During the past few years, there have been countless cases of children acting out with violence reported by the media. One of the most widely known and talked about acts is that of the numerous school shootings. These shootings began in Pearl, Mississippi, where a boy was accused of not only shooting his mother, but then traveling to school where he went on a shooting rampage, killing two students. They have also occurred in places such as Paducha, Kentucky, Springfield, Oregon, Jonesboro, Arkansas and most recently in Littleton, Colorado. In the Colorado shooting, two boys, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, opened fire in their high school killing 12 students and one teacher during their three-hour raid. They then killed themselves before the police c

Due to the recent violence controversy, television stations have taken steps to control some of the violence and to pre-warn viewers of a shows content. They have instigated a controversial ratings system that rates shows on age appropriateness. The system also includes letters such as "V" for violence, warning viewers as to the show's content. Technology is also lending a hand in the fight. Soon a "V-chip" will be installed in every television set manufactured. This chip works in conjunction with the rating system and allows parents to block shows with objectionable material from their children. NCTA president-CEO Decker Anstrom recently stated, "Cable companies remain committed to providing families with a wide range of quality programming and the tools to help parents make the right viewing choices." Limiting violence in the media cannot solve all of the problems with children committing violent acts, but it is a start. "The television industry has blood on their hands-and they know it," says Grossman. "They will not even discuss this topic. If we reach down into that great big stew of factors that are causing murder, we know that the single biggest chunk is television." (McCain 37) In providing alternative activities to children, such as sports and latchkey programs, there is a better chance that they will not view and in turn, learn from the violent acts they see on the television and big screens. Maybe these and the limitation of violence on television by the media will prevent another Littleton, Jonesboro, or Springfield incident so that innocent children will not be killed by their schoolmates.

Many experts believe that the violence of many Hollywood movies is to blame for putting such ideas as committing mass murders in schools into children's heads. Such a movie as The Basketball Diaries, whe

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