GTA 6 is shaping up to be the ultimate clusterfuck of hype and hypocrisy. Woke whiners are losing their minds over a Latina protagonist and toned-down transphobic jokes, screaming about DEI training ruining the series’ sacred satire. And YouTube’s new puritan rules are ready to demonetize every violent clip. It’s all set in a Florida parody that’s bound to piss off everyone except those parents raising their precious 8 year-old children, who they’ve pawned off on video games so they can suck their weed vapes with their loser friends, proving Rockstar is an expert profiting off chaos.
What those stupid fucking 8 year-olds don’t understand is respawning doesn’t happen in real life.
Which led me to thinking about the insane state of violence in America. The wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of humanity. The land of the free, home of the brave, and apparently an eternal goddamn battlefield where we’re all just one bad day away from starring in our own real-life action flick in some random restaurant, workplace, school, or post office. Just turn on the news and you’ll agree we happily live in a fucked up culture of violence.
Many folks skip the news for that reason. Ironically those same current-event ignorant idiots are the first to binge watch The Walking Dead, Narcos, and Spartacus on Netflix, widely regarded as the most violent shows ever shown to humanity.
But shouldn’t our government protect us? I mean, isn’t that their job? Half of those spineless pussies are unwilling and the other half unable to address the causes or tools of violence. The real national shame isn’t the bloodshed—it’s the pathetic political theater we trot out after the bodies hit the floor.
The American screen isn’t just birthing evil; it’s just a shiny, overpriced mirror reflecting our collective fuck-up as a nation.
Dancing With Politicians: Seriously, We’re Still Doing This?
Every time the inevitable happens—some horrific, lethal violence—you can set your watch by the political puppet show. Before the first piece of meaningful data is gathered, the hunt for the scapegoat begins. And guess what? It always, always lands on video games. Not films, not television shows, but video games.
This tired, predictable pivot is a perfectly choreographed act of political stagecraft. It’s the easiest, laziest way for politicians to check the “I care!” box while successfully rerouting the conversation away from things that are politically inconvenient: like the utterly unchecked gun proliferation or the soul-crushing reality of structural and income inequality.
We’re not debating whether aggressive imagery exists. Duh, it does. And although we still won’t do the hard research to determine its long-term effect, we’re debating whether the obsession with regulating a Mature 17+ rating is a deliberate, expensive distraction from the fact that this nation is drowning in guns and festering in economic disparity. If Washington spends its legislative capital debating the precise lighting on a cartoon explosion, it guarantees no one will notice that completely legal guns are the things actually killing people and they’re fucking everywhere.
When Road Runner Drops An Anvil On Your Head
The ubiquity of media violence isn’t a cultural accident; it’s a profitable, industrial output. The real kicker? The problem isn’t where you think it is. The prevailing narrative blames adult-rated media, but the violence problem peaks in content specifically aimed at CHILDREN. We were shocked to learn 76% of children’s programs contain violence, and a staggering 43% of the violence in children’s programming is framed as slapstick humor.
Let’s be real: the most pervasive violence in children’s media is the stuff that gets the biggest laughs. Grievous physical harm is instantly reversed or magically consequence-free. I mean, just think about the classics that formed your own sense of humor. For a lot of us Gen-Xers, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote survived deadly explosions, being flattened by anvils that seemingly materialized from thin air, and falling thousands of feet off cliffs—only to be back up and plotting revenge in the next scene. Then there’s Tom and Jerry’s eternal hate-fuck: constant, ramping-up assaults where Tom gets zapped, axed into bits, or shot, just to end up sooty and scheming. It drills into kids’ heads that beating the shit out of your buddy is normal, fun, and totally reversible. Even for slightly older brats, The Simpsons served up Homer strangling Bart as the ultimate family gag—quick, no consequences, just laughs.
Kids’ media actively teaches them that punching someone is a joke, a fun social action, and a great way to solve problems—thereby achieving the exact outcome critics fear most: the trivialization of harm.
Then there’s the action-adventure block, where the violence is high-stakes and omnipresent, but carefully filtered to meet the sacred ‘no blood’ rule. When you watched your favorite action cartoons, like the original G.I. Joe or Transformers, the battles were massive, but the body count was conveniently zero (or close to it) for a reason. The heroes couldn’t just murder people, so the enemies were often robots, alien drones, or non-sentient vehicles—allowing them to be blown up en masse without triggering network censors or moral outrage. That’s right, you could vaporize a Decepticon, but only after ensuring the human pilot of the fighter jet had ejected safely (a recurring visual in shows where the goal was to sell toys, not dwell on death).
