We need more laws!!
In light of the knee-jerk reaction to such tragedies as the recent school shooting in Minnesota by politicians and others, I think it's way past due to enact some legislation that will finally stamp out that most damaging influence on our youth. The one that apparently drove this misguided young man to commit horrendous and indiscriminate murder. Of course the fact that he had a tragic home life with a father who committed suicide and a mother who suffered head injuries from a drunk driving accident and is confined to a nursing home we can safely put aside. Nothing can be done about that. And we should ignore as well the deplorable poverty and social conditions on many Indian reservations.
But I'm talking about the important stuff. I'm talking about the lessons we can learn from this horrible incident and what needs to be done to put a stop to all such shooting sprees in the future. Politicians know that the boobs out there always fall for the quick fix, the knee-jerk ill-considered attempt to tease out something from the incident to lay the blame on. No tragedy, no horrendous death or killing is too profound to extinguish the rampant urge of some politicians to cash in on them for their own aggrandizement. In that light I have a demand.
Yes, it's time to outlaw once and for all, zombie movies, dark clothing, and eyeliner.
Oh yeah, and video games. Even though this kid wasn't into them, they're bad, bad, bad.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 3/23/2005
2 comments
2 Comments:
Perhaps I was too hasty. Upon further reflection, I feel that what is urgently needed is ironclad legislation making it a crime for any teen to feel alienation, depression, hopelessness, despair, or despondency.
From now on, any teen exibiting any of the above will be quickly processed through special "teen angst" courts set up for the purpose and jailed.
The 14 teens left unincarcerated will then be provided a quality education.
But not to be so flippant, the fact remains that there are thousands of teens feeling worthless and despondent. But what triggers them to act on the impulse with such deadliness?
Sure it makes no sense, but then again, to them, life makes no sense.
These kids have lost all hope, and so when they go, they want to go in a made-for-tv way. It's the only culture they know, and it surrounds them.
To attempt to point a finger at any one source is folly.
I think the public inately knows that the problem is indeed much deeper, but it's too uncomfortable to think about. Too complex, and it involves us all. So, we get laws against scapegoats like video games and other supposed boogy-men.
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic at it's finest.
I'm sure that if one of these "Family Council" outfits did enough digging, they'd find out that the tragic student was at least aware that something called video games existed. That's enough "proof" for them to make the connection.
And the odds are good that many of the victims of these horrid shootings played video games. Maybe we should ban them because playing them makes it more likely that you'll be the victim?
At $50 a pop, it shouldn't be too tough for parents of younger kids to keep tabs on what games their kids play. And it's funny that the fact that the common denominator in all the school shootings is... yep, they were SHOOTINGS... that is they involved the kids having easy access to all sorts of guns and assault weapons.
Funny how that entire issue is glossed right over by politicians and the entire media. No one rushes forward to capitalize on these tragedies to call for sanity in gun laws. But boy, they'll target just about everything else they happen not to approve of.
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