Her: violence is disturbing -- Him: Nah, Just boyhood fun

Editor's note: Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller share the same small house, tiny bathroom and even the same office. But not always the same opinion. The Southeast Missourian sweethearts offer their views on every-day issues, told from two different persectives.

SHE SAID:

BAM, BAM! P-ting!

The violent sounds coming from my stepson's bedroom were hard to ignore.

He'd invented new characters called "street rangers" and they were battling it out on his bed. I gave Drew props for using his imagination, but...

Should he be pretending to kill people?

I should say that most of the time Drew is a caring, loving child. However, he morphs into the complete opposite when he's "playing."

It's natural aggression, a guy-thing, was Bob's response. Huh-uh. I don't think so. Drew wasn't born chopping off little plastic guys' heads.

That's a learned behavior, either from TV, video games or his friends.

And is that behavior healthy? Will it have a long-term impact?

The answer to both questions is probably no. It may not be healthy, but it's something I suppose all little boys go through and eventually overcome, so surely it can't have huge repercussions.

At the same time, there was something so laughably harmless about the Bugs Bunny/Mickey Mouse cartoons of my childhood.

The cartoons Drew watches -- well, I don't even understand some of them. But those cartoons, along with other outside influences, are shaping the person he's becoming.

For example, Drew recently received a miniature farm set as a gift. It had cows, tractors, a barn, fencing. The first thing he did was make the two farmers go at each other.

BAM! BAM!

That seems to be the only story line he knows.

The good-versus-evil plot is an important one, but real life is so much more complicated than that.

Exposing a child to pretend violence on television only lessens his inhibitions about real-life violence.

That's why limitations are necessary. What we need is a nice friendly video game about farmers who settle everything with a kind word and a handshake.

HE SAID:

So, yeah, we should take Drew's action figures away. I mean, with all of this "violent" activity, we're surely raising the next Jeffrey Dahmer.

My heart shudders when I think of an adult Drew fighting for what's good and right. Especially when we all know that everybody in the adult world is good and peaceful. And that is what is playing out in Drew's room. Sure, there's bopping and grunting. But the good guys always stand up to evil. And the good guys always win.

Drew already understands what death means. His cat Phantam -- "the best cat ever" -- died just a few weeks ago. Drew's still not over it.

I'm a sensible dad, however.

Although I have never seen Drew ripping the legs off of a grasshopper or playing tennis with a toad, I must step in now. This "violence" may lower his appreciation for life.

While we're at it, we should also take away his matchbox cars. We wouldn't want him growing up thinking it was OK to drive really fast and crash into walls.

We should also take him out of baseball immediately. What are we doing here, teaching children it's OK to be aggressive, to try to beat the other guy?

"Drew," we should say, "don't hit the ball too hard. That's too violent. You should be nice to the ball."

And by all means, we're going to take away the science books too. Have you seen the way hippos fight? Have you seen what a shark can do to a piece of meat? I don't want Drew growing up thinking he can tear his teeth into a raw fish. Think of the diseases!

Not that he watches it anymore, but Sesame Street's got to go too. I wouldn't want any young person growing up thinking it's OK being mean and living in a garbage can.

We should also probably take away his crayons and markers. Think of the violent images he could draw when he pulls out the red pen.

Instead, we should set him up a little round table with soft, fluffy dolls and a tea set. And we should teach him that everyone always gets along, that there is no evil in the world.

And that Spider Man, Power Rangers, Obi Wan Kenobi are pure evil, the true path to the Dark Side.

Bob Miller is the news editor and Callie Miller is the features editor at the Southeast Missourian. Contact them at bmiller@semissourian.com and cmiller@semissourian.com.