Shooting at my local high school this morning

[Werewolf]

It always irks me when video games get shoe horned into these tragedies. Even if the kids involved didn't play video games and most people do now, (adults and kids) games are still somehow at fault.

Video games have been a convenient scape goat since Space Invaders. The media, especially, likes to go after them because they are cutting into the revenue of TV and movies. It's not that Hollywood has any kind of moral high ground either. Games are the enemy because they are cutting into business so let's demonize them. Video games are rated. A popular game like Halo 3, for example, has an M rating (17 and older) and has the violence level of a PG-13 action movie. You will get an ID check buying an M rated game. M rated games also make up only a tiny percentage of games. As of 2010 M rated games were down to 5 percent. 55 percent of games being rated E for everyone.

People always look for an easy answer and a scapegoat for tragedies. 80s slasher movies didn't turn people into serial killers and Dungeons and Dragons and rock music didn't turn kids into devil worshipers. The hard sad truth is there are no easy answers, quick fixes and scape goating solves nothing. Our culture has a severe problem with bullying (GLBT kids have it especially bad) and hazing which needs to be tackled head on. Previous generations like to blame things they don't like or understand for all kinds of problems. The "I don't like video games, rock music, etc. so THEY must be the reason little billy is getting picked on or is behaving poorly. " Obvious common sense stuff like keep an eye your kids, be involved in their lives, watch what they do online, who they hang out with, don't let your kids bully others and take a stand when your kids are being bullied is a good start.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Werewolf, I didn't mean to solely blame video games. Far from it. But I think violent games glorify such things (as do books and movies) and without some parental interaction, kids can get some twisted views of things. Of course, there has to be much more wrong with a child than just overexposure to games to result in this. If kids are stuck in front of violent games 24/7 and no one tells them life DOESN'T have a reset button, then that's sending a dangerous message. It's not the game's fault, it's the parents and guardians for not controlling what the kid is exposed to without some important discussions.

Chris

[SeattleEd]

Interesting that the term "bully" has been brought to the conversation.
Reports state that the perpetrator was bullied while other reports state he was not. Funny how they point out that he went "Goth" and it all went down hill from there. Scapegoating....again.

Anyway, I recommend this docu from last year called "Bully"for parents and others to watch. It's R rated, which is a joke but there is some violence with actual footage of kids picking on other kids. Watch the trailer. I plan to watch this with my daughters and I'm glad that programs are in place to monitor this activity in Seattle schools. At my oldest daughter's school, they take this issue very seriously.

[livnxxxl]

There was only one incident that I can remember back when I was going to High School. Some kid brought a gun to school one day and the teachers caught wind of it. The teachers took the gun away from him, suspended the student and that was pretty much the end of that story. Thank goodness! I doubt that the kid had actually intended to use the gun on anyone in this case. I think he brought it to school just as a scare tactic to use on someone that was bothering him. These days and time though is different. People are past the scared and threat stage. They want to see action and in their minds justice served swiftly.

I think one of the big reasons why we tend to see this type of behavior even more these days is that the media publishes it, highlights it and covers it now even more than ever. The fact that there are more people and guns in this world now then there was in the past does not help matters much either.

Stuff like this has went on in the past just not to the degree that we see it now. Back in the day the media did not highlight this type of coverage like they do today. Most avoided it like the plague and did not want to show the world what was really going on. That and there are lots more people in the world now then there ever have been and the population continues to grow in staggering numbers. As the population grows so will the violence. It is almost to the point to where it is unavoidable for the world not to know what really goes on these days.

Just like auto accidents for an example. When you only have 100 people driving automobiles your chances are much less being involved in an auto accident. Now that there are millions of people driving on this Earth your odds have increased ten fold.

[livnxxxl]

As far as video games go I do not think that they really help matters much although I would not go as far as to say that they make or force anyone to make the bad decisions that they uiltimatey do either.

Just like when I was growing up KISS was evil then Ozzy Osbourne was evil and was supposed to make kids do bad things just because they listened to them.

I am a perfect example. I listened to both of them as well as death metal bands when I was growing up and still do to some extent and I turned out just fine. The only weapons I want to bring to the Mego Museum is in 8" scale.

[Earth 2 Chris]

My son was the victim of bullying in kindergarten, believe it or not. A large boy with learning disabilities targeted my son in particular, for no other reason than he was the next biggest kid. My son came home with a black eye, and was choked by this boy. The boy also threatened to shoot him at one point. Needless to say I took all of this VERY seriously, even though their teacher did not. She made excuses that the kid had a bad home life, etc. I'm sorry that's the case, but the fact was the kid was a threat to my son and the other kids at school behaving like he was. I bypassed the teacher and went to the principal who straightened out the matter by having a long and serious talk with the boy and suspending him for several days. He was told to leave my son alone and was heavily monitored the rest of the year. The result was this boy was now afraid of MY son, and afraid to even look at him wrong. Mission accomplished.

Now the two kids get along, 4 years later. But if they kid had gone unchecked, who knows what may have happened? Again, intervention is the key when children of any age act out, BEFORE it escalates into something horrible.

