When we in the security industry are faced with writing an incident report, we are taught to ask who, what, where, when and how. There is one more question that has to be asked, and that is, WHY? Why did it happen? This question is normally left up to the investigators and lawyers, but I think we need to ask the question. Why is there so much violence in schools?
There have always been fights at schools. These fights happened for different reasons — over a girl, sports, or just to see who the toughest guy is. But times have changed. We now have reports of children fighting or killing children for all kinds of reasons, including gang initiations, for fun and no reason at all. So, why is this happening?
In my opinion, I feel that the children that commit these acts are empty inside. They have been numbed to the reality that actions have consequences. I point the finger at Hollywood and the video game makers. Children nowadays play violent video games continually and watch violent movies. These video games have graphic scenes and encourage killing of both good and bad people. These video games are showing our children how to conquer the instinct of not killing. In some of these games, in order to win, I am told, you must kill yourself. Why would anybody allow their children to play these games?
Hollywood glamorizes the criminal and makes the police and other law enforcement to be the bad guys. Just look at the movies Fast and Furious and the classic, The Godfather. Also there is the hit show, The Sopranos. In these productions you will see that the “hero,” would be a bad guy in real life. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that any of these should be banned. I am saying this is part of the problem. We as a society need to make Hollywood and the video game producers know that, we want products that represent our standards.
Unfortunately, a large number of kids play and watch, and then get addicted to these games and movies just as surely as if they were doing drugs. And, like a drug user, eventually they need more and more, just to feel the way they did when they started. At some point, some of these children lose their grip on reality and think life is like the games and movies. So, in an attempt to “feel” something, they act out the scenes they have seen time and time again. Unfortunately, there is not a rest button for Life.
These children no longer have the interaction with other children the way we did growing up. They no longer are allowed to play outside or play sports, because they “might get hurt.” We need to make sure that these kids are properly supervised, and that inappropriate games and movies are kept away from them until, at least until they are more mature. The best way to secure your children is to be active in their life.
By: Brian Black
