In this instance and to my way of thinking, in all other shootings it caused more problems that they could have imagined. But dozens of times each year in our public schools the same action is played out with often fatal results.
So where did they get the notion using a gun would solve their problems? Did they learn it in school? Of course not, it is not part of the school curriculum. It is not modeled behavior by teachers to shoot problem students.
Yet, like it or not, students are bringing guns to school apparently with the belief that the guns will solve their problems. If they do not learn that notion in school, they must learn it somewhere else. Oh, I know, they learn it in their home.
Most parents reject that premise. “I certainly don’t teach my children that shooting someone will solve problems.” But they do. The message is allowed to be transmitted repeatedly to their children. It is under their aegis that kids watch hour after hour of television and movies where the solution to problems is shoot someone.
The average school age student watches hundreds of “shootings to solve a problem” a week. Heroes as well as bad people, all larger than life, solve their problems with guns. I cannot think of a major movie star who has not shot someone on screen. How sad.
The research strongly suggests watching television and movies influences kids. We know for certain that advertisers believe in this influence by the billions of dollars spent trying to amend the behavior of children in their buying habits. If the media can influence the clothes worn and the language used, it is one small step to influence the way that children solve problems.
The responsibility to prevent this influence lies with the parents who must take the steps to protect their children from this proven influence. If they do not, they are guilty of child abuse. While it is passive, it is nonetheless abuse. These children are killing and being killed.
I have seen mothers not require safety belts for children who fuss about them, as if they are doing the child a favor. The courts find such parents to be guilty of child abuse for not protecting their own child. Perhaps if the police question a child bringing a gun to school and finds the parents did not regulate the intake of television and movies it will be designated as passive child abuse by the parents.
The copycat syndrome has been well established. Violence seen on TV is replicated in society. Many kids are only doing what they have spent thousands of hours watching on television. It is not a defense that not all children bring a gun to school, what we have established is the link of children viewing violence and then acting violent.
I’m not saying kids should be kept completely away from TV, but it should be carefully screened. Television and movie violence is so pervasive because it is the most easily created form of drama, “Is someone going to die or not?”
It is not an issue to stop television from showing the use of guns, rather, the issue is that parents must stop letting impressionable children watch hour after hour of this “guns will solve problems” message.
Think of it like planting a tree. The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago; the next best time to plant a tree is now. The best time to start screening television programs for your children was 10 years ago. The next best time is now.
Dr. Michael Swickard hosts the syndicated radio talk show News New Mexico six to nine a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
