[Ehrys]

Hmmm... this is an interesting topic... and one that has been vacillated over for hundreds of years in one form or another. A couple of thoughts:

Human beings by their very nature has always been driven by conflict (i.e., they need conflict inorder to thrive as a society). You can see this throughout history in relation to progress. Social pressures and violence drive humans to "struggle beyond their limits" inorder to survive. Therefore, it has been argued that violence is engrained within our very beings.

Ancient Romans and other civilizations used violence to soothe/ distract the masses (gladitorial combat) while "absorbing" other cultures/ civilizations by conquering them. Get the people to support you, give them what they want: violence... for some reason they love it. It holds shock value.

Today's world: sports. The more violent it is, the more attraction it has. Boxing. Wrestling. Hockey. Football (American). Rugby. Kickboxing. They are all very aggressive contact sports. Examine people's reactions when they're spectating. Interesting, no?

Violent TV or cartoons. Certainly desensitization mediums for the teeming masses. Although *we* know it's not "real," the effects on us are the same. However, what is different is each person's mental affinity.

Violent games: how much of an effect do you feel this has on us as a society, when you think about the aforementioned from an integrated perspective? Violent games are used by the military to desensitize soldiers and teach them strategy. Violent games are used to excercise aggression and stress from people. People *want* more thrill/ shock value... thereby seeking out levels of increased violence to overcome their desensitization (to continue to *feel* alive).

Extension: guns and cars. A gun is categorized as a weapon. A car is not. They serve two different purposes when created. However, driven or used by a human, whose very nature is engrained in violence and whose actions are dictated by their mental and psychological state... gives the gun and car the increased potential as mediums towards violence.

So... in the end, I think the question we must all answer is: when is enough, truly enough, or are we destined to expose ourselves to increasing violence towards saturation or extinction?

Yawn... time to go to bed.