What's the Real Reason Behind the Violence?
Patch wants to know your thoughts on why 2012 was rife with violence.
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As we embark on 2013, we know 2012 was a year full of memories–both good and bad.
What we did see last year, however, was a large amount of violence, much of which included weapons and led to horrific tragedies.
There was the movie theater shooting in Colorado, the mall shooting in Oregon, and the mid-December massacre of 20 children at an elementary school in Connecticut.
For some, the violent acts turned into a debate and forum for gun control. For others, it was about the safety–or lack thereof–in schools and public places. Then there were the parents and even some media columnists who pointed at the ever-growing amount of accepted violence in television, movies and music. Many believe it's an oversight in helping the mentally ill population.
Locally, we've seen a response, specifically in Marlboro, New Jersey where the board of education approved having armed guards at all of the district's schools. We asked our readers how they felt about that, and you all responded here.
Regardless of what the solution may be, what do you think is the problem to begin with? Where is the need for violence, hate, killing coming from?
Let us know in the comments section, and as always, thanks for your participation.
This post is on Hackettstown, Long Valley and Mendham-Chester Patch sites.
Stacie Bohr
6:11 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
That's a tough poll to take because, with the exception of the last option, all of the others are relevant in one way or another.
FourScore
6:41 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
I don't think it's necessarily 'less' (ie; fewer) guns, I think we just have to do a better job keeping guns out of the hands of the wrong people. Of course, this concept falls under the umbrella of those two dirty words; 'gun control', which is why none of the gun factions will support it.
Jay Bell
2:28 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
So glad that so many people get it. Mental healthcare, among other forms of healthcare, are still lacking the funding and programs necessary to treat these people. www.firebrandcentral.com
Paul Tupaczewski
9:16 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
You left out one other option: THE MEDIA'S SENSATIONALISM OF EVENTS LIKE THESE. They seem to feed copycat crimes. Who would have thought of shooting up schools prior to Columbine... or Virginia Tech... both of which were drilled into American's heads ad nauseum. Couple it up with someone with a mental issue and you have a recipe for disaster. The media needs to point the finger back at itself for part of the blame here. (sorry Jason, not you :)
Jason Koestenblatt
9:43 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Hey Paul - Thanks for the comment, and I wonder about that same issue. In the days following Newtown, I asked friends and family (who do not work in the media) their thoughts on coverage, from TV to web to print, and if they felt it was too much, sensationalism and so forth. I received varying degrees of answers, some of which included the potential copycat idea. I should have made the third option in the poll more specific, as that's what I was intending, by throwing media coverage in there as well.
Can you point to specific examples regarding Newtown, or maybe Aurora, and how you felt the media - any form - did too much or went too far? I'm interested in hearing reactions. Thanks!
Paul Tupaczewski
9:55 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
The fact that the media was using long-range lenses to get views of the deceased in the schools was despicable. And why does the media need to cover the actual FUNERALS of the children? Haven't the actual familes been through enough already? Why is a funeral news? And Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil's "live broadcasts" from Newtown were solely money grabs that were completely unnecessary to the people in Newtown (if it was to "help" them, did they donate the profits from their shows to the families? Yeah, I didn't think so.) It's just media sensationalism at its finest (or is it at its worst?) There's only so much negativity I can deal with, and our family decided to turn the TV off for the week after the event to prevent from being bombarded with more media gloom-and-doom.
Peace
10:41 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
The media is to blame for the terrible things that happen in the US and around the world. Sensationalism, spinning stories, adding contempt breeds copycats and adds to the hatred around us. The media spins stories to suit their audience and causes division. This story is another exams! Why don't you report on something good happening in our community!
FourScore
8:36 am on Friday, January 4, 2013
Yeah, and then when they don't cover something, eveyone screams; "why isn't the media reporting this"?????
box211
4:38 pm on Friday, January 4, 2013
If we continue to train kids to be aggressive and kill, using digital training games they may play for hours every day, violence will seem familiar to them. If they continue to watch violence in movies and on TV, their roll models will be violent. It is basically subtle brainwashing and needs to stop.