Section 3: Youth Violence

Hi folks,

Just as a forewarning: we’re halfway through the semester . . . and I don’t know about others, but for me, it has recently become a struggle to think actively about this class. In the beginning, the readings and films would make me feel horrified or sick or outraged, but with the start of this new section, I think my brain finally reached a point where the issues we are studying are too much and I’ve just become numb to it all. No matter what I do, I can’t bring myself to really focus on what I’m seeing/reading . I’m beginning to feel like I lack the true empathy necessary to understanding the depth and impact of these kind of issues. I just wanted to put that out there, because it’s a concern to me and I don’t WANT to be numb or apathetic to what I’m seeing, but it’s become somewhat of a coping mechanism for me…and as a result, my blogging might sound a little clinical.

Moving on! It’s really nice to hear about your service learning experiences, Stephanie. My personal experiences with service learning don’t put me in touch with at-risk youth, so it’s very interesting to read about someone else’s encounters. I am not working with youths in my service learning at Pathways, as it is a program that offers semi-permanent shelter to women who are typically 35 or over. However, their upbringing as children into adulthood was almost certainly a large contributing factor to the circumstances of their lives now. Though it has been very difficult to get many of the women to open up and discuss their pasts, it is written on their faces that they have seen hardships and violence in their lives. It’s easy to surmise that perhaps if they had been more privileged or had stable home lives in the past, they would not be at Pathways now. Unfortunately I do not get as much interaction with them as I would hope, but I’ve taken to reading through the logbook which records all their activities from morning to night. One of the women, named Winnie, often has a hard time coping with her current situation in combination with mental illness. She will sometimes lash out (though not physically) at other women, and as a result she has changed roommates numerous times and currently rooms alone. Recognizing the cyclical nature of violence (which has been a common topic of discussion in class), I can’t believe that Winnie is fully to blame for her actions, and I would bet that past experiences of violence have molded her into who she has become. At any rate, it is very saddening.

I think all of us have been victims (or even participants in) youth violence at least once in our lives. However, I feel my own personal experiences with youth violence are nearly inconsequential compared to what other people have to deal with. The most significant experiences of youth violence I have are actually vicarious experiences through my older sister. Growing up, my sister was diagnosed with a high-level ADHD (the specific type of ADHD is classified by some as “The Ring of Fire”). She had problems both in school and at home, and as a result my mother tried every type of program available at the time for treatment. My sister was in and out of residential and foster programs for most of her adolescence--some of which were good, and others that weren’t. In the worse residential facilities, there were incidents of verbal, physical and emotional abuse. Some even had gangs, often based on the racial divisions within the program. Once, on the first day at a new residential program, my sister was followed into the restroom by a group of girls who attempted to haze her into their gang by forcing her to lick a toilet seat (after my mother heard this, she instantly pulled my sister out of there). That’s just one incident, and I still don’t know all that my sister experienced in those places… but I know that it is something that she will almost certainly carry with her for the rest of her life.

The impact of these instances of violence on my sister is completely evident. She was often far from her home and her family, and surrounded by violent behavior. She was predisposed to drugs and alcohol at a fairly young age, without any kind of consistent mentoring to guide her. As she grew older, she turned to drugs as an escape, and went on to experiment with heavier drugs. She eventually became addicted to heroin. She lived on the streets of Baltimore for four years before finally agreeing to rehab. And now, though she is now recovering and has been clean off of heavier substances for a few years, she still displays incredibly violent behavior—behavior that she learned (that she NEEDED) to survive in residential and on the streets.

I actually remember you, Stephanie, saying in class that your siblings were “reverse role models” for you, and I feel the same way about my sister in many ways. But knowing her past, it’s hard for me because I feel like it wasn’t her fault that she turned to drugs, and that she has violent outbursts in which she lashes out against those that love and care about her most. It’s a very personal issue within out family that I don’t typically talk about, but while doing the readings I could not help but be constantly reminded of my sister. Particularly in the film City of God, I saw the theme of violence for survival echoed, where small children participated in violent acts simply to survive (such as Steak shooting the two young boys in the feet, and then killing one of them).

