Control: Exposing the Truth About Guns (30 page)

DENYING THE SCIENCE

“ ‘
there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life violence
’ ”
American Academy of Pediatrics: Committee on Communications, “Media Violence,”
Pediatrics
95, no. 6 (June 1, 1995), 949–51,
http://bit.ly/11h0mBK
. • “
American children ages two to eleven see the first hour of prime-time shows on weekday evenings
” JT Hamilton,
Channeling violence: The economic market for violent television programming
, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998). • “
American children under eight years old spend an average of two hours and fourteen minutes a day consuming digital media and television
,” Common Sense Media,
Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America
(San Francisco: Common Sense Media, Inc., 2011),
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/zerotoeightfinal2011.pdf
. • “ ‘
Nonviolent video game play also did not predict higher levels of aggressive behavior over time
’ ” T. Willoughby, PJ Adachi, and M. Good, “A Longitudinal Study of the Association Between Violent Video Game Play and Aggression Among Adolescents,” (study, Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 2012);
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22040315
. • “
virtually mimic what has been found in other longitudinal studies
” Douglas A. Gentile,
Media Violence and Children
(Westport, CT: Praeger, November 30, 2003), 69–70. • “
there have been thousands of studies performed and opinions issues over the last half century
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria Degaetano,
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1999), 132–36. • “ ‘
it is the single most easily remediable contributing factor
’ ” American Academy of Pediatrics: Committee on Communications, “Media Violence,”
Pediatrics
95, no. 6 (June 1, 1995), 949–51,
http://bit.ly/WW2Vv3
.

STIMULUS/RESPONSE

“
youth had witnessed an average of 200,000 acts of violence on television by age eighteen
” Aletha C. Huston, Edward Donnerstein, Halford Fairchild, and others,
Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society
(Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1992). • “ ‘
media consumption among youth in the psychiatric population is 6 hours per day
’ ” Matt DeLisi, Michael G. Vaughn, Douglas A. Gentile, and others, “Violent Video Games, Delinquency, and Youth Violence: New Evidence,”
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
10, no. 4 (October 17, 2012). • “
They quickly learn that violence is an acceptable solution
” Aletha C. Huston, Edward Donnerstein, Halford Fairchild, and others,
Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society
(Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1992). • “
determine if those who’d played the violent games would be more aggressive
” Christopher R. Englehardt, Bruce D. Bartholow, Geoffrey T. Kerr, and others, “This Is Your Brain on Violent Video Games: Neural Desensitization to Violence Predicts Increased Aggression Following Violent Video Game Exposure,”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
47, no. 5 (September 20011), 1033–36. • “ ‘
predicted an increase in aggression
’ ” Christopher R. Englehardt, Bruce D. Bartholow, Geoffrey T. Kerr, and others, “This Is Your Brain on Violent Video Games: Neural Desensitization to Violence Predicts Increased Aggression Following Violent Video Game Exposure,”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
47, no. 5 (September 20011), 1033–36. • “
we can ‘detox’ a child in a couple of days just by turning off the TV and video games
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, personal communication. • “ ‘
young adults showed less activation in certain frontal brain regions following a week of playing violent video games at home
’ ” “Violent Video Games Alter Brain Function in Young Men,”
Medical School News
at
indiana.edu
, December 1, 2011,
http://bit.ly/11h0uB6
. • “ ‘
are important for controlling emotion and aggressive behavior
’ ” Violent Video Games Alter Brain Function in Young Men,”
Medical School News
at
indiana.edu
, December 1, 2011,
http://bit.ly/11h0uB6
. • “ ‘
effects may translate into behavioral changes over longer periods of game play
’ ” Violent Video Games Alter Brain Function in Young Men,”
Medical School News
at
indiana.edu
, December 1, 2011,
http://bit.ly/11h0uB6
.

