By Carol Hutcheson
I was horrified by the mass killings on the Virginia Tech campus. l While the act was decried by the shocked media, in the very same breath the media showed photos of the killer in a bold defiant pose, guns in both hands, which gave the killer exactly what he had hoped for…notoriety and a poster picture for future mass killers, just as the murderers at Columbine High had provided the model for him. What is wrong with the media? What are they thinking?
Media images show how to kill
We are upset by the increase in crime and violence in society, yet we seem to be so blind that we can’t see that the images and fantasies to which we are repeatedly exposed to provide step by step training for violent acts. The constant depiction of violent, sickening acts, also desensitizes the viewer to the horror of such behavior and to the feelings of victims. If a person is mentally unstable, the diet of blood and gore just feeds the problem.
Mental diet is as important as the nutritional diet
Dr. Victor B. Cline, a noted clinical psychologist, said that the mental diet is as important as the nutritional diet. “The amount of violence a child sees at 7 predicts how violent he will be at 17, 27, and 37….Children’s minds are like banks –whatever you put it, you get back 10 years later with interest.” When will society learn that if we feed our children a diet of violence on television, motion pictures, and video games, we shouldn’t be shocked when violence occurs in real life. No wonder America is suffering from an explosion of interpersonal violence like we have never seen before.
The effect of violent video games on one student
As an English teacher, I saw what the professors at Virginia Tech saw. What one thinks, one writes. In my mix of students were healthy, happy young adults who used the creative writing class for self expression and to build writing skills. There were also those who were very troubled and their mental state showed up in their writing.
In one essay a student said he blamed many of his social troubles on the video games he had been playing. He said the games taught him to hate his parents, his classmates, and himself, and that all he thought about was killing. Of course, that young man was immediately referred to school counselors and the school resource officer. His school career was troubled and he eventually dropped out. What a pity that our young people, those we are counting on to take up the reigns of the leadership and provide the workforce of society when we are retired, are becoming warped by the things they are putting in their minds. Will they be up to the task? This is a problem which will impact all of us.
The environment has changed, and not for the better
When I was growing up I led a protective, happy life. When I wanted to visit my best friend, I just jumped on my bike and peddled over to her house, a mile away. My mother didn’t seem to worry a bit. We had sleepovers outside in the back yard. I don’t think I heard of a murder. My parents encouraged me to listen to the news each evening with them. Now my own grown up children don’t listen to the evening news as it is filled with reports inappropriate for their little children. How sad. How very, very sad.
What grandparents can do to protect grandkids
We grandparents have a big job to do. I don’t know if we can turn back the clock on what is broadcast or produced, but we can certainly teach our grandchildren that violent or sexually explicit material is inappropriate, even harmful to them.
We must use our influence to see that more appropriate social conduct is modeled in our entertainment. We can start by writing the television stations and our elected officials. And indeed, we can set a good example for them by not consuming garbage ourselves. If we want our grandchildren to grow up safe and happy, then we are going to have to step up and help build a society that fosters safety and happiness. <<
Carol Hutcheson is a retired high school English teacher. She claims her greatest accomplishment lies in rearing six successful children and being grandma to eighteen grandchildren. Her partner in that enterprise is her husband, Don, to whom she has been married forty-two years. She can be reached at Carol@LetLifeIn.com
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