Realistic weapons were swapped out for futuristic laser beams or non-lethal energy blasts. When a tank exploded, it was a flash of light, followed by the perfect silhouette of the crew running away. The omission of pain, injury, and medical attention is the entire point. This strategy creates a visual language where danger is constant, but risk is nonexistent. The message is clear: violence is thrilling, exciting, and utterly inconsequential.
Now, thankfully, most of us have a semblance of common sense. This shit ain’t real. We were simply burning away hours of our lives when there was nothing funner going on. But there are those folks who sadly don’t and won’t get it. This kind of shit teaches some kids that violence between peers may be a normal, acceptable means of problem resolution. The extreme act happened, but the reality of the injury was always scrubbed clean. This high-volume, trivialized violence is what cultivates desensitization. It teaches moldable, young minds that aggression can be fun, easy, and completely consequence free.
The irony that makes me want to punch a wall? Politicians rage over M-rated games when this sanitized poison was breakfast-table fodder for kids. The sheer volume of violent acts in children’s programming—the FCC and APA peg it at 20-26 acts per hour for kids’ shows—combined with the humor and no punishment, is a goddamn Ted Talk in normalizing aggression.
For the film industry, violence is an economic model. Action films are cheap to localize for global markets, relying on universal explosions over culturally specific dialogue. They achieve this broad appeal by employing sanitization and trivialization: more than six out of every seven violent acts intentionally omit any consequences, such as blood or a hospital visit. This removes the link between cause and effect so the violence is thrilling without causing the viewer any emotional discomfort, cultivating desensitization.
If games were the main cause of shootings, every GTA-playing country would be a warzone. Spoiler: they’re not. Sure, rare stabbings hit England trains, French markets, Belgian daycares—they aren’t immune, but it’s nowhere near the American carnage.
The bright side is FBI data shows a 49% drop in the violent crime rate between 1993-2022. The only standout? Our astronomical number of guns. The good ol’ US of A has 120.5 guns per 100 people, the highest globally and double the next. Why in the fuck some American citizens feel the need to own more than one gun is beyond comprehension. The next war will probably be fought with biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons delivered via jet or drone, and your Confederate flag-flying ass will be too dead to load your assault rifle when gas-masked Commies come to raid your shit.
So maybe it’s not just the pixels; it’s the legislative circle-jerk failing to control war tools.
Aggression Algebra: How Many Violent Episodes Is Too Many?
The political establishment consciously conflates separate findings. The American Psychological Association (APA) found a “small” association between violent video game use and low-level aggressive outcomes, like yelling and pushing. Most of these studies have small sample sizes and are primarily correlational and longitudinal, making it hard to establish causality, and do not weigh exposure to violence by other factors including parental political preferences and geographic location, overall family education or environment, genetics, or socioeconomic status. Some studies measure self-reported measures of violence exposure and behavior, which can introduce bias via recall inaccuracies or perceived social desirability.
Many critics cite these findings as bullshit. In 2013, over 230 researchers from major universities (including Harvard, Yale, and Columbia) signed an open letter criticizing the APA’s task force and its methodology as “misleading and alarmist,” claiming the conclusions were based on “inconsistent or weak evidence.” Critics argue the APA’s task force members were not objective, pointing out that some members had previously made public statements or endorsed briefs arguing for a strong link between video games and violence. The accusation is that the task force was “stacked” with people who already held the fixed position.
Critics consistently point out that if the link only leads to “yelling and pushing,” this finding is scientifically unhelpful and is deliberately over-amplified by the media and politicians to distract from the real issue: the proliferation of guns.
On the other side, some politicians inflate this finding into a claim that video games may lead to lethal mass violence. Although evidence does not support this leap, causality is hard to prove, and research may be influenced by biases or advocacy. These shortcomings don’t invalidate the findings but highlight the need for more robust, longitudinal research with diverse samples.
It is worth noting that The American Psychological Association (APA) is a massive professional organization that engages in significant political advocacy and lobbying at both the federal and state levels, so their human leadership could be subject to some sort of bias. This is an argument as to why AI should run organizations. But I digress.
