How Different Major Acts of Violence Are Treated in the US and American Death Culture

Hey, I am not saying the Americas are a great neighborhood to take a stroll in the middle of the night ... I was just saying that we as humans are all violent and that violence in and of itself was not caused by entertainment, of course that is my personal opinion ...

reply to post by Cabin


Well I was brought up in an era when there was no violent video games and horror movies werent really watched by kids. Anyway, in my shool there was I think 4 kids who did time in prison for violence against others in their very early teens.

These kids were also not subjected to these sorts of entertainments. Dont forget its a fairly modern thing.

The evidence points to the fact that " psychopaths " have an innate kind of inclination and unfortunately we cannot do much about it but parent them to the best of our abilities.

reply to post by Cabin


Well ,lest anyone forget skulls and bones took over the states. Need I say anymore....

Instead of a terrorist attack, I'm thinking this could be gang related and these 3 were trying to make their bones. Many times, shooting or beating people is the initiation, to prove you will do anything for the gang.

reply to post by Tazkven


All mammals play and it has an evolutionary purpose. It reduces stress and builds skills for useful activities related to reproduction. Playing behavior has clear boundaries.

First person shooter games are not "playing" to the human mind. They map onto areas of the brain that control inhibitions, empathy and personality. With significant application of energy, these areas can be compartmentalized by a vast majority of people. Mental illness, psychoactive drugs and high stress cause a breakdown of those compartments.

Fantasizing about killing precedes the act. It's how the brain suppresses the natural repulsion. So take away the repulsion and see what happens.

I do not understand why street gangs are not labeled as terrorists and taken down accordingly. Street gangs cause much more death and terror and intimidation than a couple hicks in a trailer home, or three guys shooting up a parade.

HERE ARE YOUR TERRORISTS!!

As violent computer games and so on are fairly modern to culture I dont think they have researched to see what it does to childrens brains yet - maybe one day we will find out.

Op I dont know why you single out gangster rap its a smaller part of music and again I do know plenty of people who like gangster rap/hip-hop and they arent violent in any way.

My point being what "triggers" people can be things you least expect.

It's funny... The call Rock'n'Roll and Heavy Metal violent but the vast majority of people who commit murders and rapes are people who are into Rap and Hip-Hop.

I'll take a slayer fan any day over a hoodlum...

reply to post by FreedomEntered


I'm not saying violent movies and video games will make everyone act out violently; obviously that is not the case. I am suggesting that the saturation of culture with such material will encourage persons who are psychologically predisposed to such possible activity to more likely act on such impulses. Monkey see, monkey do. The news media hyping various mass shootings doesn't help in this respect either.

As far as generalizing goes, you seem to be generalizing about Muslim "terrorist" violence, claiming it is somehow different from religious/political-inspired violence by Christians and Jews. What were The Troubles in Northern Ireland about? Seemed it was Catholic/nationalist Irish on Protestant/British Union violence. There are various ongoing religious strifes around the world among Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists -- just to name the main religious groups.

Now back to the first part of my OP: why is the mass shooting in New Orleans being downplayed and not considered terrorism. I just watched the PBS Newshour headlines and there was no mention of this event, even though it was just a day later. Why the major discrepancy between the coverage of this event and that of the Boston Marathon bombing, and the fact that authorities are saying the N.O. shootings were not an act of terrorism? Apparently three suspects are believed to have conducted these shootings. This makes for a conspiracy, and should be considered a terrorist action. This was violence intended to intimidate. What else can it be considered? Hence it fits the definition of terrorism. So why isn't it being called that?

Why aren't the FBI, the ATF and the DHS involved in the investigation and manhunt for the perpetrators of this crime? I submit that it is because it was black-on-black "street crime". Muslims killing Caucasians -- that's terrorism. Poor African Americans shooting poor African Americans -- that's just street crime. I say that's a stark double standard.

I think that parental support plays a big part in how youth learn to cope with situations. Looking at our country from that standpoint, I have to wonder if the increase in violence has followed the increase of children rearing themselves or being reared by day care, etc. No one has a personal interest in taking care of your children like you do. I'm not knocking people who have to work, but just saying that maybe this trend has been detrimental and we are just now seeing the fallout from the "trying to have it all" set.

Originally posted by FreedomEntered
As violent computer games and so on are fairly modern to culture I dont think they have researched to see what it does to childrens brains yet - maybe one day we will find out.

We are fairly familiar with this (at least, scholars are.) In cultures where the storytelling paradigm tells people that "the way to solve problems is with violence", people tend to be very violent. Stories model how people solve problems -- if you're never told (or shown examples) that negotiation can be an interesting and dynamic way of solving something, then you won't negotiate any solutions.

Our culture drifts toward the violent every time our storytelling patterns start talking about heroes who are violent and who solve problems with violence. Did you ever see the Disney movie, "The Incredibles" that dealt with superheroes who went into private life and got married and had kids? The values in that storyline aren't reflected in things like "The Dark Knight" films (where Batman has the 'relationship du jour' with the 'lady of the hour' and the villain is lovingly portrayed as 'edgy' and 'fascinatingly fearful.')

Stories are the dialogues that societies use in talking about issues within them. Compare the films made in different countries around the world and how violence is handled in each -- it's very eye-opening.