Reply #310: Actually, the data on crime rates backs me up...

[Solon]

By the way, it wasn't a rationalization, but an explanation. People like to externalize on what they view as current problems onto anything that doesn't focus on themselves. I'm not saying progress hasn't been made, only a fool would say that, but it is an uphill battle, especially against violence. The problem is this, despite all the progress made, the 20th century, the one we just passed, was the bloodiest in human history. It wasn't the bloodiest because people are generally more violent, instead our technological innovations allowed us to kill more efficiently than ever before. And the 21st century is turning out to be possibly as bloody or even worse than the 20th.

The thing that pisses me off the most is this, attacking imaginary problems, something we humans are good at, solves nothing and wastes time. This whole canard about video games, and problems that they may pose on others, is an imaginary problem if I ever heard of one. We have to face it that within each and every single one of us, we are capable of being both a saint or a devil, its that simple really. If you want to combat violence, then you have to go to the source of the problem, and attacking mediums that, for all we know, actually alleviate said problems is not the answer. The source of violence, and our glorification of it, comes to two things, perpetual poverty, and power distribution, or lack thereof.

People are considerable less violent in societies that allow for peaceful means of showing dissatisfaction. This includes guaranteeing rights to speech, representative government, freedom of belief, and a strong social safety net.