Game glorifying violence

Squeamish is not how I would describe myself; however, if there is one thing that positively sickens me, it is violence. We see violence around us all the time and it has nothing to do with modern lifestyles.

We have had eras which were much more violent than the present. Although women and children are still beaten in the home and raped and violated inside and outside it, there is no comparison to what women and children had to put up with in the past.

Women have suffered beatings in silence for centuries and it is not that long ago that children were sent down mines and up chimneys. Men also had been subjected to much more violence in the past.

We now have laws against slavery, torture and war crimes and organisations like Amnesty International keep a close watch on violations by rogue states.

There is wider awareness on domestic violence and the rights of the child are more widely recognised. However, there is still much to be done.

White slavery is still a problem and abuse still takes place in the home, in our streets and in institutions. History and the Bible tell us that violence is a human trait and despite what some people try to tell us today, modern lifestyles are not what instigate violence.

However, I do believe that modern technology can be used positively or negatively in the violence arena.

You have probably realised that it is a current PlayStation game that has set me off. According to The Times editorial on Friday, the game is "loaded with mayhem, bloodshed and opportunities for violence, the central character is rewarded during the game for mowing down pedestrians and violently assaulting women".

The 'action man' gangster clears all obstacles (even humans) from his path with a variety of weapons, says the editorial.

As many of you know, I have often attracted the ire of weaponry aficionados because of my writing on the subject.

The latter always seem to fail to understand that it only takes one unbalanced armed individual to perpetrate untold violence with multiple deaths and serious injuries to innocent people. Despite numerous tragedies all over the world backing this argument, the gun lobby still promote gun ownership.

It is not so much that I would like to see guns banned, there are illegal weapons around anyway, but rather, what I would like to see is enlightenment, i.e. that the only place for guns is in museums.

Just as dangerous as access to guns is the promotion of killing (eliminating) anything that stands in your way. Aggression is not one of our finer behavioural attitudes. We all want to get our way but eliminating the opposition is not really on.

Yet it seems that that is what this game is glorifying. Rather than promoting dialogue, reasoning and conflict resolution, the ethos conveyed to the people playing the game is a lot simpler. "If anyone stands in your way - press the button and eliminate".

Teach early, teach often

Browsing throught the Internet to research violence the above subhead caught my eye. It is one of the articles in the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) Website.

We should of course be teaching boys how not to be violent not the opposite. These are some of FVPF's comments:

"Boys are swamped with influences outside of the home - from friends, the neighbourhood, television, the Internet, music, the movies and everything they see around them.

"They hear all kinds of messages about what it means to 'be a man' - that they have to be tough and in control. There are numerous conflicting and some harmful messages being given to boys about what constitutes 'being a man' in a relationship.

"So teach boys early, and teach them often, that there is no place for violence in a relationship. Whether you are a father, coach, teacher, uncle, older brother or mentor, you can make a real difference in a boy's life. Teach boys that violence against women and girls is wrong."

Unfortunately, there are still many in our society who believe that girls and women should ibaxxu rashom to men. i.e. pander to men's insecurities by making them feel in control even when they are anything but.

Boys have to be taught that hitting is not on and not the right way to express anger and frustration. Teachers could pick a video which depicts violence on women and discuss it with a class.

Or, they could even discuss the game which is causing the controversy.

Teachers and other adults who are in contact with boys should listen to how they and their friends talk about girls.

Boys should be taught how to express anger without using violence. "When he gets mad, tell him he can walk it out, talk it out, or take time out."

Rage is something we all feel at some time or another, but it is how we handle our fury that needs to be controlled. But it is not just rage that promotes violence, rivalry at football matches can easily turn excitment into violence.

Does society teach us how to be 'good' losers. Or are our children getting the message that might is right and that the world is made up of just losers or winners.

If that is the case, let's face it - no one wants to be a loser. Children have to understand that in life one can lose sometimes and be graceful about it. Which does not mean one gives up and lets oneself be run over, or that one does not strive to win.

But lashing out in frustration damages the perpetrator as much as the victim. The victim might end up with a broken arm, but the perpetrator's spirit suffers too, despite the bravado.

Football louts have got the message that societies do not accept their violence. Some are banned from attending matches abroad and their movements are confined under close police scrutiny.

There is a connection between violence in the home and violence on the streets. Of course leading by example is important, adults should show the young that violence has no place in a relationship and that they respect women and girls and are not constantly putting them down and trying to control them.

Violent abuse includes hitting, causing physical injury; verbal and emotional abuse and sexual assault.

Nearly one out of every three American women (31 per cent) say they have been physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives, FVPF says.

Founded in 1980, the FVPF works to improve the health, judicial, law enforcement, child welfare system, and public policy responses to domestic violence.

In 1994, in conjunction with the Advertising Council, the FVPF launched the "There's no excuse for domestic violence" campaign, the first ever national public education campaign designed to promote prevention.

The campaign included television, radio and print public service announcements that were run nationwide.

Health care practitioners are in a unique position to help victims of domestic violence who seek routine or emergency care. But, far too often, practitioners do not know how to help patients experiencing abuse," said FVPF managing director Debbie Lee.

Here in Malta we could well follow the American example and have a "Health Cares about Domestic Violence Day", which was held in Washington, DC.

It is designed to improve the health care system's response to domestic violence and provide health care practitioners with the information and support they need to better serve victims of domestic violence.

Battered women's advocates joined with leading medical experts, health care providers, government officials and others to raise awareness about domestic violence as a health care issue and encourage health care practitioners to routinely screen their patients for abuse.

Confession

In my remarks about my concern that priests are bound by the secrecy of the confessional in the case of child abuse, I should have perhaps specified recurring child abuse and included crimes like serial murders, and that the problem does not just concern priests confessing to priests.

Unfortunately, it is documented that child abuse is not usually a one-off incident. I am not a theologian and I would not dream of telling the Church how to conduct its affairs.

But, since God gave me a brain and emotions, I use them. And they tell me that it cannot be right that someone who is known to be abusing children is allowed to get away with it.

Although I was not inferring anything appalling (see Letters: Seal of confession), I was certainly trying to raise debate on a very important and serious issue - one which has troubled many priests for a long time.