until you understand how horrible it is to live under this system, you are serving no useful purpose. In fact, I suggest that every disgruntled, abused, beaten down father and upset parent follow suit. Until you start doing something that actually benefits our children and our families, I'm going to toss out every single one of you.

-My Name
Loving Father, Gamer, and Registered Voter.

[ZapRowsdower]

Well said, but History tells us this won't work. You're dealing with people who are too thick-headed to realize they're in the wrong. You can shove the evidence in their faces, have a hundred experts support your case and everything, their stance will not budge.

I know. Generally speaking, people are stupid.

Disclaimer: If I associate with you, that means you are an exception.

[Quorthon]

iamthesmitty said:

Well said, but History tells us this won't work. You're dealing with people who are too thick-headed to realize they're in the wrong. You can shove the evidence in their faces, have a hundred experts support your case and everything, their stance will not budge.

I know. Generally speaking, people are stupid.

Disclaimer: If I associate with you, that means you are an exception.

Public outcry, however, wields massive strength. And that's what I'm hoping for.

[Phoenix]

I've been following that bill because, of course, I believe it's completely ridiculous. Letters do make a difference! I think you're doing the right thing to make your voice heard.

[ZapRowsdower]

I don't know. There's nothing more thick-headed and self-righteous than a government entity.

[Quorthon]

iamthesmitty said:

I don't know. There's nothing more thick-headed and self-righteous than a government entity.

Often times, these people are more pliable than it seems. They want votes, and if they aren't catering to the public, they aren't going to get them. This dipshit is not catering to anyone.

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Try, try, try.... if you try you may fail but if you don't try you are guaranteed to fail.
That's why what you have done is a step in the right direction, it is much more contructive than passive complaining and doing nothing.