THE TRUTH ABOUT (NO) CONSEQUENCES

“ ‘
points are awarded for the murder of female prostitutes
’ ” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria Degaetano,
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1999), 70. • “
(and actually
was
banned in Australia)” Tony Smith, “Australia Bans Manhunt,”
theregister.co.uk
, September 30, 2004,
http://bit.ly/11h2rxx
. • “ ‘
sticking axes into dudes, etc. It’s all really standard fare, actually
’ ” Josh Wanamaker, “14 Most Offensive Video Games Ever,”
gameranx.com
, September 28, 2012,
http://bit.ly/11h2wkT
. • “
Grossman’s
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria Degaetano,
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1999). • “
Josh Wanamaker of Gameranx.com
” Josh Wanamaker, “14 Most Offensive Video Games Ever,”
gameranx.com,
September 28, 2012,
http://bit.ly/11h2wkT
. • “
games that allow the player to be the killers in horrific real-life events
” Josh Wanamaker, “14 Most Offensive Video Games Ever,”
gameranx.com
, September 28, 2012,
http://bit.ly/11h2For
. • “ ‘
a “reward” for youth to spend their free time, it can be problematic
’ ” Matt DeLisi, Michael G. Vaughn, Douglas A. Gentile, and others,
“Violent Video Games, Delinquency, and Youth Violence: New Evidence,”
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
10, no. 4 (October 17, 2012).

TRAINED TO KILL

“ ‘
The violence in games hadn’t prepared them for this
’ ” Jose Antonio Vargas, “Virtual Reality Prepares Soldiers for Real War,”
Washington Post
, February 14, 2006,
http://wapo.st/11h2Lwd
. • “
in World War II only 15–20 percent of individual riflemen fired their weapons in close combat
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman,
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
(New York: Back Bay Books, 2009), 36. • “
to 55 percent in Korea, to upwards of 95 percent since Vietnam
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman,
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
(New York: Back Bay Books, 2009), 36. • “
spent $1 billion on games technology that gets soldiers combat ready
” “Moving to the Dark Side of the Screen,”
Sydney Morning Herald
, May 13, 2006,
http://bit.ly/11h2PMx
. • “ ‘
combat simulators [are] . . . the fastest way to train troops and the easiest way to save money
’ ” “Moving to the Dark Side of the Screen,”
Sydney Morning Herald
, May 13, 2006,
http://bit.ly/11h2PMx
. • “ ‘
the U.S. Army has created their own violent video game as a recruitment tool
’ ” Douglas A. Gentile,
Media Violence and Children
(Westport, CT: Praegar, November 30, 2003), 136. • “ ‘
This is simply astounding [for an untrained gunman]
’ ” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, “Statement of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman Before the New York State Legislature, October 1999,”
thefreeradical.ca
, accessed March 3, 2013,
http://bit.ly/11h2XeZ
. • “ ‘
This is what should be expected from an untrained shooter
’ ” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, “Statement of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman Before the New York State Legislature, October 1999,”
thefreeradical.ca
, accessed March 3, 2013,
http://bit.ly/11h2XeZ
. • “ ‘
behaviors that could only have been learned in a video game
’ ” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, “Statement of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman Before the New York State Legislature, October 1999,”
thefreeradical.ca
, accessed March 3, 2013,
http://bit.ly/11h2XeZ
. • “ ‘
they did that naturally because the violent shooting game they played rewarded head shots
’ ” Bradley Cornelius, “Dr. Brad Bushman, Ohio State University—Video Games and Shooting Skill,”
wamc.org
, July 19, 2012,
http://bit.ly/11h7spY
. • “
who reportedly shot his own mother several times in the head
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman,
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
(New York: Back Bay Books, 2009), 128. • “
the ‘Fire Arms Training Simulator’ is . . . similar to the violent video game
Time Crisis
” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria Degaetano,
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1999), 66. • “ ‘
You have no choice but to shoot him and hope for the best
’ ” Alan Feuer, “Ready, Aim, Ready?”
New York Times
, December 8, 2012,
http://nyti.ms/11h3766
. • “ ‘
and unless you do scenario and role-play training, they’re not going to have the experience to fall back on
’ ” Alan Feuer, “Ready, Aim, Ready?”
New York Times
, December 8, 2012,
http://nyti.ms/11h3766
. • “
admitted that
Rage
was known to each of these killers . . . was a ‘possible accelerant
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Singles, 2013), Kindle edition.
• “ ‘
[the book’s main character] had to go. He was dangerous
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Singles, 2013), Kindle edition. • “ ‘
America’s so-called culture of violence plays a significant role in kid-on-kid school shootings
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Singles, 2013), Kindle edition.

