Violent Images & their effect

[TLM08]

Before my conversion a few years ago, I was browsing the internet and curiosity let me to follow a link and click on an actual video of someone being killed in a particularly savage manner at the hands of another. Immediately, I was deeply repulsed from what had entered my eyes. I even felt guilty for having watched it. Unfortunately, these images of real brutality are quite common these days. As a grown man of almost 50 years of age, with a military & law enforcement background I’ve seen a lot in my life, but pictures of abortions make me want to cry.

I took notice that my physical and mental reaction was the exact opposite of the response my brain and body felt when viewing pornography. The pornograhy had a very strong pull of attraction towards it where the violence immediately made me profoundly sad and physically sick. In short, I never wanted to see material like that again. It is commonly known that sadistic serial killers often experience sexual arousal from viewing or committing violent acts. In other words, their mental “wires” are somehow crossed.

It didn’t take long for me to draw the connection with the idea that pornography viewers are watching an act that is potentially the BEGINNING of human life, while the violent images presented to the eyes the ENDING of a human life.

Also of note was the fact that fictional violence of movies and video games have simply of little or no effect at least on the vast majority of young people. I would also have to ask myself which is more harmful to the developing brain of youngsters… pornography or images of real violence? It’s gotta make me wonder. Unfortunatly the internet is awash with both!

 

[AaronK88]

I’ve seen so many violent videos. When I was a little younger (I’m 20 but this was around 16/17) I found this website one time that was very ogrish. First time I ever saw a video like this, it was a guy getting his head decapitated with another mans knife. Morbid curiosity got the better of me, and I watched the entire thing. Didn’t stop the feeling of sickness I had after, I wanted to puke. It was THAT horrible.

That particular video I saw as a trick, one of my friends on AIM said dude watch this it’s funny, and I clicked on the link and saw that sick stuff.

The others I saw out of my own free will. I get I was just curious, I’ve never seen real death outside of movies before.

I would say it desensitizes you a little bit. Not that it doesn’t bother me, but I’m not surprised by it. I can’t watch that stuff anymore, even though I feel like I was desensitized by death, it became too much for me. I don’t like when other human beings suffer in painful ways.

 

[TLM08]

I’ve seen so many violent videos. When I was a little younger (I’m 20 but this was around 16/17) I found this website one time that was very ogrish. First time I ever saw a video like this, it was a guy getting his head decapitated with another mans knife. Morbid curiosity got the better of me, and I watched the entire thing. Didn’t stop the feeling of sickness I had after, I wanted to puke. It was THAT horrible.

That particular video I saw as a trick, one of my friends on AIM said dude watch this it’s funny, and I clicked on the link and saw that sick stuff.

The others I saw out of my own free will. I get I was just curious, I’ve never seen real death outside of movies before.

I would say it desensitizes you a little bit. Not that it doesn’t bother me, but I’m not surprised by it. I can’t watch that stuff anymore, even though I feel like I was desensitized by death, it became too much for me. I don’t like when other human beings suffer in painful ways.

What is particularly troubling is that any ten year old can see these horrible things with one click of the mouse. Real graphic violence is far more disturbing than anything else one can witness. It makes me wonder why viewing this stuff isn’t considered a sin in a similar way the way pornography is.

 

[ericka1701]

I would consider it at the very least a near occasion of sin. If adultery is sinful, and one of the sins of adultery is watching pornography, why can’t one of the sins that breaks the comandment “Thou shalt not kill” be watching videos of murders and killing? Feeling uneasy about waching pornography may possibly diminish the culpability of the person, but it doesn’t completely erase it. Why should uneasily watching violent videos be any different?

I say this as someone whose favorite website used to be one that had multitudes of pictures of people being decapated, gored to death, and many other horrific things that I’d prefer that I had never seen.

My logic may be flawed, though… But again, I can’t see any difference between the two as far as sinfulness goes.

God Bless!
Ericka

 

[TLM08]

I would consider it at the very least a near occasion of sin. If adultery is sinful, and one of the sins of adultery is watching pornography, why can’t one of the sins that breaks the comandment “Thou shalt not kill” be watching videos of murders and killing? Feeling uneasy about waching pornography may possibly diminish the culpability of the person, but it doesn’t completely erase it. Why should uneasily watching violent videos be any different?

I say this as someone whose favorite website used to be one that had multitudes of pictures of people being decapated, gored to death, and many other horrific things that I’d prefer that I had never seen.

My logic may be flawed, though… But again, I can’t see any difference between the two as far as sinfulness goes.

God Bless!
Ericka

Wow… I can see your point. Just like curiosity leads one to view pornography, curiosity leads one to view violent material as well. It’s interesting that the material presented in both instances involve the most profound aspects of human life with is the potential begining of a human life through the sex act and the ending of life depicted in real death scenes.

I’ve viewed those websites too, but I never bookmarked them. I was too upset to ever want to see that again.The big difference for me was the strong desire of attraction and excitement surrounding the viewing of the procreative act as opposed to the repulsiveness of seeing people die to the point of covering my eyes and the extreme sadness it provoked within me.

As far as I am concerned, the viewing of violence like that should be considered at least as sinful (if not far more sinful) as watching two people have sex. Afterall, fornication is a sin, but murder has got to be far worse. Doesn’t it?

Sins of pleasure always seem to get the loudest condemnation. I wonder why that is?