“Firearms are an indelible element of U.S. culture,” said Craig Whitney, author and reporter for the New York Times, at “Guns in America: Cultural Legacy,” the second lecture in a three-part Janus Forum miniseries.
Whitney explored the intersection of culture and gun violence in America alongside panelists Cheryl Olsen, co-director of the Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media, and Ellen Alberding ’79 P’12, president of the Joyce Foundation, which researches gun violence prevention. The panelists addressed an audience of about 40 in MacMillan 117 Thursday night.
Olsen argued against the “myth” that violent video games inspire real life acts of violence. The public tends to view the video game industry as a “scapegoat” for violent tragedies like mass shootings, she said, referencing accusations that Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Newtown shooting based his path through Sandy Hook Elementary School on a video game scenario.
But “there is no good evidence so far that media violence promotes or triggers any instances of real violence,” she said.
Politicians perpetuate the link between the video game industry and real life violence to gain popular support, Olsen said. “It’s easy for politicians to talk about protecting children from media violence,” she said.
Politicians also rely on biased language to sway the public about gun violence issues, Alberding said. Politicians favor the phrases “gun violence prevention” over “gun control,” and “stronger gun laws” over “stricter gun laws” in their public messages, according to research by the Joyce Foundation, she said. They also cling to “language that talks about the freedom to be safe in our communities,” she said.
The panelists agreed background checks and anti-trafficking laws could help reduce instances of gun violence.
The current 40 percent rate of all gun transfers occurring without a background check cannot continue, Alberding said.
“I think Congress should be ashamed of itself if it doesn’t pass a universal background check law,” Whitney said.
After an hour of speaking, the panelists took questions from the audience.
Alex Friedland ’15, fellows director of the Janus Forum, asked Olsen whether the music industry promotes violence.
“I grew up playing video games like Grand Theft Auto, and I don’t think it’s made me more violent. But there is a real culture of violence in rap music,” Friedland said. “Do you have any research that backs that up?”
Not enough research has been done on the effects of the music industry on gun violence, Olsen said.
Kim Ziegelmayer, a community member and co-founder of Mothers and Others Against Gun Violence, said she thought the event provided a valuable conversation on gun violence in the wake of the Newtown tragedy.
The panelists’ opinions clashed less than those at the first event in the miniseries, said Haakim Nainar ’14, executive director of the Janus Forum. But each panelist provided “different dimensions” to the conversation based on his or her area of academic expertise, he said.
The third and final event in the miniseries April 9 will explore the role of mental health in the gun violence debate.
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