You know, the root of the entire argument could probably be summed up in a quote in pastornet's article:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Why do people kill or hurt others? David Grossman is a military psychologist and an expert in a relatively new field: killology. Grossman says that killing is unnatural. In an article entitled "Trained to Kill", Grossman says, "Killing requires training because there is a built in aversion to killing one's own kind." (Grossman). [/quote]
First of all, has anyone mentioned to this guy that Grossman INVENTED the term, "Killology"? Why wouldn't he be an expert of his own buzzword?
See, here is the root of the problem. He sees how difficult it is for people to kill each other. He therefore assumes that that's because the aversion to kill is built-in, as if we were born with it.
I disagree.
For people to have a built-in concept of killing would imply that we also have a built-in understanding of death itself. Without it, we can not grasp the consequences of killing.
When I was a small child, I used to kill insects all the time. I didn't mean to kill them on purpose. I was curious what would happen if I put insects in jars or underwater, etc. But I ended up killing them nonetheless. To the best of my recollection, my conscience was not bothered. I simply did not grasp the concept of death and killing. (Now that I'm older, I've learned to respect life, including bugs... except house roaches. They're open game.
)
As you can see, my personal experience directly conflicts with Grossman's speculation. And I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only one.
On the other hand, I do believe that the aversion to being killed is built-in. Anyone who doesn't believe me, try holding their own breath.
True while bugs are one thing, I tend to think that killing humans are no different. We just learned from very early on that harming, let along killing humans, is a grotesque and despicable act.
Imagine if such values were never introduced or enforced? The best example I can think of is Vlad the Impaler.
We're kind of a funny lot today. Many people would squirm at the thought of having to slaughter a cow with their own hands, and yet we eat red meat all the time. My point here is that we're so far removed from anything that has to do with killing that when it does strike home, people freak out.
I know I am not a Ph.D. and I don't have a spiffy website with my own buzzword. Nor do I have research and publication to back up the claims I have just made. But if you read my ideas with an open mind, I think you'll find that they are sound.
In the end, I'll be more than happy to buy my son violent video games. Keeps him out of trouble. Better for him to stay home playing games rather than to be out gang banging for real. So you see, even the end result contradicts Grossman's claims.
[This message has been edited by SB (edited February 11, 2000).]
