GLENN: So Matt Bevin was in Washington, DC. By the way, welcome to Pat Gray on the program.
Matt Bevin was on. And he -- he was talking to a woman who said, you know, how could you possibly say that this doesn't have anything to do with guns?
And he says, how could you possibly say this doesn't have something to do with our culture, with something that is happening inside of our kids?
And he talks a little bit about guns. And then he says, here's what's really going on.
What has changed? There's not -- there are more guns, but not more guns per household. You know, there are more households without guns than ever before.
So kids -- when I was growing up, he said when he was growing up, kids would come to school with guns. We did.
I mean, kids would go hunting. And then they would leave their gun, you know, in their truck. And it would be unlocked.
PAT: They always had gun racks in their trucks. They always had a rifle in it.
GLENN: Always. Always. And this is just the way things were. So what has changed? Listen to what he says.
MATT: What has changed? We as a culture, as a society -- and it's very germane to this topic as well, we don't value human life like we did. We remove increasingly respect for the dignity of other people. You look at how rampant pornography is. The degradation and disrespect for women and for human life in general. It is so systemic. People of our age have not been exposed like our children have been. There's not a child in America that hasn't been exposed to pornography, I guarantee you, if they're above the age of 12. That's a fact. It is so systemic. It's horrific.
And it desensitizes us at every turn. And so we're desensitized at the value and dignity of human life. We're desensitized through -- and this is to the heart of what I said, that you seem to take exception with. Is that through violent video games, where literally you are encouraged -- you can roll your eyes all you want, man. But I will say this, you explain to me the value of a game that encourages somebody to go back and finish them off, where you get points for -- for kill counts and you slaughter people. We're desensitizing people to the value of life.
GLENN: So he goes on. And check it out on TheBlaze.
It's -- it's amazing. He goes on for another four minutes. And he talks about different things. And this woman keeps rolling her eyes and is -- you know, is not open. And he says at the end, you know, I don't understand how you can say you're open-minded, and yet you will reject everything that I'm saying here and blame it all on guns. I don't understand it.
PAT: Yeah. We're broken. And I -- it's interesting because President Trump yesterday met with video game industry leaders. And most people just dismissed that already. They've moved on past that discussion. Where that's nothing to do with it.
And I was really impressed that he took the time to talk to these guys about exactly what Matt Bevin is talking about. Is there some correlation? Now, a lot of research says no. I just don't believe that. I don't believe it.
GLENN: A lot of research says yes.
PAT: Yeah.
GLENN: A lot of research says yes. That your brain is not formed fully and stable until you're 25.
Now, you know, there's also research that shows that the brain internalizes that as an actual event.
So you can say, my kid knows the difference. And they might. But the brain itself does not. It internalizes that as something real. And especially, the more and more real these games become, the more real the brain is saying it is.
PAT: Yeah. And you're first-person shooting now. You know, it's you that's walking there.
STU: You know, and I tend to be on the opposite side with you guys on this. But, I mean, I think like -- I think part of the problem, when people talk about these things is, it's -- it's a much more narrow issue than is usually discussed. Like we talk about this with guns all the time. There's more guns in America than there has been ever. Right?
There's 320 million guns. Guns have doubled in the past 20 years. At that time, the -- the crime rate has gone in half. Right?
So there's -- so the correlation, I think societally, because of the rise of video games has been in that same period. Right?
We went from almost no violent video games to all the ones that we have now in the same period, where the crime rates have dropped by half.
The issue, I guess is more of a focus on that one kid, right? The one kid who is borderline, does he decide to cross a line because of some -- something that he's affected with, playing these games?
And, you know, whether you can actually manage that out, I don't know. I think it's a great -- there's no reason to risk it if you're a parent. I mean, I don't know why you would want your kids to play these games if you're a parent.
GLENN: It's the sum total, I think of everything. I want you to listen to this. This is what Dr. James Knoll, the doctor of forensic psychiatry at state university of New York's upstate medical university said, okay? He's a guy who has been studying these killers.
Listen to what he said. Because people are like, these killers are crazy. He says, no, they're not. No, they're not.
Massacre killers are typically marked by what are considered personality disorders. Grandiosity, resentment, self-righteousness, a sense of entitlement. They are collectors of injustice, who nurture their injustice with narcissism. They preserve their egos. They exaggerate past humiliations and externalize their anger, blaming others for their frustrations.
Now, let me ask -- let's take this list one by one. Are we -- are we seeing in our society grandiosity?
PAT: Sure.
GLENN: Self-aggrandizement?
PAT: Of course.
GLENN: We're seeing it everywhere.
STU: I love the phrase, collectors of injustice. What a --
GLENN: Right.
PAT: So perfect.
GLENN: Are we seeing a society that is dwelling on resentment? Yes.
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: Are we a society that is dwelling on self-righteousness? I'm right. You're wrong. I'm so right, you're so wrong, I won't even be your friend anymore.
PAT: Uh-huh.
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: How about a sense of entitlement? How about collectors of injustice, who -- who nurture their wounded narcissism? I can't -- I'm being inflicted -- pain is being inflicted on me every day because of this statue. It's all about me. Me, me, me.
Collector of injustice, we are all talking about the injustice of things now.
And to preserve their ego, they exaggerate past humiliations.
STU: This might as well be our Constitution at this point.
GLENN: Yeah. It is. And externalize our anger.
Case closed. We are a society that is becoming killers.
STU: And you can't cure that with taking guns away. You can't cure that with taking video games away. You can't cure that with any of these things.
You can ban all of it, and it's not going to change that fundamental problem with society.
