Violence on TV? Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about today. With domestic violence once again being a major topic in the news as of lately, it really got me thinking about violence in general. The more thinking I did the more questions I had. I was asking myself things such as:

• Why are we increasingly becoming more violent?
• Why are we so accepting of some types of violence and not of others?
• What makes people act like this and not even shows signs of remorse?

Questions like that are usually being asked when we are talking about religious wars not about day to day life but that’s because many of us live in our own bubbles. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. What’s with all the damn violence?

Becoming Desensitized to Violence

Everyday we hear on the news about more violence overseas, more wars, more problems in the hood and crap that leaves most of feeling like our brains are about to explode. So how the heck did we get this way? We are supposed to become more civilized, remember?

First of all I’m not proclaiming to be an expert (not arrogant enough) but my belief is that at least 50 percent of this problem is stemming from television. Yep, the good ole’ TV. You might be wondering about the other 50 percent but I’ll get to that in a separate article.

Television is something I personally love and enjoy watching on a regular basis. I’m talking Master Chef, Big Brother, I mean you name it and I’m probably watching it unless it’s some CSI type b.s..

My point is I love TV but I also skip plenty of channels due to far too much violence and just plain nasty stuff. Sometimes it seems like every 3 channels I’m either seeing someone getting hurt or an animal abused or a news story about something crazy going on. I mean what is with that? It’s us becoming desensitized to violence.

You’re Probably Old and Out of Touch

Who said that? No I’m not old and out of touch. I’m what the media calls a millennial and I can’t stand half of what’s on TV. With all the cage fighting and people shooting each other, I stick with stuff that is funny or at least interesting to watch.

The problem is that far too many of us are now just accepting that this is normal television viewing pleasure when in reality we should be telling them to quit with the constant pushing of violent material on all of us including children.

Don’t get me wrong I would never give up freedom of speech or any other freedom whatsoever but they should make all the violence be available on pay-per-view only because it’s warping peoples minds.

Executives would scoff at the idea, even though every study done has proven that viewing of violent material warps your brain and ups the odds that you’ll be a violent person or at least lack empathy when it comes to others being abused.

We must all realize that not all of us are 100 percent sane and when you throw boatloads of prescription drugs into the mix, you’re talking about a recipe for deranged behavior.

When you bombard people that are mentally ill, slightly off their rocker or even just depressed, with graphic displays of violence all the time — what do we expect to happen?

Please feel free to get in on the discussion and share your thoughts on violent television or even just violence in general.

With major corporations dominating the market so heavily can Mom and Pop businesses even survive anymore? It seems as if every few years we hear stories about the return of the small local business and instantly it conjurers up images of the old general store or the old time gas station that would fill your tank and wash them windows up for you real nice. But in reality these claims never come to fruition even though plenty of us love the idea of saying screw it to the man and getting all of our garb locally.

So why does the Mom and Pop business model seem to having so much problem gaining momentum going again with so much support behind it? The problem is the support behind it.

Supporting Mom and Pop? Not So Much.

The local beauty salon, the pizzeria and the hardware store. These are three perfect examples of Mom and Pop businesses. So are they holding up in our communities? Lets take a quick look.

The local beauty salon and the pizzeria, as many of us can clearly see, seem to be doing fairly well. You can find them in every big city to even the smallest of towns and for the most part they survive. However when you look at the hometown hardware store, it’s an entirely different picture. Not only are they failing non-stop across the country but they are all but becoming extinct.

What we have here is a prime example of an industry being not only priced out of the market by big businesses such as Home Depot and Lowes but also a business that itself is becoming outdated and completely disregarded by the local community they serve.

Just think about it. Why would you go to Joe’s Hardware Store, pay double or triple the price you would at a big box store and not even be able to get the rest of your supplies like lumber or a new dishwasher?

Some Mom and Pop businesses simply need to dwindle do to their own outdated structures or update their entire game plans. It’s a hard truth to swallow but unfortunately it is the truth. All things in life including businesses need to grow and adapt to survive but many don’t and when they don’t — the community soon moves on to greener pastures.

Mom and Pop Businesses: The Bright Side

I didn’t write this in hopes of trashing people’s dreams but rather giving some insight that will hopefully make some of you, that are contemplating opening your own business, step back and truly think about what your plans are for your business. Are you on the verge of trying to start up a company that may be on the path to it’s own demise?

Mom and Pop businesses are certainly never going to go away and that’s a fact. Nowadays it’s truly more about finding those key areas that every local community needs and will continue to need for years to come. You really need to find a niche that is something the majority of your local residents can really benefit to make it worth your time and their money.

So the real answer to the question posed about the survival of these types of businesses is that yes they absolutely can survive just not to the magnitude nor in the manner that they once were. It’s a fast paced world and even small businesses need to embrace that.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with us. What do you think about the future of Mom and Pop Businesses?