- Anything Else -

No, I do...

Posted by: Sierra ( The Union, Australia ) on October 29, 1999 at 01:24:28:

In Reply to: I beg to differ posted by Kevin Dempsey on October 28, 1999 at 22:05:44:

There is also a positive correlation between violent crimes and access to firearms or lack of gun control. For example, take a look at Canada and the US. Which has stricter gun legislation? Which has fewer violent crimes?

The problem with a 'positive coreelation' that the coincidence could just be over the middle line. A high correlation would suggest your theory, but as this is not the case I am left to conclude that your statistics are media influenced.

: My conclusions as a classroom teacher are thus: Children I have seen who have a large amount of exposure to violent media have more violent tendencies towards their peers. While this is one major problem, it is less of a problem than in other regions (the US) where these children also have access to guns. The answers seem simple to me: no violent games/media = fewer violent tendencies. No guns = no deaths by guns. Rambunctious, blood-thirsty hunters should stop making excuses when the evidence is there.

The evidence is not there though, it is only a theory, and most probably a coincidence. I assume you are a primary school teacher, and have to deal with children who are still finding out the reality of life. You cannot simply say that under 13 year olds have the same realisation of what they are doing as over 13 year olds. Yes, there are some really convincing people out there who claim to be experts on the matter, but it is the case of the ancient greek sophists, if you catch my drift.

The fact still remains that while violent computer games may encourage violent thoughts, there are ratings for these games, and they are there to ensure that the violence it in the hands of the responsible, who can make the decisions between 'good' and 'bad.'


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