Weber State College Comment, October 1987, Page6 Weber State College Comment, October 1987, Page7 a Teen ee nnn ee ne eee een eee ee Violence embraced, eiuraged Not everyone loves gore, but there is a trend in American culture to embrace and encourage violence, and the prospects are frightening. “April 4th, 1984. Last night to the flicks. Allwar films. One very good one of a ship full of refugees being bombed somewhere in the Mediterranean. Audience much amused by’ shots of a great huge fat man trying to swim away witha helicopter after First you. saw him through the him. helicopter’s gun sights, then he was full of holes and the sea round him turned pink and he sank as suddenly as though the holes had let in the water. audience shouting with laughter when he sank. then you saw a lifeboat full of children with a heli- copter hovering over it. there was a middleaged woman, might have beenajewess, sitting up in the bow witha little boy about three years old in her arms. little boy screaming with fright and hiding his head between her breasts as if he was trying to burrow right into her and the woman putting her arms around him and comforting him although she was blue with fright herself. all the time covering him up as muchas possible as if she thought her arms could keep the bullets off him. then the helicopter planted a 20 kilo bomb in among them. terrific flash and the boat went all to matchwood. then there was a wonderful shot of a childs arm going up up up right up into the air. a helicopter with a camera in its nose must have followed it up and there was a lot of applause...” from “1984” : by George Orwell B low up the villain and people cheer. If he falls off a cliff, good riddance, they say. Society loves violence. Television is full of fights, shootings, stabbings, rapes, suicides, and each night millions of view- ers gleefully watch the mutilations. Orwell may not have- been too far wrong. Not everyone loves gore, but there is a trend in American culture to embrace and encourage violence, and the prospects are frightening. in U.S. culture “Our society does p te violence. We violence as part of the excitement. say we don’t like it, but we condone it. We “A child has seen an average ol use it for entertainment even,” said Dr. W. 18,000 fictional murders by the end Bruce Haslam, a Weber State psycholoof high school,” Dr. Woodard sai Most I will d gist. Social psychologists long thought that -. a direct link between watching tv or viewing violence acted as a catharsis, a movies and violence. Some are not way to let off steam and drain a person’s _affected at all by what they see; but aggression tank. That notion has not others are triggered into copying, proved workable, however, and most psy- Dr. Haslam said. . chologist now feel that people do not have “Even if they don’t copy, it influ an aggression tank, and that, in fact, watchences how they feel about violence,” ing violence may actually cause a person to he said. become more aggressive. : ‘ Besides those “entertaining” “Aggression begets aggression,” “he shows news reports keep people up said to date with who’s dying where. “It Football is a prime example, he noted. _used to be that wars happened, but How many can watch that game and come no one knew about it. Now you away feeling’calm and serene? The oppo know by supper time,” Dr. Haslam site is usually the case. . & _ Said. “There are more fights on-and off the ’ “Death becomes another statisfield in competitive sports than there have - tic,” Dr. Woodard noted. “Three ever been. It used to be that families went hundred killed in a plane crash here, to the game and had a good time. Now 38 marines killed over here, another some parks have special sections for fami- . 150 over there: We say, that’s too lies, who want to go to the games without bad, but we don’t have a lot of reflex” having to worry about possible fights or anymore.” : other problems.” Many live almost daily with vioBut it’s not just on the field of competi- ‘ence, the family expert said, “and tion that violence is evident. A recent rash we are learning to make it work for of highway shootings in California, thieves us.” A large number now prefer whorob stores of a few dollars and then kill violence to peace, and those feelings the attendants, and a sharp increase in all often leave the family and enter the categories of violent crimes point to a cul- workplace to affect the rest of sociture that is fast losing its civilization. ety. “We get calloused to it. We just say Dr. Woodard found in a study he that’s life, no big deal. So what,” he said. The family has been particularly hit. “We’re becoming a conflict habituated society. Violence is on the increase and so much ofitisin the family,” said Dr. Francis M. Woodard, a family expert in the college’s child and family studies department. Studies indicate that 60 percent of all American families use physical abuse to solve differences, and only four out of 100 families are healthy. “All the rest of us are somewhere along the line to serious violence,” Dr. Woodard said. The media plays a significant part in the socialization of violence. By the time a child is out of high school he has seen an average of 15,000 hours of television, a time commitment topped only by sleeping. Those shows have included early morning cartoons, videos, and a myriad of police, detective and adventure shows that include dren are committing more violent acts. On an individual, family to family