Society's role,

If people everywhere feel pain and frustration, why are school killings happening in the United States? David Silber, who teaches the psychology of crime and violence at George Washington University, says the trend reflects a culture which "suffers from two violence-enhancing traditions. The first is "the frontier -- even though it's been over for 100 years -- and the notion that your home is your castle and you've got to protect it." The second, he says, is a tradition that requires "an immediate response to any stain on your honor."

Silber says the media play a role in enhancing the typical feeling of immortality among kids and adolescents. "Kids grow up with a lack of understanding that life is transient. They get a steady diet of cartoons, movies and TV shows where someone who's killed in one episode shows up in another." Interested in the link between violence and violent video games?

Did The Why Files locate any bright ideas for keepin' em alive down at the school-house?