90% are mature? Have you watched any group of teens these days? Having been a teenager once, I can recall those days. We were anything but mature.

I have to disagree with HyperDave as well. I don't think that Nick Berg's head being cut off is something I'd define as "history". It's a brutal act of violence against a human being. A singular act in a sea of brutality. But, it's not a historical event worthy of turning into a teaching lesson.

I also think it's extremely insensitive to the Berg family. Their son was taken from them in a very cruel act.

About the only thing that showing a video like this to kids/teens/adults is going to do is add more fuel to the fire. People are going to see "how cruel those Muslims were to that guy" and they're going to start forming opinions of hatred against all Muslims. The worst groups of all to show a video like this to are those who still have an impressionable mind. Teens and younger children will be heavily influenced by the violence shown in something like this.

Remember events like Columbine? They have councelors all over the school helping kids deal with the trama of the violent act that happened. Even those who didn't actually witness the shootings were tramatized. Don't you think a video of someone's head being cut off ranks up there a bit on the trama scale?

The whole incident should be left alone at this point. Let the family have their memories. Schools don't need to be showing this type of stuff to kids. There's no educational value in it as far as I can see.

I agree with yankeefan, fatboy, Startup and Grisu.

I'd think only in the US would someone ask what's the difference between sex education and showing a man being decapitated. If you can't see any difference between them then I'm just amazed.

Showing porno to young kids is another thing, but sex education is far from hardcore porno. I don't understand how you can compare sex to violence anyway. One is a good and natural thing that all of us practice, while the other is a bad thing that should be practiced by none.

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Only is the US would teachers be allowed to show all types of violent shit, sexual acts, but a teacher can get suspended for showing this type of footage, but cant be suspended for showing Playboy footage without a principals consent? I'm sorry thats just planned wrong, and don't act like it isnt happening in some of our American Schools

Of course I can see the difference, you guys are really missing my point here.

Kids watching porno in schools is nothing new, although it may be completely hidden in some schools, I can guarantee you it's happening.

Sex and violence are both the same if you wanna get deep with it
Well ok so sex and violence represent different aspects of the experience.

Sex is normal, natural and beautiful. And yes before you go there I do agree that sex cant be censored from the eyes to young to understand it, but violence cant be censored either.

Brutal, murderous violence is not normal, its a natural part of life that people accept as part of a regular course of living. Violence is at its odd with everything ugly beautiful and spiritual.

If a television program were to present an extremely graphic display of a sexual act, even a loving exchange between a husband and wife, conservative voices would raise a loud ruckus of protest. But these same voices are contentedly silent as horribly perverted acts of grotesque violence and utter mayhem are paraded before young and impressionable eyes.

Violence is not only the passive viewing experienced on TV or in movies or in listening to explicit rap lyrics, but is also viewed in video games that I teenagers play and some of these games do envlove decapitation (had to put that in there). In sexual acts you are rewarded and in violent video games you are rewarded with graphic bloody scenes of violence, graphic in every sense except to see the pain and loss and the damn grief that accompany such a thing in real life. These video games are far more directly interactive than TV.

Now in sex and violenent acts, the person envolved is an active participant, not just a spectator. Well sorry boys I gotta cut this short, but sorry if I even started this thread or whatever, maybe I just really didnt make my point in the opening of the thread, continue to discuss if you want. Im out

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Because violence isnt education....To protect yourself from violence is. I dont get why The Board of Ed have to show nasty video tapes of children being born to 6th and 5th graders who arent even old enough to handle it. Its just giving way too much info at a small age. *thinks back to that movie* *shruggs*

So the Haulocost, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Beatings of Black folk in slavery, isnt education? Or Better yet if it isnt education why are we allowing our students to view these movies in the classroom or go on field trips to view these types of footage?

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This video wasn´t "history" yet. The family is still in mourning. Eventually it will be ok to show it, but not just now. It´s too fresh in people´s minds.
If the video was shown a year after the deed itself, i doubt it would have had this reaction.
The video was only shown in highschools or colleges, wich means the audience is mature enough to handle it. If they can handle Jerry Springer and South Park, they can handle this. Young children should only get to watch Sesame Street and Bugs Bunny cartoons, not real world violence.
It just happens that the teachers chose to show it too soon. They should have kept it on ice out of respect, at least untill the guy is buried, wich i don´t think he was yet.

"Oh my God, they killed Kenny!"
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What can be gained from tha actual showing of the footage? I understand teachers talking about it, but the showing of the images would add to what? Comparing it with sex education is not really fair. If there were acts of violence taped, and these acts included rape... would you think it was OK to show it?

well, acts of rape being taped and showed in school usualy would be there to show signs to look out for for girls and guys alike, like if it was a raping vidio tape being shown, it would say something like "dont go into dark, empty allies", and things like that, also another example of a rape vidio tape would be "look if your being followed"
that would be concidered sex education or self defence, if in a self defence class. or even in a psycolagy class.
the same would go for the beheading vidio tape, what would make them do such a thing, what to look for and like that

That tape has no place in schools. All showing it would accomplish is encourage students to hate. Some would hate the people who actually committed the act, or maybe Al-Qaeda. While i abhor hate whoever its directed against, this response is not too bad, at least the people who are hated are deserving of that hate. However some others would just hate Arabs, or Iraqis. Showing the tape would encourage racism.

If you support showing this tape in American schools, you should also support showing tapes of the innocent victims of US/British/Israeli etc military actions in middle eastern schools. I support neither - encourage students to give rational/intellectual responces, not emotional ones.

No they are not, and what might this experience that you're talking about be?

In the US I believe this is true. But what has this to do with the alleged similarity between sex and violence?

What's you point? That video games are more interactive than tv? I think we can all agree on that.

I play computer games, I've played since I was a little kid. And I've played violent games too, even the ones in which you may decapitate someone (or more likely something). But though the games are interactive, they are fictional and only games, not real life. Beheading a monster in a game is hardly comparable to seeing the video in question. In the video a real person is decapitated in a cruel way, not some pixel-man.

Hmmm....so this is what makes them similar?

And in violent acts one person is often quite passive.

You actually believe that showing taped material of rapes could be used as some kind of education material?

And this video to be used as an educational tape?
"Now kids, remember. Don't go in a room full of bad men who have a bonesaw or a large knife and want to kill you."
Please say you're not serious...

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