Americans love
their violent
entertainment,
which is why
many are quick
to dismiss or
ignore the
possibility that
having exposed
so many young
kids to extreme
violence in the
media-whether it
is TV, movies or
ultra-realistic
video games over
the years-may
have served as a
contributing
factor to school
shootings. Media
violence, in my
opinion, has led
unstable kids
towards
increased
aggression and
desensitization
to the point
where they see
the world as
their own
personal
shooting
gallery. When I
grew up and in
prior
generations,
there were kids
from troubled
homes, kids that were
bullied, people
owned guns, and
yet these kinds
of school
shootings were
an extreme
rarity, and not
a daily
occurrence. We
also weren't
exposed to the
levels of
violence in
media that kids
are today.
So what are the
solutions? There
are many-they
just require
the will to
implement them.
Yes, banning
certain assault
weapons would
decrease the
number of
fatalities,
which is great.
However, that
same unstable
individual will
find some other
weapon to use.
The will to do
it is still
there. Closer
monitoring by
the FBI (and
actually
following up on
leads) would
also help.
Making it easier
to commit
mentally
unstable people
who have made
threats to
mental health
facilities is
another
solution, as is
increased
security at
schools, with
bullet-proof
classroom doors,
or even figuring
out a way to
provide or
permit kids to
have some kind
of bullet-proof
protection with
them at school
would also help.
Finally, the
entertainment
industry needs
to start being
responsible in
terms of the
stuff they are
putting out
there. Ever
since the
industry decided
that so long as
they slapped a
label on their
shows or games,
it excused a race to the
bottom in terms
of content.
School
shootings are
simply a
by-product of
cultural
degeneration,
sad to say, and
Americans need
to stop
pretending that
it isn't and
take a good look
at themselves
and what kind of
a culture they
have created.