When You Think About It: Say NO to Violence

F LoBuono

In a discussion with a few co-workers, one who has school aged children, the question came up: why do these school shootings keep happening? What is is different today from when we were kids?

People claim that this is a complex issue with no simple answer.

My response is simple: BULLSHIT

The answer for me is that we live in a society that worships violence, that chooses the right to bear arms over the safety of its children. In other words, we are awash in blood.

Let me give you an example that you may have missed that sticks with me: have you seen the latest ads for Army recruitment? In a word, they a spectacular! The commercials are highly produced and, obviously, incredibly expensive to make: dozens of Humvees, .50 caliber machine guns blazing from their turrets, speed across an expansive field. Fighter jets scream overhead. Commands are barked, soldiers respond immediately, guns blazing. And, it all looks like one of the hundreds of video games played by millions of kids around the world.

Studies say that there is no direct link between violent video games and acts of mass murder. But, it must have SOME effect!  If we constantly normalize violent behavior, why should it not become, well, normal? In fact, it's more than normal for many - it's actually fun. And, they don't have the mental capacity to differentiate between the fantasy of a game and the reality of the violence it mimics. Let's get back to the Army commercials - young people need to understand the commitment it takes to serve in the military. One need to be willing to sacrifice their own lives and, potentially, take others. This is not a GAME. It is a deadly serious business and needs to be approached as such. If we treat it like a game, we will NEVER come to terms with the pervasive violence in out societies. The commercial looks like a glitzy video game on purpose - young people WANT to play.

And, gun violence in the Black communities has reached epidemic proportions. A 15 year-old boy was just arrested in Yonkers, NY for the shooting death of an innocent 18 year-old bystander. And, this happens EVERY DAY. Why? Because guns and violence are seen as a right of passage in underprivileged communities - a gun makes you a big man, a power-broker, a force to be reckoned with. Again, we ask, why? Well, virtually every "hero" in too many African-American movies, man or woman, solves his or her problem with ultra-violence. Even great actors and role models like Denzil Washington have taken roles in extremely violent movies. They need to stop.

A a society, we have to start dealing with the hard reality that, until we acknowledge our obsession with both guns and the violence they bring, these horrible tragedies will continue to happen, if not increase.