Violent media = good for children? One writer thinks so

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While the moral scaremongers would have you believe that isolating children from any and all violent media is the only way to adjust them to our perfect and violence-free society, one writer has boldly suggested the opposite. Peg Tyre, author of The Trouble With Boys, has shared her theory that young males should be allowed a little indulgence in what comes naturally to them so that they can develop properly.

“It doesn’t matter whether Mormons in Utah or lesbians in Cambridge are raising boys. Many of them play and think around violence,” states Tyre. “We might see them as doing something potentially dangerous. But actually what they’re doing is playing around with ideas of courage and valor, good versus evil, and teamwork. These are ideas we want to inculcate in our culture.”

When it comes to videogames, Tyre freely admits that she too was something of a “game hater” and found the violence prevalent in them disturbing. However, after talking to her children and playing Halo with them, she admits that she was buying into the hysteria, and now feels that the condensed violence of gaming is benign. She even criticized noted game critic Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, stating that his assertion that videogames breed violent killers is simply wrong. 

Humans are a naturally violent species — our history of bloodshed proves that. Tyre echoes a sentiment that I’ve had myself for many years, that violent media is probably the healthiest way that humans can indulge their naturally violent sides. As Tyre says, “It’s perfectly normal for little boys to think and talk around violence; it doesn’t mean they’re going to be violent.”

Repression is one of the most dangerous elements in society, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m pleased that at least one person agrees. Of course, don’t expect the gaggle of hysterical game haters out there to even acknowledge this woman’s existence. After all, it’s not like them to face up to something that doesn’t agree with them.


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