Latest campus shootings: Are violent TV, movies and video games to blame?

“Of course they are! Everyone knows that kids these days can’t think for themselves. This is why the media is able to pander to them so easily!”

If this were really true wouldn’t more people have been killed by now? Violent images have been available on Tv, in the movies, and in video games for decades (well, maybe not decades for video games but you get the picture). By now we should have had a few more mass murders on our hands. So far, I think I’ve seen a total of four or five of these “media inspired” killing sprees in the past ten years. We are way below the quota that our moral leaders tell us we should be at.

This reminds me of some statistics I saw a few years ago when some religious leaders were saying that all D&D players will go crazy and kill themselves. A study of teenagers showed how many played role playing games and how many committed suicide. The suicide numbers were much lower than the D&D players. I guess they needed more of them to kill themselves to help make them feel happier about their statistics.

Look, anytime something happens the media, parents’ groups, and religious leaders are all in a hurry to blame whatever pop culture icons that they do not understand.

These days, it’s games like Grand Theft Auto, Tv shows like “24″, movies like “Transformers” that people think that somehow drive children to violence.

In the 90s it was thought that Marilyn Manson, games like “Doom”, and any movie with Samuel L. Jackson inspired kids to go on killing sprees.

The 80s gave us metal bands like Metallica and Motley Crue inspiring kids to cut themselves and Tv shows like “Miami Vice” or “The A Team” were causing kids to shoot up every drug dealer they saw (if only they really were).

The 60s and 70s had all these hippies making music about peace and everyone knows nothing is worse than peace music in a time of war!

Before that there was this Elvis character that was ruining the moral fiber in which our nation was founded on.

We can keep going to the evil influences of Jazz and probably keep going all the way back to the days when the cave parents were upset that their kids were banging those rocks together too loudly.

It all comes down to this: The only reason kids tend to shoot up folks around them is because people aren’t paying enough attention to them. Parents tend to dismiss kids that are depressed as a random mental condition and they just cram medication down their throats instead of actually TALKING to them.

Most of the time these things can be avoided, but unfortunately, Tv, movies, and to a much lesser extent video games have become replacement for parents, therapists, and teachers. So, perhaps for this reason I guess they could be blamed.