Friday, March 21, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Discussion question post #3
Discuss how easily it was for Gary to find both the plans and parts to build a homemade bomb.
Gary was always very good at building complicated things. "He'd made LEGO robots and programmed them with his computer so that when they ran into something they would go around it." (103) he was the brains behind the operation so it was most likely all his idea to get the bombs. The scary part of it was that he was able to get all the parts that he needed at the hardware store and the exact plans at the local library through the internet. With his brain he was able to build a very intricate and advanced bomb (advanced for the supplies at his disposal).
Gary was always very good at building complicated things. "He'd made LEGO robots and programmed them with his computer so that when they ran into something they would go around it." (103) he was the brains behind the operation so it was most likely all his idea to get the bombs. The scary part of it was that he was able to get all the parts that he needed at the hardware store and the exact plans at the local library through the internet. With his brain he was able to build a very intricate and advanced bomb (advanced for the supplies at his disposal).
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Discussion Question blog post #2
Discuss whether video games are the main cause for gun violence?
Alot of people may think that video games are a direct cause for gun violence, but their is still no evidence to prove this. Yes many high school shooters have played an extensive amount of video games, and they may have been inspired by the games, but those people were already crazy and detached from logic and reason to begin with. Brendan from the book "Give a boy a gun" by Todd Strasser, is an excellent example of such a person. Brendan is a cast out in his school who is constantly harassed by the jocks for being different, he has been disturbingly obsessed with killing the jocks since he moved to the town in 7th grade, it wasn't until 10th grade that he discovered the video game doom, which he played obsessively. "Brendan was seriously into [first-person shooter video games]. If you want to know the truth, so were alot of other kids who didn't do what he did." (79). Brendan went on to shoot up the school dance with his friend Gary, but this was not caused by the games, it was, just like at columbine, caused by him being harassed by the jocks at his own school everyday for years. To answer the question, no, video games do not directly cause gun violence by themselves, they require a demented mind and years of mistreatment by others.
Alot of people may think that video games are a direct cause for gun violence, but their is still no evidence to prove this. Yes many high school shooters have played an extensive amount of video games, and they may have been inspired by the games, but those people were already crazy and detached from logic and reason to begin with. Brendan from the book "Give a boy a gun" by Todd Strasser, is an excellent example of such a person. Brendan is a cast out in his school who is constantly harassed by the jocks for being different, he has been disturbingly obsessed with killing the jocks since he moved to the town in 7th grade, it wasn't until 10th grade that he discovered the video game doom, which he played obsessively. "Brendan was seriously into [first-person shooter video games]. If you want to know the truth, so were alot of other kids who didn't do what he did." (79). Brendan went on to shoot up the school dance with his friend Gary, but this was not caused by the games, it was, just like at columbine, caused by him being harassed by the jocks at his own school everyday for years. To answer the question, no, video games do not directly cause gun violence by themselves, they require a demented mind and years of mistreatment by others.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Discussion question blog post 3/3/14
Discuss what caused Brendan to shoot up the school dance.
Brendan lost his sense of humanity after years of torment by bullies. He was constantly picked on by the jocks of the school for the sole reason that he didn't play any sports or participate in any school activities other than go to school. He changed middle schools in the middle of 6th grade after a move so as the new kid he was an easy target. He had little to no friends for the better part of middle school, and it only got worse in high school. The bullies got more physical and would shove him around the halls, and on one occasion actually beat him up over no reason. By the time he met Gary, another kid constantly harassed by jocks, he had a blood lust for their mutual tormentors, that was given new flame by Gary's smarts. Brendan couldn't go to the teachers because for the most part they didn't care about them. The school was so obsessed with their sports that the very thought of giving a football player a detention or anything that would keep him from playing was scorned apon. Brendan must have felt that he had no defense against the jocks other than violence. Which is why he felt it necessary to go to the school dance with Gary and the plan to kill everyone their and than themselves as a message to all the people that ignored their torment.
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