VIDEO GAMES

Video games, for me, are a very touchy subject. My brother and I are both avid players of video games, and I also think that creating video games is an art form unto itself. I liken game creators to storytellers, who can not only weave amazing stories but also allow you to play a part in that story. I absolutely respect that they have the same freedoms afforded to other artists in different media, including freedom of speech.

Firstly, not all video games are violent. I think video games get a bad rap—yes, there are a significant amount of games which depict violence, but there is also a good number that do not. For example, over the years we have seen video gaming devolve to a solo activity—a lonely player sitting in a dark room for hours on end, disconnected from the outside world. Nintendo, which is probably the most well-known video game franchise across the globe, has attempted to reinstate video gaming as an activity of group interaction with their newest console: the Nintendo Wii. This console encourages physical interactivity, teamwork, and friendly competition between family and friends with classic sports games like bowling and tennis. This concept and a more economical price tag is what allowed the Nintendo Wii to outsell both Xbox360 and Playstation3 in sales last year.

Secondly, people need to rid themselves of the misconception that video games are only for children. Video games are made BY adults, so it seems only natural that there will be games that, just as there are movies and books made for more mature audiences, there will also be games with mature themes. I feel banning certain games due to violence is the wrong approach, and also neglecting the true issue. Violence is a reality, and I feel that you cannot block people from this reality. To me, the argument that video games are destructive because they allow players to emulate violent behavior is an ultimately weak one. If we ban games that are based on fighting tournaments, like Mortal Kombat and Streetfighter, are we also going to ban martial arts tournaments and sparring? If we ban first person shooters like Doom and Halo, are we also going to ban paintball and laser tag? The first film we watched outside of class, The Human Animal: War & Violence, began with a group of men playing paintball in army fatigues with guns that look and feel almost exactly like the real thing. Paintballing is an activity that certainly emulates the violence of war to the same extent, if not more, than any video game would. And although only adult men are depicted in the film, I know of quite a few parents who have no problem with their 8-year old sons going paintballing…while the mass majority of first person shooter games are rated by the ESRB as Teen or Mature.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea—I’m absolutely disgusted by certain games that are overtly violent just for the sake of violence, such as Grand Theft Auto. However, one has to ask, how could a game like this even become popular if there wasn’t a market for it already in existence? In the second part of Tough Guise, it is stated that video games and other media are simply emulating what is already omnipresent in masculine culture—a culture connected to power, control and violence. The game is so popular because our society is so infused with this masculine culture, and boys want to play it because it makes them feel more like a “real man” and justifies their need to fit in with the norm of society. Blaming the video game instead of the culture its derived from is just an easy way to skirt the issue.

My thought is that ultimately, it is the role of a parent to monitor the games that his or her children play. In I Prayed for More Gun Control and Got Better Background Checks, Tonya Maria Matthews talks about how parents sometimes act with such ignorance and neglect—giving a child a .38 caliber for his birthday, not knowing that bombs are being made in their own basement, then claiming the child who shoots up a school is a monster. I fully agree with her, and I think that it is the parents’ responsibility to pay attention to their child and ensure their wellbeing and safety. A parent who allows a child to have a video game rated Mature or higher is irresponsible, plain and simple.

[I’m sorry for the rant, I just know way too much about video gaming for my own good.]

PS: Stephanie, you asked about the reading Kids, Guns and Violence, “Kleck mentioned finding a way to ban ‘bad guns’ and leave "good guns" but I do not understand what he means. Is he talking literatively or figuratively?” I think the authors are summarizing one of the current policies regarding gun control. It relies on specific types of guns, some of which are classified as good or okay, and others which are deemed “bad” (like military-style guns).