[Fledermaus]

Peanut has made some good points about these things having existed in the past, but not receiving the same amount of attention, glorification and indirect approval that they receive today.

There will always be would-be child-eating goat molesters jerking off in their mother's basements fantasizing about their ideal companions... However, most of society (so far) does not approve of such actions. We do not consider them bold or sexy, so people with such desires do not fulfill these ambitions.

Back say two-hundred or even sixty years ago a man who could provide for a woman and family was seen as masculine -- now, the typical dad is an emasculated goofball. Every girl out there is either or nagging c*nt or your fantasy sex toy. Every guy's either a dickless loser or doing the most asinine things to prove his balls. You want to be "responsible?" Treat others with respect? Be prepared to be labeled the loser, just like that loser dentist in The Hangover.

All it takes is the approval of society for massive social change to occur. Without artists, musicians, media to move audiences, listeners, consumer -- there is no fire. We broke the taboo of rewarding murderers and monsters with fame with books like IN COLD BLOOD; movies that featured rape and gratuitous violence (to which most of us are now desensitized) heralded one of the most rape-infested decades in America -- the 70's and 80's.

It begins with harmless curiosity, like with Hitchcock's films -- brilliantly made. What could be more harmless than fantasizing about murdering people and watching them writhing, screaming in pain on the screen while you have your little orgasms? What's wrong with obsessing about it if you yourself would never do it? When controversial topics are introduced to our culture with great finesse, they become acceptable to those who are merely kept at bay.

Those who tend to be sicker in the mind, seeing that society does in a sense condone their actions, by finding entertainment in them, have less fear. Meanwhile, most of us become brainwashed to remain indifferent while the world crumbles -- we are made to believe that we are irrelevant. Instead of taking action -- instead of moving, we watch others move. And then we go play in our fantasy video game world.

Either you take it critically, take action or you remain a happy little golem. Or unhappy, complaining and saying how all this sh*t sucks, why care for anything because it's all going to hell. It's kind of hard to tell.

EDIT: On the topic of Michael Jackson -- genius often goes hand in hand with insanity. I prefer not to drag people down for the fun of it. I know how it feels, and I know it encourages the victims (or their sympathizers) to take revenge when they use their intellect to destroy, rather than create. If it weren't for Jackson, I think most pop music today would sound like David Bowie.