Government and Community Relations
Speeches and Presentations
Sometimes the solution is that there's no one solution Tamara Hillabush Walker Communications Instructor, Visual and Performing Arts Democrat and Chronicle 12/02/2002 Stop selling guns and ammunition. Stop evil musicians from spouting evil, violent lyrics. Stop showing violent crime in the news media. Stop being so afraid. These are the suggestions of those who attended Thursday night’s viewing of the documentary film Bowling for Columbine. We live in a society that’s killing itself. In our great zeal to solve this American problem, nobody is addressing our greatest fear—not having a solution. Fantasizing about a world without guns is exactly that, a fantasy. As shown in the film, there are countries with far more guns than the U.S., and yet their murder rates are considerably lower. I guess that means getting rid of guns won’t solve our problem. Yet, the filmmaker, Michael Moore, takes decidedly delightful glee by strong-arming KMart into removing bullets from their shelves. If it’s not guns, it must be the media. Our morbid fascination with violence is turning us into a country of natural born killers. Let’s write to all the local news stations and tell them “No more violence!” Demand family-friendly newscasts! Perhaps we’re forgetting here what news means. News is anything that’s abnormal, or out of the ordinary. Do you want to know why L.A. newsrooms don’t write stories about smog? Because it’s the norm; it’s not unusual. Thank God here in Western New York a murder is still outside the norm! If we didn’t cover violence, then we would have to assume that violence is accepted as a usual, everyday event. Either that, or we’d have to admit that we choose to bury our heads in the sand, ignore the problem, pretend it doesn’t exist, and expect it will eventually go away. Why are we so afraid? Because we don’t have all the answers. Because there is no quick fix or single cause of violence. Trying to come up with a single solution is equitable to the idea of Homeland Security. Is a committee really going to prevent another 9-11? Of course not! It merely gives us the delusion of being safe. We have an overwhelming desire to do something, anything, to solve violence in America, so we can feel safe. Writing a letter complaining to the media may make us feel a bit better, but it’s nothing more than a grand gesture. The folks with the real power to evoke change are those holding little blue books (Nielsen ratings diaries). The media are market driven; so long as we continue to consume, in huge numbers, what they dish out, they will continue to feed us what we want—more violence, because that’s what makes money. Upon leaving the theater, a young man made an unsettling comment. He wished he’d had the courage to stand up and offer an opinion. However, he believed people would have disregarded his comments because he was just a young, stupid student. In his mind, Generation Y is considered by previous generations as apathetic, uninvolved, uninterested, and uninformed—an entire group whose ideas and opinions have no value and are not taken seriously. What is going on in our society that younger generations feel as though they no longer matter? Is it because more of them come from broken homes? Is it because more of them are being raised in poverty? Is it because more of them are being raised by strangers? Is it because parents are too busy trying to achieve the American dream—working hard to give their children the best money can buy—working hard to afford all those products necessary to feel secure and safe? We buy guns because we seek power. It is the great equalizer between the weak and the strong. It gives us the power we feel we lack in our own lives. According to the U.S. Justice Department, the overwhelming majority of murders are committed by 18-24 year olds. Could it be Generation Y is turning to weapons in order to be heard? A gun doesn’t ask for respect; it demands it. Why did two young men, only weeks away from graduation, open fire at Columbine High School? Because, for one brief moment, we took them seriously. For one brief moment, they mattered. |
