I had to laugh when I heard on the news that a football player, I didn't hear his name, said that the NFL lockout was going to cause an increase in crime because fans would have no choice but to turn to crime to relieve their aggressiveness that would otherwise be relieved by watching the games. Really? I know there are some psychologists who also believe that watching violent games and movies actually helps people relieve there aggression. Much like those who insist that all crime would disappear if we all started toting guns, they offer little evidence to back up these claims. The evidence, in fact, indicates otherwise. 
    As our sports, movies, TV shows and video games have become more and more violent, so has crime. Many young criminals especially seem to go out of there way to be violent during crimes. There not happy just robbing a store, they have to beat up or shoot someone to make it fun. 
    Now you can argue, and perhaps correctly, that the increased violence in sports, movies, etc. is just a reflection of increased aggression and violent tendencies in people, but those “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” kind or arguments don't solve anything. As I've pointed out before, if what we see on TV and in the movies doesn't affect our behavior, why do corporations spend millions on advertising in them?