However, I think the desensitizing effect of a constant exposure to violent games and programs can contribute. I wouldn’t blame it solely or primarily for school violence, but I think it can make people less immune to the negative effects.

I agree that the person interviewed was using it as an excuse. It is a shame ABC chose not to interview someone who better epitomizes the victims of endless abuse who turn to shooting when pushed over the edge.

Thank you for your comment!

I think the fact that the media is always attacking the idea of the ‘outcast’ is the real problem. We’re taught to hate those who are different or don’t have friends, so when anything terrible happens we immediately jump on the idea that they were different. Bullying happens even more now, and it’s not just the kids who are different (though they probably get the majority of it).

Along with that there’s another side to it: fame. You kill people you become infamous. Some people even celebrate on the shooters’ birthdays, and basically worship them like celebrities. So it’s not just the hating, it’s also the idolizing. A lot of kids who are nobodies want to be somebody, even if it’s just 15 minutes of fame for something terrible.

I was the kid who hung out with the drug dealers because no one else wanted to be seen with me. I got ridiculed by just about everyone at one time or another. I was always alone.

People stand around blaming TV violence or videogames for everything, because they want a reason. The truth is it doesn’t take movies to kill somebody. People have been doing that long before television was around. It’s like you were talking about: people bully you enough and you get pushed over the edge. That’s all it takes.

Imagine how many kids watch violence and DON’T do something violent. I’m sick of the blaming. It’s people who cause this, not slasher flicks or action movies.

Honestly, I think that shooter they interviewed was a liar. It takes more than Doom or Grand Theft Auto for someone to pick up a gun, look another person in the face, then shoot them with it. He sounds like he’s looking for a plee of temporary insanity. And yeah, perhaps some kids have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality, but the fact is it’s generally because of bullying that it happens.