1 of 27

Yes

Write now Article Tools

Yes: Every day and night, all of us, especially young, impressionable people, are exposed to mass murder in our media that is portrayed as casually happening as conversation. We are overwhelmed by violent killings in film, TV, video games and the news. Is it any wonder that some of the most disturbed among us take up weapons, walk onto campuses and kill?

Emmy and Golden Globe awards have been showered on the program, "24", a TV show that pushes the limits of violence so far that waterboarding looks like a day of Malibu surfing. Continuing digital advances in kid's video games, TV programs and movies have made murder, torture and abject cruelty as familiar as breathing. It starts when babies of one or two are put in front of TV sets by parents who are too busy, ignorant or uncaring to consider what continuous violence the children are forced to watch.

I recently saw two movies; the first was "3:10 to Yuma" The casual shooting and killing was so overwelming in almost every scene, the 19th Century story line disappeared into a bloody gratuitous parody. The other, winner of the 2006 Academy Award, "The Departed" is a 21st Century version of an all too similar story, where Jack Nicholson and just about everyone else in the film shoot and kill each other.

Today we all react with shock and horror as yet another campus murder scene flashes across our TV screens. A mentally-stressed student walks into a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and kills or wounds 20 young people. Last year, 32 people were murdered by a gun-crazed student at Virginia Tech. There have been at least a dozen such murderous shooting attacks on college and high school campuses within the past several years.

Athough it happened almost ten years ago, the memory of the gun-cult students who murdered 13 people at Columbine High School once more will be splashed across the editorial pages, evoking endless discussions as the news media rants and raves over the Northern Illinois shootings. Every self-proclaimed expert will have an opinion about the causes.

Why do disturbed, armed young men go on campus to perpetrate what seem like mindless killing sprees? Is it because of violent movies and TV? Is it because of the casual killing in video games? Is it because of mental health system fails to stop them? Is it because of too many or too few gun laws? Is it the continuing religious terrorism in the Middle East?

The answer has to be a definite yes on every one of them. And as long as our children are brought up inundated by such gratuitous violence and killings, we can be sure it won't be too long before the headlines scream out again of yet another campus killing.

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Latest campus shootings: Are violent TV, movies and video games to blame??
We want to hear your view. Write now!