We are guaranteed many “rights” in our great democracy. Some of our individual rights, though offensive or distasteful to others, are protected and even applauded. One such right is the right to enjoy violence.
Graphic depictions of violence against humans, loved ones, animals, property and our surroundings fill our daily lives. By the time an average child in our country graduates high school, (s)he will have witnessed more than 200,000 violent acts on television. More than half of all programs today contain some violence, often spiced with humor, often involving an attractive perpetrator who experiences no immediate punishment or any repercussion for the violent act.
The majority of popular video games are violent. Most teenage boys and girls prefer games that depict violence. Interactive games, which require the player to actively participate in the mutilation or killing of another, comprise the most popular segment of today’s video market. As a result of advanced computer technology, “first person shooter” games graphically simulate real life/death experiences. Often, there are no “good guys” or “bad guys” — just guys to kill. The successful killer is rewarded, not punished. My husband recently happened upon our teenage son and his remote buddy playing one such game. That “T”-rated holiday present from an unsuspecting aunt is no longer in our home.
Exposure to graphic killing games can be a learning tool. The Marines use similar games to de-sensitize recruits — to prepare them for the real thing.
Practice can pay off. Ten years ago, a ninth-grade boy, who opened fire at his Kentucky school with a .22-caliber pistol, accurately struck each of his five targets in the head and upper torso even though he had never fired a real gun prior to the massacre. He had perfected his marksmanship at home and at local video arcades.
A 1999 study concluded that most students who had recently killed their classmates were interested in violent movies, books, video games, written materials or other media, and frequented those materials prior to the carnage. Sadly, between 1994 and 1999, 102 kids in our schools (95 boys and 7 girls) were responsible for 253 deaths as a result of 220 events, mostly in high schools with more than 1,000 students. Guns were the weapons of choice more than 80% of the time. Most of the students systematically planned the killings, often for months.
As an activist and lawyer, I have researched some of the complicated issues related to human violence, including domestic violence, incest, rape, war, trafficking and “honor” killings. The national and international statistics are astounding. In this country, a woman is battered by her intimate partner every 15 seconds. Pregnant women are more likely to die of homicide than any other cause. Hundreds of thousands of children and adults are beaten or abused every year, often by a “loved one.” Every year worldwide, millions of people are forcibly trafficked or sold into marriage, prostitution or slavery. Thousands of women die at the hands of a family member in order to protect the family’s “honor” in the local community.
Several reputable medical and psychological associations have concluded that there is a causal connection between viewing media violence and aggressive behavior in some children and adults, perhaps in those who are predisposed to violence. The “nurture/nature” debate regarding violent behavior is ongoing and inconclusive, and perhaps always will be. There is general agreement though that repeated exposure to violence can decrease an individual’s empathy for others, increase fearfulness, decrease trust and de-sensitize the individual to the real-life effects of violence.
I spent my elementary school years watching Popeye/Bluto brawls and Lone Ranger cap-gun scenes on the family television. The once-a-year wicked-witch scene in “The Wizard of Oz” was enough to cause nightmares for a month. I also spent those years living in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Cold War, looking east at play time for the first glimpse of a Soviet plane. Most kids in my class assumed that we would not survive the plane’s bomb in spite of the nun’s insistence that if we crouched a certain way under the desk, facing away from the window, we had a better chance. I did as she asked.
As a parent, I compare my childhood experiences with media-based and real-life violence to my son’s current experiences. There are several differences, of course, not the least of which is Shawn’s ability, at 14 years of age, to vividly visualize a wide variety of graphic violent scenes. I could not at his age and I choose not to do so at my age. I much prefer to remember the empty sky, even with all of its uncertainty. The right to enjoy violence is one right I choose not to exercise.
Eileen M. Concannon is a principal at Riddell Williams P.S., specializing in commercial litigation, mediation and arbitration. For references or comments, please contact her at econcannon@riddellwilliams.com.
Go Back