SCAPEGOATING AND EXCUSES

“ ‘
America’s propaganda-savvy gun pimps
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Singles, 2013), Kindle edition. • “ ‘
In video gaming, shooters still top the lists
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Singles, 2013), Kindle edition. • “ ‘
it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history
’ ” “Call of Duty
^®
Franchise Surpasses $3 Billion in Retail Sales Worldwide,”
prnewswire.com
, November 27, 2009,
http://prn.to/11h3eP5
. • “
It took just forty-two days for the title to gross $1 billion
” Manikandan Raman, “Call of Duty: Black Ops Sales Top $1 Bln,”
International Business Times
, December 22, 2010,
http://bit.ly/11h3vkX
. • “
more than 600 million hours had been logged playing the game in its first six weeks alone
” Manikandan Raman, “Call of Duty: Black Ops Sales Top $1 Bln,”
International Business Times
, December 22, 2010,
http://bit.ly/11h3vkX
. • “
Xbox users log on more than once a day and play for more than an hour each time
” Manikandan Raman, “Call of Duty: Black Ops Sales Top $1 Bln,”
International Business Times
, December 22, 2010,
http://bit.ly/11h3vkX
. • “
took just
sixteen days
to gross $1 billion
” Christopher Freeburn, “ ‘Call of Duty’ Sales Top Hollywood’s Highest Grossers,”
investorplace.com
, December 6, 2012,
http://bit.ly/11h4yRZ
. • “ ‘
exceeded worldwide ticket sales
’ ” Christopher Freeburn, “ ‘Call of Duty’ Sales Top Hollywood’s Highest Grossers,”
investorplace.com
, December 6, 2012,
http://bit.ly/11h4yRZ
. • “ ‘
guns are for bad guys too cowardly to fight like men
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Single, 2013), Kindle edition. • “
if you look at the top twenty instead, you find
Django Unchained
and
Taken 2
” “2012 Domestic Grosses,”
boxofficemojo.com
, accessed March 3, 2013,
http://bit.ly/IEETuB
. • “
The killer even dyed his hair to match The Joker’s
” Richard Esposito, Jack Date, and Pierre Thomas, “Aurora ‘Dark Knight’ Suspect James Holmes Said He ‘Was the Joker’: Cops,”
The Blotter
blog at
abcnews.go.com
, July 20, 2012,
http://abcn.ws/11h7bmR
. • “
The Hunger Games
(the third-highest-grossing film in the U.S. in 2012)
” “2012 Domestic Grosses,”
boxofficemojo.com
, accessed March 4, 2013,
http://bit.ly/IEETuB
. • “ ‘
directed at people who have already expired
’ ” Stephen King,
Guns
(New York: Kindle Singles, 2013), Kindle edition. • “ ‘
with a rifle slung across the shoulder
’ ” Helena Bachmann, “The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture that Works,”
Time
, December 20, 2012,
http://ti.me/11h4LEN
. • “
Switzerland experiences about 0.5 gun homicides per 100,000 people annually
” Helena Bachmann, “The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture that Works,”
Time
, December 20, 2012,
http://ti.me/11h4LEN
. • “
The rate in the United States is about six times higher
” William J. Krouse,
Gun Control Legislation
, report prepared for Members and Committees of Congress, 12 Cong., 2d sess., 2012, Committee Print, 9,
http://bit.ly/wvkslu
. • “
concluded that a ‘culture of support,’ rather than focus on individualism, can deter mass killings
” Helena Bachmann, “The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture that Works,”
Time
, December 20, 2012,
http://ti.me/11h4LEN
. • “
It’s also an issue of the kinds of communities that we’re building
” Kathleen Hennessey, “In Chicago, Obama Talks of Community, Family in Curbing Violence,”
Los Angeles Times
, February 15, 2013,
http://lat.ms/11h56an
.