Re: virus: Meme Update #29: Copycat Shootings

Sodom (sodom@ma.ultranet.com)
Sun, 20 Jun 1999 15:45:53 -0400

You are in a unique and valuable position for insight into children. I imagine that they look at you with some sort of awe/intrigue/fear (as I did as a child - I was unfortunate enough to have the guillotine trick done on me when I was about 8 - I nearly soiled myself). You must have some small percentage of children who wish to learn or become a magician after they see your performance. Most of the children I am in contact with are what I would call "normal" for my childhood - they watch some tube, but also play baseball, chase each other round the neighborhood, cause mild mischief etc... have you noticed a particular demographic of children that have the TV bug? Is the the suburbanites/urbanites - which demographic of children seem to have the largest problem with TV dependency?

Just curious about your experience, thanks.

Bill Roh

Jim wrote:

> It is not only the violence that is the problem. It is also the extensive
> programming the media does. It could possibly be that I am acutely aware of
> it because of my business. And I agree with you on the dependence. And that
> is the true problem.
>
> Jim
>
> Master Magician & Paranormalist
> Jim Callahan magicjim@islc.net
> Creator of Applied Thought Technologies
>
http://wwwwwwwww.magicjim.net
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sodom <sodom@ma.ultranet.com>
> To: virus@lucifer.com <virus@lucifer.com>
> Date: Sunday, June 20, 1999 3:11 PM
> Subject: Re: virus: Meme Update #29: Copycat Shootings
>
> >I don't question that they follow behavior on TV or that they watch too
> much and
> >do too little - about that you get no argument from me. I simply don't
> think
> >that we are "saturated" with the negative images. I don't think most the
> images
> >are negative - nor disturbing, or bad. Just to be sure I felt good about
> that
> >statement, I went directly my satellite tv and ran through the channels -
> and
> >sure enough, almost no violent shows at all, those that were were mostly
> movies.
> >Lots of baseball and meaningless drivel, but little violence. This was at
> 4:00,
> >I looked again at 8:00 and it was mostly the same, a few more
drama shows,
> but
> >that's about it. I simply don't think the problem is in the content - but
> the
> >dependence.
> >
> >Bill Roh
> >
> >Jim wrote:
> >
> >> It is not the desires that are undesirable it is models that are harmful
> >> that it supplies. For example the troubled youth that acts out in this
> way
> >> would not have ever reacted this way if the model for this
behavior had
> not
> >> been presented. The unfortunate part of the situation is that further
> copy
> >> cat behavior could have been squelched.
> >>
> >> Also television is reality for a great part of our country. They sit in
> >> front of it slack jawed eating crud and sucking down soda their children
> are
> >> right with them and their brains become receivers acutely tuned to the
> >> compliance techniques used by the TV marketers. I just returned home from
> >> Orlando. I was working but took a few days and went to Universal and
> Epcot.
> >> It is absolutely obscene the physical shape our children are in. They
> have
> >> the bodies of people in their late twenties to early mid thirties. And
> they
> >> can tell you what is on every day on every major broadcasting station.
If
> >> you are looking for a undesirable desires possibly the desire to
> incessantly
> >> watch is it.
> >>
> >> Best wishes
> >> Jim
> >>
> >> Master Magician & Paranormalist
> >> Jim Callahan magicjim@islc.net
> >> Creator of Applied Thought Technologies
> >>
http://www.magicjim.net
> >>
> >> >From Bill,
> >>
> >> >Once again, I don't see evidence "TV saturates us with desires that are
> >> >undesirable". A great majority of TV does not do that, but what does,
> like
> >> the
> >> >shootings, gets extra press. The exposure to violence and "bad"
things
> is a
> >> >permanent fixture of culture. As someone who has witnessed death first
> >> hand, I
> >> >can say that television does NOT do the subject justice.
> >
> >