Misconceptions

Its amazing how certain things can gain a stereotype or absolute hatred because it was used in the wrong way or used as a scapegoat. The swastika for instance, the majority of the people in the world see that symbol and their minds automatically go to the nazis. That symbol now embodies the ideals of hatred, racism, and murder due to the fact that the nazi party used it. The truth about that symbol is that it is the Buddhist symbol for peace and unity but most people don't know that. I don't know if that's the case because it isn't taught or ignorance but it should be known. I think most people would prefer to have something they can focus their hatred into and remain ignorant to certain truths. Along those same lines, I think that most people would prefer to use scapegoats to explain what caused a tragedy. The massacre at the Columbine school was executed by two extremely disturbed teenagers who had severe emotional and mental problems. However, when the police and parents later searched their rooms they found dungeons and dragons things in there and immediately assumed that dnd drove them to the point where they felt compelled to do these things. For years dnd has suffered a stigma because of it. People just assumed that it only lead to bad things or worshiping the devil. The same thing happened with video games after a shooting occurred at a school called Virginia Tech. Some students said that the shooter Cho played a lot of Grand Theft Auto. The media automatically assumed that this was the cause of his murderous rampage and that resulted in the unfounded persecution of games for many years not. The truth is that Cho was already psychologically disturbed and everyone saw the signs that something was wrong with him. The media called for more censorship in games and demanded better regulation on what age groups got a certain games even though that is the job of parents. Overall, people prefer these scapegoats as opposed to the reality of the situation which was that the people who committed these tragedies had mental problems that were not addressed. I think that the illusion is easier for people to deal with than the reality of the situation. But maybe that's how some of these families make it through.