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Strengthening the Binding Between Virtual Violence and Real Aggressiveness

On May 12, 2008, I wrote — Violent Imagination Shaping Brain Reality — and the argument for that article was that we are formed and influenced by every experience, be it real or virtual, and that is why we must not seek out violence in our entertainment and pastime memes because the aftereffects are too dwelling in our real lives:

One can no longer argue gory movies, neighborhood killings and violent video games do not re-shape the brain in bad and terrifying ways.

One need not kill in order to perceive the effects of murder on the body by the brain — and that is a harsh and bitter reality for us to accept when so willfully immerse our children in a culture of violence and celebrated bad behavior.

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Do the Imprisoned Benefit from Celebrity Support?

Celebrities often seem to get behind people they perceive as being wrongfully imprisoned. Take, for example, the West Memphis Three. They were accused in 1993 of murder and have been in prison since then — their case is now being re-opened due to new DNA evidence but for years, celebrities such as Eddie Vedder and Johnny Depp have stood behind them and proclaimed their innocence.

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The Personal Lives of Celebrities Must Not Detract From their Artistry

Let us consider the following scenario. Next week, after hundreds of years of relative easy rest, William Shakespeare’s good name is disturbed when someone discovers that he spent much of his life sleeping with married women and occasionally burning down the homes of the men whose wives he wished to bed. Do we need to really ask what sort of impact this would have on our perception of the works of Shakespeare? Would people stop producing the plays or going to productions of the plays?

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The Black Eye iPhone

Imagine the following scenario: A pair of men walk into a police station. They have bruises all over, each has a black eye, and they are limping. They limp over to the front desk where a police officer is busy with paperwork.

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Lindsay Lohan Tells Us to F-Off!

When Lindsay Lohan appeared in open court this week with “F*ck U” written on the middle fingernail facing the judge sentencing her, we all heaved a sign of remorse that the young woman will never understand how to properly live by the common rules of society, or respect the mores and laws constructed to collectively protect us from the aberrant individual other like her.

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Cuffed for Money: Privacy and the Public Record

You can buy the new “Cuffed” magazine for a dollar to ogle the faces of the recently arrested.  There are some who believe “Cuffed” is an inappropriate invasion of privacy while others argue the mug shots are part of the public record and any right to privacy was lost upon arrest.

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Oh, the Woe of Disabled Evildoers

We are often taught to give the disabled extra accommodation to help them better fit into the mainstream workplace. We are encouraged to be extra kind to the disabled because of their unfair and frail state of living. We are often surprised when we learn the disabled can be just as devious and evil as their able-bodied peers. David Paterson is the current, non-elected Governor of the State of New York — he came into power when Eliot Spitzer was ousted over a hooker scandal — and as a Black and Blind man, we put as much hope in David Paterson as we did Barack Obama to bring some safety and sanity back to governance.

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Why Polanski Must Pay

If we believe in a criminal justice system, then Roman Polanski must pay for his crime against an underage girl.

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Tempering Teenage Angst

Teenagers easily get bored.  To fill that idle time they can study, play or work.  Sometimes that idle time turns into crime in the streets and the best way to use teen energy is to put it to work in the marketplace so they become vested and productive movers in the community.  There’s no better cure for teen angst than working for your daily bread.

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Your ID Card, Your Criminal Record

You are driving to the mall with your children and you find yourself going just a touch over the speed limit. It’s okay, you think to yourself, because you’re going with the flow of traffic. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a police squad car in your rear view mirror. No worries – they have every right to be on the road and there’s no reason to think you’re being followed. Only when you see the car start to flash its lights does the worry commence.

Continue reading → Your ID Card, Your Criminal Record