Four families have filed papers seeking damages in the millions from News Corp’s My Space social networking sight.  The families claim My Space did little to prevent their children from hooking up with older men who sexually assaulted them.  I certainly think networking sites like My Space need to do more to protect their underage users, but I also think the families bear some responsibility here, as well.  It is impossible to police the entire Internet and parents have to exert some control over what their children access on the ‘Net.  Granted, they cannot watch everything their children do, but at least they can exert some control in their own homes.

I don’t really pay a lot attention to the on-set shenanigans of actors, but the brouhaha concerning Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington calling co-star T. R. Knight, at the time a closeted gay actor, a faggot on the set has now taken on epic proportions.  A lot of people are calling for ABC to fire Washington for his obvious racist remarks.  Many are asking a valid question:  if a white actor had referred to Washington, or one of the show’s other African-American actors, as a nigger would there have been more of an outrage?  If recent events involving the likes of Mel Gibson and Michael Richards are an example, then I think the answer is yes.  Wholeheartedly yes.  Now, I understand the the n-word has a much more negative connotation for some compared to the f-word, but that doesn’t make it any more correct.  Washington should be shamed into apologizing just as Richards was; there is simply no difference in what they did.  Accept that Washington reportedly became violent with co-star Patrick Dempsey when he spoke in defense of Knight.