basis, the United States is one of the world leaders in violence and the prognosis for the future is not good. “Treally think, unfortunately, that things will just get worse,” Dr. Haslam said. Dr. Woodard concurred, “We’re getting amind-set that’s very favorable towards an Armageddon. We’re on our way.” Aggressive behavior is learned most often ina family setting where violence can be passed on and added to from generation to generation. Italso comes from peers and from various forms of entertainment, including current video games, some of which are designed to have the player “assassinate” human looking figures. But th dia andel i justatip of the violence iceberg. Organized crime, which is another name for organized violence for profit, is incredibly strong in certain parts of the country, Dr. Woodard said. In addition, martial arts studios dot the breadth of America. “‘Never before have we trained so many people to hurt other people,” he said. Add to that a military that teaches one million new recruits each year “how to kill” and the result is “a fermenting pot of violence.” conducted that members of families” where violence was present showed _ a high tendency to favor the use of] nuclear weapons to solve intema/ tional problems. “Family violence’ may precipitate national violence if” people with those feelings are placed in key positions,” he noted, | “Our whole outlook about violence has changed,” said Pat Pull ing, director of Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons, a national organization. Mrs. Pulling was at Weber State recently addressing an Ogden-area workshop for police officers and social workers dealing with Satanism, and ritualistic crimes. Dungeons and Dragons isa roleplaying game where the “dungeon master” controls the lives and des- | tiny of the other players. That arimnineiinimEnnaEeeal ) “dungeon master” and other role-playing games have violent acts as a part of the play. Animal mutilation, dismemberment ofcorpses, and even suicide are all a part of the “game,” she said. ‘It’s not healthy for people to be exposed to this type of material, but they do it partly because of what they see their parents doing. Parents are going to slasher movies and horror shows about cars, dogs and people that are possessed. So the kids think it’s ok to do what they’re doing,” Mrs. Pulling said. Teenage males are the most likely to be violent, but young women are becoming more and more active, as well. Not long ago girls were mostly in trouble for shop lifting, running away, and the like. “Now there is a significant number of assaults where the girls will gang up and stomp on other girls and even on boys. It’s not uncommon in some schools for girls to be intimidated by other girls,” Dr. Woodard said. Violence knows no social, or economic boundaries and younger and younger chil- tage of violence because of the chance to gain power, prestige or money, Dr. Woodard said. “Companies have an opportunity to make fortunes from violence on an international and national scale. Many businesses had their start during a war. One company was launched during the Civil War by making soap for soldiers,” he said. During the Vietnam war some major U.S. businesses sold merchandise to both sides. “If we would have officially declared war they may have been tried for high treason,” Dr. Woodard said. Frustration is one of the main triggers of violence for both countries and individuals. Itmay be caused by not having enough food to eat or money to pay bills. It may be © induced by losing a competitive game or by any number of things, Dr. Haslam said. Not all become violerit; some develop high blood pressure, ulcers or have heart attacks, but some respond with anger. ““We look at the nation and the world as a whole, and with the present economic trends fi i d ill ti t mount. I don’t think these problems are going to go away,” he said. _ “Part of overcoming anger is to learn . coping skills. There are ways of handling anger besides hitting someone,” Dr. Haslam said. . Developing the art of talking out differences is a tremendous step forward, he said. In addition, he suggested mini vacations, developing other interests, simply leaving hostile environments, and a healthy dose of patience. On a societal level, however, reducing anger is more difficult. It requires controlling nationwide trends that influence behavior, and few people are willing to letsomeone else decide what is allowable and what crosses the line. “So-called ‘slasher’ movies are a modern-day phenomenon, a real sick form of aggression. How does that help people? How does that make people feel? Society needs to be concerned about that. I think freedom of speech is great, but how bad does it have to get before we draw the line?” he said. By nature, people love excitement, and what was thrilling last year soon becomes bland as people continue looking for more. The same holds true with aggressive behavior, Dr. Haslam said. “Violence has been around a long time. We still have a legacy of it from the Old West. Over time people tend to almost ignore it. They become desensitized to it, and if you’re not careful you get to the point where you don’tcare. That’s frightening,” he said. The Bible talks of people suffering from a “loss of affection,” and of “the love of many waxing cold.” Dr. Woodard is afraid those two conditions are now a reality. “Tt’s a malignancy. We talk about the AIDS disease, but that’s nothing pared with this stuff,” he said. com-