Posted by
Ikester on Saturday, December 05, 2009 4:49:44 PM
Parents in the community of Calabasas, north of Los Angeles, were shocked recently to discover that two 12-year-olds and a 13-year-old had been arrested for battery and cyberbullying following a bizarre incidence in which red-haired middle schoolers were beaten, punched and kicked. A 2005 South Park television show featuring “Kick a Ginger Day,” a satirical look at the problem of violence against others because of traits like red hair, spurred the incident. The show’s lessons backfired and have prompted similar events in recent years. Donald Zimring, superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District, was quoted in Monday’s Los Angeles Times: “The irony of this is, the episode that has been linked to this was in fact underscoring how hurtful, destructive and horrible bigotry is. That kind of lesson is a fairly complex lesson. It's going to get lost on a 10-, 11-, or 12-year-old."
South Park, recommended for “mature audiences only,” and “unsuitable for children under 17,” is one most parents would prefer their children not watch. But many children have, and the situation underscores the exponential problem of media violence and its effects on children’s behavior.
Source: California Family Council