Hey, Hollywood, Put The Gun Down

—

Every time there is a mass shooting, a tweet storm from Hollywood stars and executives invariably follows, condemning gun violence.

But if everybody in Hollywood is so incensed about gun violence, then why do they keep making violent movies and TV shows…featuring guns?

I can’t even watch a football game with my kids on a Sunday afternoon without seeing in-game ads for some violent TV show.

Person A draws his gun and shoots and kills person B…faster than I can draw the remote to change the channel.

And those are just ten second teasers during NFL games.

Flip the channels tonight and count the guns you see in action.

Handguns.

Rifles.

Assault weapons.

That’s entertainment?

And then think about the movies that you’ve seen, or perhaps the ones you’ve seen with your kids.

It’s not about character development.

It’s all about body count.

Our entire entertainment world is marinated in gun violence.

I’m talking about the glamorization of violence, whether it’s cops shooting bad guys, bad guys shooting good guys, bad guys shooting other bad guys, or bad guys shooting cops.

And no one’s saying a word about it.

As one of the wise philosophers of Western civilization once said, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

In other words, people are sitting at home watching people shoot each other, night after night after night, with no real consequences to the victims.

We are desensitizing ourselves to the real misery and pain that gun violence produces, one TV show, one movie at a time.

People are out there getting their butts enlarged, because they want their butts to be as big as Kim Kardashian’s.

I’m not making that up.

So isn’t it possible that some people are sitting at home watching all these shootings-as-entertainment and getting ideas?

Some of the same actors and directors who made their fortunes creating violent “entertainment” have the temerity to tweet against gun violence.

Talk isn’t just cheap.

In this case, it ought to be embarrassing.

Of course, Hollywood is a place where shame is strictly optional.

Or maybe the actors are just too dumb to make the connection.

Maybe somebody wants to create a hashtag.

#gunsdownhollywood.

It couldn’t hurt.

—

If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join like-minded individuals in The Good Men Project Premium Community.

◊♦◊

◊♦◊

Get the best stories from The Good Men Project delivered straight to your inbox, here.

◊♦◊

◊♦◊

Sign up for our Writing Prompts email to receive writing inspiration in your inbox twice per week.
—