Promotion of School Violence

I go to gross movies and listen to heavy metal and rap music and I haven't killed anybody, does that make me a potential killer?" These things provoke anger, temper, and crummy attitudes. Gross visuals and music dull sensitivities. They teach the wrong way to handle problems. Make no mistake about this. No matter what defenders of this junk may say, violent movies, video games, and gross music have consequences that include more arguing, hitting, abuse, and other violent behavior; sometimes even killings like happened in Littleton. However, instead of focusing on the real problem, most of the attention has been focused on guns. Yes, these boys used guns. They also made and used bombs. Obviously, kids can't have guns at school. But weak solutions about controlling gun sales would not have stopped these kids from getting guns-or from buying nails, propane and other things they used to make the bombs. These kids broke a dozen laws in doing what they did. Another law or two on the books would not have prevented the massacre in Littleton. Common threads in this and other episodes of school violence have been that the kids have watched lots of violent movies and videos, listened to gross music, and played violent video games. I'm more worried about filling kids minds with gross violence in videos, movies, and video games than I am about guns. I'm also very concerned about the disconnect from parents and the lack of respect for authority. Parents need to take charge. Obviously this needs to be with love, but parents need to be in charge and know what is going on. Other than guns being the quick diagnosis and thing to fix, all this awful violence seems to be a big mystery to so many. This isn't a mystery. There's no mystery about it. If there's no respect and if kids' heads are filled with evil, violence, and sex--which is what has been happening, why is anyone surprised about this horrific behavior? A large part of the responsibility for the violence that happened in Littleton must be placed on the producers of increasingly gross and violent movies, music, and video games. When kids go to a movie, watch television, or play video games, they become part of what they see and hear. Soak this stuff in their heads long enough and it becomes a part of the way they think, act, and live. The line between pretend and reality gets blurred. This is why it's essential to keep garbage out of our minds--no matter what age we

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