by Rick Scott

Do you ever wonder what’s happening with our young people today? I surely do. Almost daily, we hear of a young person killing someone, and it’s usually over something stupid. Recently a young man shot and killed a classmate, after school on a basketball court. He said he did it because “the victim bumped into him in the school hallway and didn’t apologize.” Yes, that was his reason for killing his classmate. When we were in school, an incident like that would have resulted in a “horse bite” or a good wedgie. If things got serious, a pushing match may turn into a wrestling match with someone giving up after being pinned to the ground. As we got older the rare punch may have been thrown but that was it. No knives, no guns, no weapons of any kind.

When we were growing up, most of our fathers were veterans of WWII, or the Korean war. Our involvement in the Viet Nam war started in 1965, so some of the older siblings were involved there. As kids we watched TV shows about the army and war. (Believe it or not, we were also taught about it in school.) Shows like Combat, Rat Patrol, and Twelve O’clock High. We saw dozens of John Wayne war movies. Then there were the westerns. The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, Daniel Boone, and Roy Rogers. And don’t forget the John Wayne westerns. Yes, there was always some violence. People got shot. They grabbed their gut and fell to the ground. Usually, the good guys only got wounded, and the bad guys died, or got locked up. Probably the most violent thing we watched was the old Three Stooges films from the 30’s and 40’s. Things like pokes in the eye, hits on the head, or getting shot in the butt with a shotgun, were in every episode. Worse yet was Wile-E-Coyote getting blown up in a failed attempt to get the road runner.

As young kids we ran around the neighborhood playing war, cowboys, or cops and robbers. We shot one another with toy guns or broomsticks. BANG BANG, you’re dead. You grabbed your gut and fell to the ground. (One year for Christmas I got a toy Winchester rifle like the one The Rifleman used. Wish I still had it.)

Even with all that violence, out of the hundreds of kids I grew up with, I don’t know anyone that shot, stabbed, or hit someone in the head with a crowbar. Not one. Were we raised different than the kids today? Probably. I know I never got a “Time Out” but I did get the paddle a time or two, and getting grounded was a regular thing.  Are the new methods bad? Absolutely not. Different methods work for different parents and different kids. As long as they have some form of discipline. I know parents that raised great kids without the paddle. (Looking back, I’m sure I created my own need for more than a “Time Out.”)

Are guns the problem? We had guns. We shot rabbits, squirrels, and pheasants. We cleaned them and ate them. We never shot any people, pets or livestock. Now we did have a few BB gun wars in the woods. Had to wear safety goggles, and you couldn’t shoot anybody in the face or head. Those Daisy BB guns would sting you, but not break the skin. Anyway, we caught hell for that one when the parents found out. Grounded again, but nobody lost an eye or anything.

So, what is going on today with young people? Why do they think killing someone is “OK?” Why do they think it will solve their problem? Is television that much more violent today? I don’t have an answer to that, because I don’t watch any of the new stuff unless it’s on History, Motor Trend, Discovery, or The Food Channel. But please read on and I’ll give you something to ponder.

First let’s start with a few terms, like brainwashing and conditioning, or today’s word, grooming. These are techniques used to saturate or imbue the mind with an idea or thought. All are used to alter thinking or behavior. One way is to repeatedly tell someone the same information over and over. It can also be done with repeated praise for certain behaviors, and penalized for others. The person naturally gravitates toward the desired behavior. Now that I’ve bored you with all that, let’s talk VIDEO GAMES.

A long time ago when I was a kid, pinball was the big thing. Video games were just coming out. Pong was the first one I remember. Not too exciting. Sort of like a slow-motion ping pong game. Still cool because it was new and you could do it on your TV. Then came Pac Man, Frogger, Game Boy, and so on. Pretty tame stuff by todays standards. Some of them were good for hand eye coordination. Look out pinball, here comes your demise.

Now moving up to today’s systems and games. The advancement in technology is remarkable. No bouncing balls, or spheres eating power pellets and ghosts. No game consoles the size of your refrigerator. The software and graphics have become so fast and realistic it’s amazing, and I’m just looking at the “free” games, and some of the arcade stuff. The high-priced subscription games are on an even higher lever or realism. The experts say “the new graphics are proven fundamental to allow the player immersion in the game, and the graphics get more realistic with every new edition.”

Player immersion? Let that statement sink in for a minute then keep reading. There are a lot of games out there that are still fun, entertaining, and even educational, but I’m talking about a category of games labeled “FPS.” Like me you may ask, what is that? FPS stands for FIRST PERSON SHOOTER. In those games the player is “experiencing the action directly through the eyes of the main character.” The scoring of these games is based on how many people you kill. You have to kill people to win. You are penalized in various ways if you miss your target. The target is a person. Can you say “conditioning?”

Repeatedly seeing lifelike figures violently shot and killed, where blood and body parts flying all over is the thrill of the game. Can you say “brainwashing?” No more BANG BANG, you’re dead, grab your gut and fall to the ground. The benign violence we saw as kids was nothing like today, and we only saw it a few times a week. Kids today have access to this stuff 24-7. I don’t know any kid who doesn’t have access to a tv, computer, tablet, or cell phone. Unfortunately, a lot of kids have them as babysitters, and none of them provide any discipline.

There are a lot of violent people in this world. They all try to rationalize their behavior by using excuses like race, nationality, color, religion, politics, and on and on. Those are just that, excuses for evil behavior. Now as for kids killing kids, what’s their excuse? I say it’s training, or using today’s word “grooming.” Getting the ideas from adults, television, the news, and yes video games. Not sure how to stop it, but awareness is a start.

Take a close look for yourself before buying that game for little Tommy to play in the basement.