Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 08:23:39 +0000
From: Bruce Howlett <bhowlett@metz.une.edu.au>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: Violence
This may be a variation of the sex-death meme discussed recently.
However, some things seem to grow in the mind after an initial awareness
has been established. The trigger for this post was a comment made to
me by a colleague yesterday regarding a radio news item claiming that
the average child witnesses 200,000 acts of violence and 8,000 murders
on movies and TV by the time they reach school leaving age. The anomaly
in my mind is that if the psychologists are “right” and our primary
motivations are food, shelter and sex, why are we so hooked on
violence? Is it simply the dominant gene thing or is it something more
sinister? If it is a mind virus, can memetics find a cure? This is a
very seductive thought. Nearly as good as the “my life must mean
something” meme.
Regards,
Bruce :-)
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