(Orig posted 2003)

Murder and “The Matrix”, and Article on FindLaw by Julie Hilden, looks at the issue of movies, violence and crime.

Does watching violence make you less sensitive to it, more likely to commit it? Research says yes, especially, in cases (as outlined in the article) where the perpetrator is mentally ill. But that doesn’t address the idea of personal responsibility. We are all responsible for our actions, and blaming a movie, or a video game, or music for actions that we have taken is simply a refusal to take responsibilty for our own actions–a refusal that is becoming more and more common as evidenced by the horrible high school “hazing” incident of several weeks ago, where girls were hospitalized, yet the parents of the perpetrators protested the punishment of their children, because then they couldn’t go to prom, or might effect their ability to get into college.

There is a huge problem in this country, with people refusing to take responsibility for their own actions. Ya know what? If you eat fast food every day and don’t exercise, you’re going to get fat. If you don’t study, you’re going to do badly in school. And if you intentionally harm another person, then you should be punished for it. Plain and simple.

Cause and Effect.

Plain and Simple.