Strike up the Bandwagon
Dec 06, 2007 18:30:10
Submitted by Brent on Dec 06, 2007 18:30:10 CST (comments: 0)
Dec 06, 2007 18:30:10
 Every now and then someone strikes up the band so another person who wants their name in the news can hop on the virtual violence band wagon. Well strike up the band again boys because instead of some Florida Attorney, who shall remain nameless, this time it's a psychologist quoted in a recent article from Reuters entitled "TV film and game violence seen as a threat." The article contained the following quote: "Exposure to violent electronic media has a larger effect than all but one other well known threat to public health. The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer" - L. Rowell Huesmann Do you want to know what a threat to public health is? Two wars were 4,326 brave men and women gave their lives in wars that are still being fought. That's a real threat to public health. (source: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen) Do you know what else a threat to public health is? A government that will pay over 1 trillion (yes that's TRILLION) on the same wars but won't provide the funding to pay the money due for public housing. That's a threat to public health. Do you know what else is a threat? Yet another psychologist with an axe to grind that is worried how many children are blasting aliens in Halo 3 - that's a threat to my patience. Don't get me wrong. When it comes to violence I AM concerned - real violence. I am, however, concerned about who is on the other end of a .223 caliber bullet and not the receiving end of a gamers' joystick. What kind of a nun would I be if I wasn't concerned after all? But perhaps some good will come out of the decades long study to tell us what said Florida Attorney has been screaming about all along. Perhaps it will change the content of television. When the writers strike hit Hollywood recently the first thing I thought of was two lines from the work of the author Douglas Adams: "You'll have a general philosopher's strike on your hands!" "Oh? And whom will that hurt?" Perhaps, after the writers go back to work there is a slim chance that I will be saved from some of the trite writing that has been coming out of Hollywood these days - Perhaps not. The same article ends with the following quote: "Although not every child exposed to violence in the media will become aggressive, he said it does not diminish the need for greater control on the part of parents and society of what children are exposed to in films, video games and television programs." - Reuters News Agency Personally what I would like to see is greater control on politicians and attorneys who have to hop and the videogame violence bandwagon. See you online, - Julie Whitefeather |
Submitted by Brent on Dec 06, 2007 18:30:10 CST (comments: 0)
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