When all else fails-blame men.
This is a good one for all the men out there. Apparently, gentlemen, it’s all our fault.
The subject of the article, Jackson Katz, argues that popular culture is responsible for exposing men and boys to violence, and thus associating violence with masculinity. My originial response to this article was anger that the media has decided to blame men. But, after reading the article, it occurs to me that I may have been angry because the article is exposing a hard truth. That truth is that men and boys are exposed to violence, they are encouraged that violence=masculinity.
The question I end up with is how do we ‘un-teach’ this association? The solution to simply eliminate or reduce the exposure to these stimuli seems like a reasonable reaction. But, my thinking is that we must fight the perception of these images, not the images themselves.
When I was growing up my mother, although against her better judgement, allowed me to watch horror movies. I subscribed to Fangoria magizine and others I don’t remember the titles to. By all accord I should be a serial killer now. Funny, I became an outspoken advocate of nature and love for all human beings. I know it is different in this day and age. I am raising a son of my own and after playing Mario Sunshine he wanted to butt-bounce on everything (for the record he was 5 at the time). I catch myself testing the wisdom of not to hate others, be the stronger person and walk away, but then watching him repeat offenses that warranted my reaction in the first place. Violence is everywhere and there’s no short supply of it. I heard a staggering figure the other day about the lessons children get from their parents being less than 1% of the information they recieve on a daily basis. I don’t think it’s that low, but if it is I’m glad I don’t have television to content with for my son’s attention. That must boost me to at least 2%.(By the way, I was told I am un-American because I don’t have cable or local television.)