o not air violence because they want to. They air it because that is what sells. The blame is upon ourselves for the large volume of violence, since they are merely responding to what we want. TV is a mirror. It reflects the belligerence permeating throughout our society. Our society teems with random acts of violence. Why? Is the media to blame? No, violence is a symptom of the more pungent disease of crumbling value systems. It emanates from a motion towards the emulation of the lower class. Ask anyone where they’re from, and either they will answer with tremendous pride that they hail from Compton, Brooklyn, Queens, etc., or they will sheepishly answer in a covered voice that they are from Beverly Hills, Palos Verdes, Aspen, etc. Why are the rich vilified and the poor honored? The music our generation listens to speaks of murder, abuse of drugs, apathy, and helplessness. These are essentially the values of the ghetto, where it’s kill or be killed, where it’s unlikely you will get out, where drug deals and drug abuse abound. The "victim" syndrome evolves from these values. Affirmative action, quota systems in business, and frivolous law suits abound in this environment of the "I’m a victim" mentality. The devastating riots during the spring of 1992, which ravaged the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Toronto were actually condoned and even praised by the journalistic media. They viewed the damage as a just recompense for the economic deprivation of the lower class. The perpetrators in the riots learned an important lesson. They were taught that, if one is a victim, it is not only permissible to steal and vandalize, but it is even considered laudable behavior. In a more subtle fashion, Washington has raised the upper income tax bracket so high, that many people, close to entering it, purposely decline the raise that would put them over the line. They no longer seek to rise higher, because they would be e...
