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‘Tom And Jerry’ Blamed For Rise Of ISIS, Egyptian Official Claims Violence In Cartoon Spread Culture Of Violence

By Essel Pratt
Published on: 02:18 PST, May 8, 2016

As the world ponders the circumstances that led to the rise of ISIS, hoping to identify clues that could lead to their downfall and finally end the violence, the chairman of the Egyptian State Information Service has revealed that he knows the catalyst for the beginning of the violence and relates it all back to the Tom and Jerry cartoon series.

Salah Abdel Sadek spoke to a conference in Cairo, Egypt, according to Metro, and spoke about how Tom and Jerry perpetuated a policy of violence and has conditioned young minds over time that violence is okay, even if it is instigated with unconventional methods such as explosives and guns. Sadek feels that the way the violence is portrayed in the Tom and Jerry cartoons, casual and without permanent harm, softens the way individuals think about conducting such violence on other human beings despite knowing the cartoon is complete fiction.

“[‘Tom and Jerry’] portrays violence in a funny manner and sends the message that yes, I can hit him… and I can blow him up with explosives. It becomes set in the mind that this is natural.”

Although Sadek’s comments may seem ridiculous to many who heard them, there are quite a few that agree, such as the Youm7 newspaper, Tom and Jerry are just one example of how violent cartoons not only encourage terrorism but also provide insight on how terrorist groups can use the methods viewed in the cartoons to inflict pain and suffering on their victims.

Although Sadek uses Tom and Jerry as the focus of his speech, he does reveal that there are other methods of entertainment that also contribute to the numbness against violent acts that serve to perpetuate terrorist organizations and make their anarchic methods appetizing for young kids that are naive to the horrific nature of the terrorist ideals. Video games, movies, cartoons, and music are described as methods of desensitizing young minds to the violence that terrorist organizations thrive on.

The remarks made by Salah Abdel Sadek are casting confusion across Egypt due to the violence that has been conducted by the government recently, according to WSBT TV News Channel 22. As Islamic insurgents are becoming an increasingly home-grown issue in Egypt, the government has been implementing a heavy-handed security protocol against those who protest against the government and their actions, oftentimes resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of political dissidents within the country.

Many wonder if retraining the security forces to be less violent and serve their duties in an educational manner, rather than the use of abrupt violence to silence protestors, might be a better way to unite the country and foster open communication. However, if Tom and Jerry are the root cause of the violence in the world today, is it too late to end the violence by those who grew up watching the cartoon? Are less violent cartoons like Hey Arnold, Doug, or Adventure Time the potential saviors for future generations? Could their themes of friendship change the way the world thinks and finally create a culture based on ideals of world peace?

In addition to coercing a culture of violence, cartoons such as Tom and Jerry are also advocates for the one-sided nature of the cat-versus-mouse routine. However, rather than portraying the big guy, such as an entire country, as the obvious victor, it represents the little guy as being the one that always wins despite any setbacks that might occur. That mindset is thought to be the catalyst for groups such as ISIS to rise up and take on the world, rise in power, and perpetuate any form of violence that is needed to get there.

What are your thoughts on Tom and Jerry? Could they be the reason ISIS is here today?

[Image via Bornfree / Shutterstock.com]

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