I notice that all of the kid networks have anti-bullying promos. I think this is important and a good move. Stuff like this does tend to stick with kids. I remember School House Rock and "Don't Drown Your Food", etc. Unfortunately the current generation of teenagers didn't have such messaging...

Chris

[Werewolf]

You know the difference between social media and video games?

The average adult loves to twitter and face book. Heck, people's parents and grandparent are probably on face book. So, people are not gonna blame something they like. Gonna blame something they don't instead.

Nevermind that kids are being tormented, bullied, stalked and harassed online through social media. When I was a kid and school went out for the day, I got away from the torment for at least a little while. With our modern social media, the torment never ends. Kids are cyberstalked and harassed on their home pages and cell phones. I've seen even adults leave the ugliest, cruelest and most vicious comments on kids youtube videos.

But, no, it has to be video games. Umm, let me think, I don't like country line dancing so I'm gonna blame that. Makes just as much sense.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I totally agree social media is partly to blame. But these things were starting to happen more frequently before facebook, twitter, etc. took off.

And maybe I came across as putting too much emphasis on video games. I don't blame the games, but parents who don't teach their kids right from wrong, reality from fantasy, life from death. The truth of the matter is you have to teach your kids to value life. From not tormenting dogs to not tormenting other kids. And if the kids have some kind of mental problem that prohibits them from understanding that, you have to seek help for that. Whether the kid is the victim or the instigator, parents need to be engaged in their kids' lives and steer them in the proper direction, and NOT let the TV, the video game console or facebook raise them.

Chris

[MIB41]

My son was the victim of bullying in kindergarten, believe it or not. A large boy with learning disabilities targeted my son in particular, for no other reason than he was the next biggest kid. My son came home with a black eye, and was choked by this boy. The boy also threatened to shoot him at one point. Needless to say I took all of this VERY seriously, even though their teacher did not. She made excuses that the kid had a bad home life, etc. I'm sorry that's the case, but the fact was the kid was a threat to my son and the other kids at school behaving like he was. I bypassed the teacher and went to the principal who straightened out the matter by having a long and serious talk with the boy and suspending him for several days. He was told to leave my son alone and was heavily monitored the rest of the year. The result was this boy was now afraid of MY son, and afraid to even look at him wrong. Mission accomplished.

Now the two kids get along, 4 years later. But if they kid had gone unchecked, who knows what may have happened? Again, intervention is the key when children of any age act out, BEFORE it escalates into something horrible.

I notice that all of the kid networks have anti-bullying promos. I think this is important and a good move. Stuff like this does tend to stick with kids. I remember School House Rock and "Don't Drown Your Food", etc. Unfortunately the current generation of teenagers didn't have such messaging...

Chris

That's awesome Chris. Now there's a textbook example of intervention. Identify the problem and address it full force until the matter is remedied to it's fullest.

[Figuremod73]

I think kids are meaner now. This might be because they want acceptance from their friends. (being apart of the group).

[Werewolf]

Here's a neat little factoid. The average age of a gamer is 37. They are the ones that are playing violent games like Call of Duty and Skyrim for hours at a time. Kids, today, are too busy texting and tweeting to put that kind of time commitment into playing video games.

[MegoMark71]

[QUOTE=Earth 2 Chris;880604]My son was the victim of bullying in kindergarten, believe it or not. A large boy with learning disabilities targeted my son in particular, for no other reason than he was the next biggest kid. My son came home with a black eye, and was choked by this boy. The boy also threatened to shoot him at one point. Needless to say I took all of this VERY seriously, even though their teacher did not. She made excuses that the kid had a bad home life, etc. I'm sorry that's the case, but the fact was the kid was a threat to my son and the other kids at school behaving like he was. I bypassed the teacher and went to the principal who straightened out the matter by having a long and serious talk with the boy and suspending him for several days. He was told to leave my son alone and was heavily monitored the rest of the year. The result was this boy was now afraid of MY son, and afraid to even look at him wrong. Mission accomplished.


That teacher should have also been suspended. Any sort of violence or spoken threats should be dealt with right away. And never should excuses be made.

[MegoSteve]

Statistics show that violent crime arrest rates among people age 10-24 are down almost 40% since 1995, which is, coincidentally, the year the Playstation was released in the United States. (Source: CDC - Violent Crime Arrest Rates Among Persons Ages 10-24 - Youth Violence - Violence Prevention - Injury )

[toys2cool]

man I thought it was just one , turns out 3 kids died

[megomania]

Looks like the Prosecuter is saying it wasn't a result of Bullying...the victims were chosen at random...

-Chris

http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-school...ry?id=15807146

The teenager who allegedly killed three students and wounded two others when he shot up his Ohio school cafeteria did not know his victims and "chose them randomly," a prosecutor said today.

The statement was made during suspect T.J. Lane's first appearance in juvenile court today.

During the appearance, the judge did not allow Lane to be shown on camera and the prosecutor did not provide a motive for the lethal shooting spree.

But at a news conference shortly after the court hearing, prosecutor David Joyce said, "This is not about bullying. This is not about drugs. This is someone who is not well."

"[Lane] confessed to taking the pistol and admitted he went into the cafeteria and shot 10 rounds," Joyce said. "[He said he] did not know the students, but chose them randomly."