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Originally Posted by ARTelevision
It does seem to me that it is indeed time to try cases like this in courts of law. As you may know, my opinion is that we are the sum total of the media we are exposed to. I'm aware that there is a strong tide of opinion in opposition to the implications of this. I find that fascinating - in a psychological sense. I am always interested in the thoughts of those who deny strong causal connections between media and behavior.
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While I agree that media exposure does have some (maybe a lot) effect on people's actions, I do not believe we can allow people to use this as a defense. As stated in other posts eventually no one will be responsible for anything.
As far as censorship goes this is always a judgement call. Our country's track record on censoring things is IMHO not very good. It is probably better for society to send a clear message that no matter what media you are exposed to, it does not relieve you of personal responsibility. Even Bundy tried to blame his murdering ways on his early exposure to pornography, I think he even mentioned Playboy magazine.
I know there are some media that should be censored and some lines need to be drawn. The problem is that polititians will draw those lines far differently than most of us. If there is any question it is almost always better to err on the side of not censoring.