Week 5- Cory Takiguchi

Cory Takiguchi

ASA 03

Week 5

The article “Empire Death and the Plague of Civil Violence” discusses the mass murders in the United States and how they correlate to the militarism of our country. In the United States, most kids are exposed to guns and violence at a young age. I’m not talking about a physical weapon. Guns through video games. I was raised in a sheltered home and wasn’t allowed to play video games that involved shooting. However, when I went to my friend’s place, we always played violent shooting games such as Halo or Call of Duty. I was shocked about the gore and violence that went into those games. Not only were you allowed to casually shoot people, the images and sounds of the bullets penetrating through a man’s body were also shown. In fact, shooting in the game was encouraged. I understand that it is only a game, but I can’t help but imagine that the promotion of violence through pop culture has played into the minds of these serial killers. I was also surprised to learn that our country supported not only violent acts, but sexual acts, during the Vietnam War. I do not know much about the Vietnam War, but I learned a little through watching the movie Platoon. The scenes were so intense that at some parts I had to leave the room because I couldn’t believe what was happening. In no way am I defended serial killers and mass murderers, but I have to believe their acts were influenced by what they observed through American pop culture and history. While serial killers and murderers should be punished, America should take some responsibility through their promotion of violence in culture and tolerance of it throughout history.

Do you think serial killers are 100% responsible for actions? Or could their actions be a result of a poor upbringing or promotion of violence through American culture?

Hamamoto Y, Darrell. (2003). Empire of Death and the Plague of Civil Violence. Masters of War: Militarism and Blowback in the Era of American Empire by Carl Boggs. Retrieved October 21, 2017.

Madre, Joe. (2015, 3 March) [digital image]. Scientists Confirm Violent Video Games Solely to Blame for Violent Youth. Retrieved

from:http://www.thekohlrabi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/stop-the-video-game-violence.jpg