Not show’s fault

Recently, a mother blamed the cartoon program Beavis and Butt-head, for the deadly fire her 5-year-old son had set. In this fire, the boy’s 2-year-old sister died. This is a tragic incident and my sympathy goes out to the mother and her son. I do not feel, however, that “B and B” is responsible for this unfortunate incident. The mother is the one at fault here, not MTV.

In my opinion, a 5-year-old should not be allowed to watch “B and B alone” without some type of guidance, that is, if young children should be allowed to watch it at all. I realize that parents cannot monitor their children every minute of the day. In this case, however, a 2 and 5-year-old were left at home alone, with access to a lighter. What makes this even less acceptable is the fact that the little boy had a past record of playing with fire.

MTV denies responsibility for this incident. The network has issued a statement saying that “B and B” is a show for an “older audience who can differentiate fantasy from reality.” There will, however, be no more references to setting fires on the program. Mike Judge, the creator of “B and B,” does not need to clean up his cartoon; some American parents need to clean up their acts. Having the content of the show changed is a form of censorship. I would rather have MTV only air “B and B” at its later time slots. This may also help to alleviate the program of younger children watching the show, without their parents knowing.

Parents not taking responsibility for their children is a national problem. It is important to realize that this issue is not really about “Beavis and Butt-head”. It is a much bigger and much further-reaching problem. Television is not an “electronic babysitter.” Parents need to take responsibility for their children’s safety as well as their television viewing habits.

Amy Fuller

Junior

Art Education