[2xy]

I am a part-time student and am using a Prentice-Hall textbook/workbook combo, in conjunction with an interactive website, for one of my classes.

There are these "soundbites" online that accompany the book. This is a class on computers, btw. I've noticed that while the book is informative and appears to be unbiased, the soundbites have irritated me from time to time.

I just got finished with one chapter that teaches about "war drivers." Apparently, these are people who drive all over neighborhoods with their laptops, looking for wireless Internet connections to steal. Fair enough. I think this is fearmongering, but that's beside the point.

However, the initial scenario shows a guy dressed like a punk rocker, complete with mohawk and metal spikes on his clothing. Later, it's mentioned that these guys sit outside your home, revved up on caffeine and pizza, to "download their heavy metal music." Talk about a stereotype! Like no other people steal wireless Internet? I imagine a bunch of 70yo men sitting around the Prentice-Hall meeting room, deciding how to portray this in their web clip.

Other chapters have, IMO, made women out to be ditzy and computer-illiterate.

I sent a letter to their website, giving them "feedback" on this product, and telling them that, as homeschoolers, we do not aim to teach bigotry and will never again buy a Prentice-Hall product.

Am I weird for this?

 

[lach]

That is just BIZARRE. I don't even know what to say. Who comes up with this stuff?

 

[tankgirl73]

I wouldn't even bother about the "as homeschoolers" part. How about just "as thinking, rational human beings, who expect quality from their educational materials."

 

[Plummeting]

I think that's weird and offensive. And I also don't really care about people stealing access to my service. What I *do* care about is people accessing my information in an unsecured system, but my service? I could care less. I guess if there were like 10 people doing it at the same time, making it inordinately slow, then that would bother me. lol

 

[2bluefish]

Aren't you stereotyping when you assume that only 70 yo men would come up with this kind of stuff? Maybe it's a woman computer junky who is exposing her stereotypes. Who knows? Sounds like a pretty dumb set up though.