My 11-year old son, an inveterate gamer, found a link on the internet that he really wanted to talk to me about. So we talked.

He said the question was, why did things like Columbine happen? When women were asked this question, every single one said “violent video games.”

I told him that it was much more likely that the kids were outcasts, picked on, made to feel bad, and they got angry and hateful.

He said, “That's just what the article said!”

(I think he was surprised by two things. One, that I didn't answer as all the other women. Two, that I could come up with something that's on a website. I didn't tell him I have several websites, so he could have been reading something of mine.)

I think that it is better if you don't fill your mind with worthless words and negative pictures and thoughts. But I also think that, no matter what goes into your head, it is how you respond that matters.

I have known people who were abused and ridiculed and hurt who have said, “I will be better than that! I will be a useful, helpful, loving member of society.” I have known others in similar situations who have said, “All people are bad because these people are bad. People are lying, cheating scum who only want to hurt you.” The first is harder to do, but it is a better way to go.