Tag: gun control

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SCOTUS OK’D VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES

Politicians are always arguing about the pros and cons of gun control.  Every time there’s a mass shooting, the pressure ramps up to increase legislation.  I have to agree.  Why in the world would any normal human being need an assault weapon in order to get through life?  On the other hand, people have always had guns in this country.  It’s how the West was won, as the saying goes.  But we didn’t always have video games.  In the year 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled that any regulation of the content of video games violated freedom of speech.  Consequently, in the past ten years, mass shootings have tripled in this country.  It’s obvious:  Scotus  OK’d violent video games –and it was a bad decision.

This week, a 14 year old girl broke into a Florida  home, and used the owners assault weapon to open fire on sheriff’s deputies.  Her 12 year old accomplice later told investigators that the 14-year-old had said, “I’m gonna roll this down like GTA,” referring to the video game Grand Theft Auto.

An international study published in 2018  looked at more than 17,000 adolescents, ages nine to 14, over a period of 4 years.. They  found that  playing violent video games led to increased physical aggression over time. . High levels of violent video game exposure are  linked to delinquency, fighting at school and during free play periods, and violent criminal behavior.

Scotus ok'd violent video games and it was a mistake
Scotus ok’d violent video games in 2011. Since then, mass shootings have tripled.

In 2017, the American Psychological Task Force on Violent Media found  that violent video game exposure  increases  aggressive thought and behaviors.  Such games can also desensitize people to violence.  The longer that children watch these games.  the more likely they are to have aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and feelings.   In addition, they  show less empathy and understanding of others.

The ruling made by the United States Supreme Court in regard to the regulation of  Video Games was made in 2011.  That was then, and this is now.  It’s time for them to go back and look at the evidence.  Their decision has resulted in a tripling of mass shootings in the United States. The court shouldn’t have ok’d unregulated, violent  video games.

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Mourning A National Tragedy

We’re in shock this morning. Our hearts go out to the victims of the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, and the lives that have been changed forever. We’re mourning a national tragedy.

This is a national day of mourning
GRIEVING FOR THE VICTIMS OF THIS WEEKEND OF TRAGEDY

Why do these things happen? I don’t remember any mass shootings while  raising my children. Some  presidential candidates are now politicizing the shootings.  But forty years ago  we had Democrats and Republicans and Jim Crow Laws and the Vietnam War.  Mental illness was widely prevalent,  but  poorly understood or treated.  And there was very little gun control.

This is what we didn’t have: the internet.  There were no violent video games so readily available, desensitizing young men to violence.  No one had a Facebook account,  where people could brag and make other people envious. There was no Instagram or Twitter where you could publicly  shame or bully someone to the point of suicide.   Now, Instead of face to face relationships and real  conversations, everyone just texts.  We’ve almost forgotten  what it’s like to talk to a real live person.

Technology has changed our world and done wondrous things for our society.  But it’s also dehumanized us to the point where violence has become the norm.

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SHOULD WE BAN CARS AND TRUCKS?

Having never owned a gun, or even fired one, I am not a member of the NRA.  On the other hand, my husband grew up on a farm in Nebraska where guns were considered a necessity for hunting and self defense.   Every time  a mass shooting occurs, there’s an outcry for more gun control, which is a reasonable reaction.  Why, then, don’t we have the same response when a car or truck mows down a bunch of pedestrians.  Should we ban cars and trucks?

Since cars and trucks are proven to be deadly, should we ban them from the road?
CARS AND TRUCKS KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN WARS AND GUNS

What if would-be shooters can’t find or buy a gun?  Does that erase the hatred in their hearts or the insanity in their brain?  Probably not.   If they really want to carry out their despicable acts, they will find a way.  As in the case of 9/11, simple weapons like box cutters—not guns—caused the death of thousands of Americans.  And now, we’re seeing more and more groups of pedestrians being mowed down by trucks or cars.  Just yesterday, a man was arrested in Washington DC  hours before he carried out his horrific plan to ram a U Haul truck into as many pedestrians as possible.. Afterward, there  was not a single suggestion from anyone, any where in the media, that called for a ban on U Haul trucks.

As a matter of fact, vehicles cause more deaths than wars or diseases.  Witness the alarming carnage on the nation’s highways over holiday weekends.

The point I’m trying to make is that even if there were no guns available anywhere in the world, someone who’s determined to wreak havoc on their fellow human beings will find a way. Look at the Boston Marathon bombers.  While it’s illegal for US citizens to own an explosive device without a permit,  that didn’t stop the  Oklahoma Bomber.  Arson is another tool for the criminal mind.  Shall we ban matches and cigarette lighters?

We can ban every potentially lethal product in the world, but we can’t eliminate hatred and criminal insanity.

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TEENAGE ANGST & SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

The word “teenager” didn’t even exist until the early 1950’s.  Before that, teen aged children had some pretty serious things on their minds.  Their parents were just coming out of the depression and World War II.  Many teens were  lucky to have a roof over their head and 3 meals a day.  They made their own entertainment, playing ball, and outdoor games like Kick The Can.   They  didn’t have cell phones or cars or laptops.  And they didn’t take guns to school.  Now, teenage angst and school shootings are on the rise.

tEENAGERS SPEND TOO MUCH TIME WITH TECHNOLOGY
BEFORE THE RISE OF THE WORLD WIDE INTERNET, TEENS DIDN’T SPEND HOURS PLAYING VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES

Most teenagers in the early 50’s had after school or weekend jobs.  We bought out own clothes ( or made them) and paid our own way to the movies.  Since we hung out at the drug store when we weren’t working,  we saved up for money to buy cokes and milkshakes.  If someone borrowed their parent’s car, they were expected to pay for their own gas.  Most moms didn’t work, so if  Dad lost his job,  the teen had to help out with food and other basics.

Some of our high school classmates were Jewish or Catholic World War II refugees,  from places like Germany and Poland.

What kinds of job did kids have? For girls, mostly baby sitting until you were fifteen.  After that, you could get a sales job at a department store.  Guys mowed lawns and worked as stock boys. If the dad had his own business, a boy was expected to work there on weekends if he wanted extra money to take his girlfriend out on a date.  Restaurants were mostly locally owned, and there were no fast food franchises like McDonald’s where teens could work.

My country cousins had guns.  They hunted in the woods and shot rattlesnakes.  A gun was a necessity for protection if you were isolated on a farm.  Generally speaking, city boys did not have guns.

Fast forward to 1990, the year when the World Wide Internet was established.  In a comparatively affluent society (compared to 1950) kids stayed home and played on the internet. They sent e mails. watched porn, and learned about guns.  Instead of going to a movie once a week, they could watch TV every day, and see lots of violence in action . Then, in 2004, along came Facebook.

Beginning in 1998,  school shootings began to increase. During the 20th century, mass school shootings killed 55 people and injured 260 others at schools,  especially in America’s Western region. Most of the 25 shooters involved were white males who acted alone, and only nine were diagnosed as suffering from mental illnesses at the time. Sixty percent of shooters were between 11 and 18 years old.

It’s getting worse in the 21st century. According to a recent study,  more people have died or been injured in mass school shootings in the US in the past 18 years than in the entire 20th century.

Here’s how it looks from here.   Teenagers today have too much of everything, including leisure time to bully each other on Facebook, have sex, play violent video games, and yes, think about taking a gun to school and shooting someone because they’re suffering from “teenage angst.”

Is gun control the answer to the problem?  Or is there something wrong with the way kids are being raised today?