A young girl named Jenni Herd, 16, presented the world with a new thought in March of 2014. She wrote a passionate letter to The Times where she explains how she was fed up with adults who tried to explain a teenager’s behavior. Jenni wrote, “We no longer flinch at bloody images of war because we’ve grown up seeing the chaos in the Middle East and elsewhere. Most of us are cynical and pessimistic because of the environment we’ve grown up in…” She continues on trying to explain how teenagers feel in today’s world, how angry they are at the world, the way we live, and the fact that their generation will be left to fix the problems the generation before will leave them with. She wants to be treated like an adult and not as some “strange creatures from another world” (Herd). This may serve as a new outlet to why kids are behaving more dramatically these days. There’s nothing wrong with them mentally, it’s the world we all live in and the way kids and teenagers are treated.
It makes sense when you realize how often we see violence, we ourselves are used to it because we have also grown up observing an unnecessary amount of negative news on our ordinary stations. For every one positive report there is approximately seventeen negative ones, which is outrageous (Williams). There are people in our society doing positive things and I believe we should embrace those rather than the negative ones. The sad realization is still that we have become people who are entertained by violence and murder. Business Insider pointed out the seven most violent shows on cable as well as the seven most violent dramas on broadcast TV in the fall of 2013, all of them airing on big networks such as FX, AMC, FOX, and NBC (Acuna). It is interesting that ABC did ...
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...o The Times." The Huffington Post UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Kessler, Glenn. "HeraldNet.com - The History of Mass Shootings in the U.S." The Daily Herald. The Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Kesten, Lou. "Shooting Renews Argument over Video-Game Violence." The Big Story. N.p., 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
National Television Violence Study, Volume 3. Sage Publications, (1998): n. pag. ERIC. Web.
"Personality Disorders." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
Plumer, Brad. "Why Are Mass Shootings Becoming More Common?" Washington Post. The Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Trend, David. The Myth of Media Violence: A Critical Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2007. Print.
Williams, Ray. "Why We Love Bad News." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., 30 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Peters, Jeremy. "Months After Massacre, Obama Seeks to Regain Momentum on Gun Laws." New York Times. N.p.. Web. 3 Dec 2013. .
Paulson, Ken. “How obscene is video game violence?” USA Today. USA Today, 2 November 2010. Web. 24 October 2011.
In 2013, research conducted by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) defined public mass shootings as events that happened in a public place where four or more people were injured or died as a result of gunfire. CRS also argued that the gunman typically selected their victims at random. J. Harris and R. Harris (2012) referred to public mass shootings acts as rampage violence. Ironically, following each tragic public mass shooting identified above, there were spirited debates about gun control among political pundits, government officials and the American people , deliberations on the influence of media and entertainment glorifying violence, gaps in mental health services and a commitment to address the problem but to no avail. With no progress made on addressing public mass shootings, it was concluded that current research on mass violence has been ineffective and required some modification (J. Harris & R.
Shen, Aviva. "A Timeline of Mass Shootings in the US since Columbine." ThinkProgress RSS. Center for American Progress Action Fund, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that came just two weeks before Christmas last year. This tragic event resulted in the death of twenty students and eight adults. Although the event shocked the nation, rampage shootings are nothing new. Over the years, many families have lost loved ones to these horrific events. As a result, these mass shootings such as the one that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary caught public attention leading to a push to find the cause of these events. Out of this research a variety of possible causes came to light consisting of arguments stating that high school bullying, availability of guns, mental illness, violent movies and video games are the cause of mass shootings. However, these researchers and debaters tend to ignore the role of massive media coverage in the increase of copycat shootings in the United States.
Multiple mass shootings such in Aurora, Colorado, Roseburg, Oregon and Newport, Connecticut has sparked massive gun control disagreement. The media has influenced two point of views regarding this topic. One side argues that increasing gun control decreases casualties of mass shootings, while the other side claims decreasing gun control increases self-defense. In a US News article by Susan Milligan, she argues that “although gun control does not stop criminal activity, it decreases accidental deaths and suicide”, thus saving lives. LA Times writer and social policy professor, James Wilson claims gun control does not solve gun violence and makes it harder for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. Both authors use language to convince the
Torr, James D. Introduction. Violence in the Media. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven. 2001. 13-15.
Retrieved November 1, 2013, from Info Please: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html Levin, J. (2012, December 19). How to prevent school shootings. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from The Boston Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/12/19/podium-newtown/8RBiAPBjlYG9N9LyC2RVyM/story.html Robertz, F. J. (2012, December 12). Deadly Dreams: What Motivates School Shootings? Retrieved November 15, 2013, from Scientific American:
Over the past years media has been overwhelmed with news about mass shootings happening around America and if mental illness is the primary cause of the violent act. On February 2014, Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish published their article “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms” in the American Journal of Public Health that addresses the issue that mental illness has very little to do mass shootings which is commonly used on the aftermath of the shooting
Ochberg, Frank. “Why Does America Lead the World in School Shootings?” February 28, 2012. 2012
Television with its far reaching influence spreads across the globe. Its most important role is that of reporting the news and maintaining communication between people around the world. Television's most influential, yet most serious aspect is its shows for entertainment. Violent children's shows like Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and adult shows like NYPD Blue and Homicide almost always fail to show human beings being able to resolve their differences in a non-violent manner; instead they show a reckless attitude that promotes violent action first with reflection on the consequences later. Contemporary television creates a seemingly insatiable appetite for amusement of all kinds without regard for social or moral benefits (Schultze 41). Findings over the past twenty years by three Surgeon Generals, the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, the American Medical Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other medical authorities indicate that televised violence is harmful to all of us, but particularly to the mental health of children (Medved 70-71).
With the media shining so much light upon this topic, it is evident that mass murders in the United States of America are more frequent and deadly. In fact, studies have found that the USA has more mass public shootings than any other country (Christensen). These numbers have only been increasing in the past decades. This is shocking because the USA holds only 5 percent of the world’s population, but as a nation, contributes to 31 percent of mass murders (Christensen). Although these murders continue to be a rare phenomenon, weak gun laws, the need for fame, and issues with societal views are the main causes of the increase in cases.
Fund, John. "The Facts about Mass Shootings." National Review Online. National Review Online, 16 Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Costikyan, Greg. “The Problem of Video Game Violence is Exaggerated.” Video Games. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2005.
middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Work Sited The real tragedy of America's gun violence. " Global Public Square RSS.