So, basically, no one really knows shit. The scientific community is clearly split. The APA uses its established authority to declare the link reliable, while a massive contingent of other academics essentially calls their report junk science that was designed to produce an alarmist result.
The most important danger is the one that hasn’t really been studied at length - long-term desensitization to violence. When you look at some of the militant regimes throughout history, brainwashing citizens and soldiers through repeated exposure numbs the emotional response to violence, making it easier to perform and tolerate. Perfect example of normalcy bias, the same hive thinking that causes typical Christians to gather at Christmas mass and think when they die they’ll inherit a mansion in the sky, and Islamic soldiers to anticipate the arrival of their personal 72 houris upon the sacrifice of their lives.
For desensitized aggression to escalate into a mass casualty event, it requires two elements: extreme structural stress, and immediate, easy access to tools of lethal force.
Systemic Sickness: Evidence of Institutional Paralysis
Media violence is a product perfectly tailored for, and amplified by, a specific constellation of cultural and economic pathologies.
Another critical accelerator is the reinforcement of rigid, toxic ideals of masculinity—the dangerous script that tells young men, “Do not express any emotion but aggression.” This cultural expectation creates emotional repression, leading to men feeling unable to discuss their problems and thus more likely to “explode.” Media is just the polished instructional manual for a cultural script already defined by dominance and competition.
The core pathology is a self-sustaining feedback loop. Economic inequality creates stress, toxic masculinity provides the aggressive script, and the media industry mass-produces the visual language for that aggression leading to desensitization of the real-world outcomes.
If you need current proof that the American love affair with guns creates a predictable cycle of carnage, look no further than recent events.
The shocking story of the six-year-old first-grader who shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, in Newport News, Virginia, is now exposing institutional rot. The question isn’t “How could a six-year-old get a gun?” (He found an unsecured gun at home). The real question is: When every single red flag is raised, why does institutional paralysis still win? The principal’s attorney is arguing it wasn’t “foreseeable.” The resulting $40 million lawsuit isn’t against the child, but the former assistant principal, who is accused of ignoring multiple warnings that morning that the student had a gun. Four different people allegedly warned the administration, who had the authority to act, but didn’t.
Apparently, a six-year-old with a gun in class is just a tragic accident, not gross negligence in a country drowning in firearms.
Nine people were injured by gunfire at a birthday party in an Airbnb in northeastern Ohio. This was one of at least 365 mass shootings (defined as four or more victims) in the US so far this year. A simple teenager’s birthday party can, and often does, devolve into a multi-victim shooting.
While this carnage dominates headlines, the current administration has recently cut over $800 million in grants for community-based organizations that work to prevent violence, including removing the former Surgeon General’s advisory on gun violence as a public health issue.
We’re ignoring warnings that lead to a child shooting a teacher, we’re racking up hundreds of mass shootings, and we’re simultaneously cutting funding for the community groups that actually try to intervene. All the ingredients needed for a perfect storm of violence.
A Call for Legislative Integrity: NUKE The Swamp
If the American Government were serious about mitigating violence, in addition to attempting to restrict violent games and programming from those most apt to be influenced, it would dedicate more resources to the structural and behavioral pathologies. The current legislative reality confirms that the political establishment is currently prioritizing the commerce of lethal weaponry over the integrity of public safety.
The solution is clear, but sadly politically inconvenient.
* Mandatory Cognitive Defense: Federally fund and implement mandatory K-12 media literacy programs to teach students to deconstruct the narrative intent and recognize their own desensitization. Teach kids to spot BS before it turns them into desensitized consumers of conflict.
* Public Health Intervention: Formally designate income inequality as a primary public health crisis driving violence. Funnel money into integrative conflict resolution and mental health programs to explicitly combat the emotional repression linked to toxic masculinity. Give boys the vocabulary to feel things other than rage.
* Legislative Integrity: Repeal laws protecting the gun industry and reverse limitations on background checks. Lethal means control is the only proven method to distinguish U.S. violence rates from the rest of the developed world.
If you expected Washington to have seized on national shame to deliver comprehensive gun reform, you’re looking at the wrong country. Legislative action in the U.S. Congress remains highly polarized, with a significant focus on rolling back previous gun safety measures rather than advancing new ones.
Bills aimed at strengthening gun safety are typically introduced by Democratic members, often in the House of Representatives, and are generally stalled in committee without receiving a vote from the full chamber.
