I think that one of the most frightening things for me these days is the idolization of violence and gangs. It is on television such as MTV and in movies such as office space. So many children idolize rappers and their abusive words and disrespect of women. Then I think about how things were in the sixties and wonder if the same thing was going through a similar person’s mind except concerning drug use and protests, or in the eighties concering punk music. What do you think? Is this a real, new problem or just the next wave in an eternal cycle? 
i really like your point. personally, i think that it is a problem as old as time. but i wouldn’t be to hasty to say idolize…
violence tends to appeal to our nature, it may even seem rightous at times. media has an interesting way of distorting this. but it is nothing new, look at some of our older myths and tall tales, they might not seem as violent, but the content can be paralled…
i agree. at many times, violence seems justified. most of these times involve a great amount of rage. what im saying is that although violence seems almost always just when you are angry, the next day you look back and see that it wouldve been stupid to do whatever it was.
on the subject of myths and tall tales, some of them actually are extremely violent because they were used to scare the living daylights out of children so that they would behave.
Well if society supports the idea of violence more and more then the kids are probably end up violent eventually. But I think it would take a while. What I find interesting is the fact that we went from violent and somewhat barbaric to less violent civilized and more manored. I could assume that we have too many restrictions in society and that we are breaking free of them. But I’m basing that theory on american society which I believe to be really bad. The worst part is seeing gangs and crime creep into your neighborhood though. Which I believe to be happening in my neighborhood.
i was thinking about this and i remember a conversation that me and some friends had… we was talking about prohibition, and we all know that the mob scene really started when alcohol was ilegal. what was our answer? well, as americans, we thought that legalizing alcohol would solve all of this extreme violence. but did it? not really, the mobs needed a source of income, so they turned to other means of illegal activity…
it must be a nasty equilibrium, but it all started when we tried to make another social presure…
The same thing with ebonics. Anyone else annoyed or even offended by its place in society?