Who's_to_Blame_

Who’s to blame' In this article, “Violence Culture: The Media, the Internet, and Placing Blame”, Darren Beals explored the multiple contributing factors to Kinkel’s disconnect from reality. Kip Kinkel, a fifteen year old male, decided on May 21, 1998 to open fire on his classmates. My immediate question was, when did this child reach the point of thinking about such actions, did his parents notice the signs and chose to ignore them, and did teachers or those within constant reach see an indication of volatility. With such a horrible situation being depicted and dissected by the media, one main question still remains- “How and why would a teen execute such a heinous crime”. The media had a frenzy placing the blame and analyzing Kinkel’s daily activities, to identify the one culprit that drove him to that point of destruction. Throughout the finger pointing, the one source that did not ring the airwaves was Kinkel’s excessive surfing of the internet on guns and ammunition. As told by Beals, the easily accessible connection to unlimited teaching had assisted Kinkel on how to build bombs, allowed conversation with others interested in explosives and guns and supplied the tools to a minor needed to implement such a crime. I am certain that no form of media entertainment or communications media wanted any parts of blame of this sin. Confessing to contributing to a negative situation could be detrimental to sponsorship and possibly add to legal exposure. However, someone must take responsibility of contributing to this tragedy. Our avenues of learning play an important part in how we react to situations. It does not matter by which form we learn, be it by parents, influential individuals, such as teachers and community leaders, the news, the internet or even the movies. Weak-minded people closely examine, and evidentially copy, the actions that aid in reaching a place of fulfillment. Joel Gruber wrote, “the Internet is unique for its size, speed, and easy access to people everywhere. This gives the Internet the power to connect us to every idea and influence that exists. And the Internet provides virtual communities where people with common interests “live” together”. When viewing the news, a bad police officer may be slapped on the hand for bad behavior and it is simply forgotten after a while. With surfing the internet and blogging on subjects, the Constitutional right to freedom of speech is a terrible tool offered. There are many unnerving views from bloggers on topics such as rape. Statements such as, “she deserved it because of the way she dresses” would lead a weak, desperate mind to think rape is acceptable. The same holds true for movies. Moviegoers may think that when crime is committed, there are no repercussions rendered because the movie simply ended. There have been many cases where beatings have occurred, at the hand of a more dominant figure, in the home. For years the beatings take place, with no one uttering a word against this action. During the building stages, when a child grows up in these environments and so much is accepted without extensive reprimand, they view these types of behavior as normal.