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Grossman
delivers disturbing but vital message
By
Ed Brenegar , Columnist Asheville Citizen-Times
March
31, 2001
ASHEVILLE
– Retired Army Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, who spoke to a packed
house at Laurel Auditorium on Wednesday evening, made it
simple for any person to understand what’s going on as a
result of the trends in American pop culture.
The
list of trainees that have sat before Grossman reads like
a who’s who of military, political, legal, medical and psychological
expertise. He has been called upon for expert testimony
in Oklahoma City and he was there in Jonesboro, Springfield,
Littleton, and more recently in Santee. His latest book,
"Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against
TV, Movie and Video Game Violence," is well on its way to
a third printing. The reason why is clear: Grossman eloquently
expresses what we all know, but feel powerless to control.
Namely, that it’s hard to get healthy human beings to kill;
but they are being taught at a young age to do so. Teens
and pre-teens who are capable of gunning down classmates
today, will be in college dorms tomorrow and the workplace
soon after that.
What
we, as parents and as a society can do is establish "No
Humor Zones," similar to airport security, that does not
tolerate threats — and respond quickly to pleas for help.
Through consistent intervention, we must refuse to give
children permission to proceed with violent actions. And
we must intervene in the lives of children already living
on the edge, by eliminating the "toxic addictive substance"
that drives them: Media violence. There is no profile, only
indications that some children are thinking about hurting
people.
What
does Grossman suggest? Among other things, highlighting
the pain and suffering of shooting victims, rather than
the attention-starved child-killer.
When
someone says: "That could have been me," let it not be a
potential shooter groping for 15 minutes of fame. Let it
be the people with healthy minds who will resolve themselves
to be a part of the solution to violence.
Copyright
2001: Asheville Citizen-Times
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