Interesting points, Jim (but I'm a die-hard radical of the 60s). My freshman seminar sections are currently watching "West Side Story," and the discussion has been enlightening. The play/film demonstrates well how frustration can escalate to violence, even if that was not what the participants intended. Jeanne Higbee James Valkenburg wrote: > Good morning all, > > I've been mulling this string over for days now, as have many > others. One important note is that our children did not invent the games > of violence being foisted upon them. Neither did they invent the social > atmosphere of fear and loathing that precipitates the rage and violence > they evidence. The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the adults who > extol the virtues of militarism but deny responsibility for the violence > that engenders, of those who preach the value of patriotism at any cost > but fail to recognize the turf of the gang as an extention of that idea, > who have generated the most armed society ever found on the face of the > planet and question how the children ever got their ideas about the useful > of weapons to solve their problems. > > Jim > > ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > Jim Valkenburg [log in to unmask] > Delta College > University Center, MI 48710-0002 > (517) 686-9034 FAX (517) 686-8736