I was in California last month. I was making my annual pilgrimage to Fry’s – the electronics store. New Mexico doesn’t have one – nope, not a one. Having an on-line life, I crave computer “stuff.” I remember long walks through the aisles of computer gadgets, photo paper selections, cables, hard drives, USB cup warmers (okay NOT essential – but at least someone grasps the situation), appliances, movies, Cd’s, posters and the Bargain Bins at the front of the store (free software after rebate).
I was walking through the television section when I saw the little girl – she was still a baby – “can’t walk age.: She was dressed in a pink sweater (gotta get that conditioning started) with her hair pulled to the top of her head in a ponytail that stuck straight up and barely fell after the band. She had the chubbiest little cheeks that were rosy. Her dad was holding her on his lap while he and a friend sat at a chair and table in front of a large digital screen monitor.
She caught my eye, not because of her looks, but the look on her face. I expected a child that young to be curious about her surroundings – even if just looking at the huge lights in the ceiling. Her eyes were focused on the screen – her hands poised over the table palms down. She was in a trance looking at the screen. Her little mouth was partially open and she looked like she was suspended in time. She was looking at the screen while her dad and a friend slaughtered each other in a gruesome duel in the computer game on the monitor. Blood was flying, grunting sounds blared over the most advanced speakers, threats were issued, battles ensued, limbs were chopped off, screams of the dying were in the background and inhuman monsters filled the screen with impending doom. I caught all that in about a minute – I hadn’t been sitting there for a long time. Her dad and his friend were laughing loudly whenever they outfoxed each other in battle (blood flying. new weapons obtained, etc.) The rating of Mature on the video box doesn’t do anything about who else sees the game while people are playing.
She wasn’t laughing. She had that slack-jawed look that kids have these days. She stared at the screen learning at a very young age that there is an acceptance of violence in our society. There are children who are children no longer with the abuse and fear that pervades their lives. What they see and what filters into their brain can set the tone for their relationships with people. How many fictional deaths can you see before you lose the idea that life is precious?
As we passed them still playing a half an hour later (OK, I bought the USB cup warmer), Mike turned to me and said, “Poor kid. ” She was still staring.
Filed under: Writing & Other Creative Endeavors | Tagged: kids, video violence, war games