The “Office of Gun Violence Prevention Act of 2025” (H.R. 1307) was introduced in the House and referred to the House Judiciary Committee in February 2025. The goal is to establish a dedicated federal office to coordinate gun violence prevention efforts. It’s a noble attempt to put a dedicated adult in charge of the chaos, but it has the same chance of passing as a bill to ban all political self-interest. It’s likely dead in the committee room.
Advocacy groups continue to push for measures like Universal Background Checks (closing loopholes), a Ban on Assault Weapons and Large-Capacity Magazines, and Repealing the Gun Industry’s Immunity from liability. These bills are the legislative equivalent of a polite, strongly worded letter—necessary to introduce for the record, but functionally useless given the current partisan math in Congress.
The most active legislative efforts are centered on dismantling or limiting the few existing federal restrictions. This confirms the critique that the political establishment is prioritizing the commerce of lethal weaponry over public safety.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, extended a provision that prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from reporting a person to the NICS background check database based on mental incompetency unless there is a judicial finding that the person is a danger. They’ve actively ensured that the federal government’s ability to keep guns out of the hands of unstable veterans is handcuffed, prioritizing the right to own a weapon over the basic safety of the public (and the veterans themselves).
The current administration and allied legislators have been attempting to roll back the progress of the 2022 BSCA, which was the most significant federal gun safety legislation in decades. This includes efforts to defund and undermine the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and repeal BSCA provisions that block gun sales to prohibited purchasers under age 21 and disarm more domestic abusers. The moment Congress passed a compromise bill, the fight immediately shifted to making sure it couldn’t actually work. Why pass a law if you can’t immediately try to burn it down?
The Department of Justice has cut over $800 million in grants for community-based violence prevention organizations, shifting funding priorities from “comprehensive, community-based prevention” to supporting “law enforcement efforts to reduce violent crime.” Instead of investing in the structural and cultural roots of violence, the government is defunding the people who treat the disease and instead writing a blank check to police departments to manage the symptoms.
Since Congress can’t, or won’t, act, the fight over gun policy is being waged through court rulings and state legislation, creating a messy, unpredictable patchwork of laws.
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) upheld the ATF’s rule requiring serial numbers and background checks for certain “ghost gun” parts (unfinished receivers). SCOTUS later overturned the ATF’s 2019 ban on bump stocks (devices that effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into machine guns). This re-legalized them in many states.
States like Oregon and Washington are actively passing laws to ban rapid-fire devices, implement stricter permitting, and address ghost guns, creating a significant legal disparity between different parts of the country.
Federal gun safety legislation that would meaningfully reduce the U.S. rate of lethal violence is stagnant or moving backward in Congress in late 2025. The focus remains on political theater—defending gun access and cutting prevention funding—rather than addressing the fundamental determinants of violence.
Until that pivot occurs, cease viewing the screen as a source of evil and start viewing it as a highly polished, very expensive mirror reflecting a national shame.
The Double-Edged Sword to Success
Look, there are thousands of fundamental problems in a free, capitalist society driven by greed and the pursuit of power and notoriety. Some religions call these sins, yet continue to stand behind the shield of a crucifix. Regardless, there are two things that need to be fixed to elevate America to its former greatness, and create any hope of a great tomorrow.
First, can the media finally quit jerking off to bloodbaths and start stroking some actual brain cells? Ditch the lazy-ass explosions and shove in some science, math, history, space, nature, geology, religion, exploration—the world’s already a goddamn miracle factory without needing to splatter guts for ratings. Yeah, it’s not as brain-dead easy as blasting a hole through someone’s skull, but maybe—just maybe—stopping the desensitization conveyor belt might raise kids who solve problems instead of becoming them.
And secondly, let’s finally put the Second Amendment out of its 200-year misery, because nothing says “urgent civic duty” like cosplaying the Minutemen while dodging drone strikes. Last I checked, the Redcoats will probably never goose-step down Main Street again, and the only thing you’re going to overthrow is your blood pressure. Who the hell do you think you’re gonna pop without the FBI turning your crib into a Dateline special? Keep your little pew-pew toys for sport if you must, but get licensed, get checked, and lock that shit up tighter than a toddler-proofed liquor cabinet, unless you want your eight-year-old starting a school supply drive with live ammo.
Until then, come visit me in Italy.
