By Rich Strack

In 1963, he went before the judge to face charges of unconscionable crimes. He set a woman’s backside on fire. He threw boiling water on a classmate’s face. He smacked his own brother in the face with a frying pan. He pushed a homeless man in front of a speeding train.

When asked why he did these horrible crimes, he answered, “Tom and Jerry made me do it!”

More acts of unspeakable violence did he mention before the court. He handcuffed a man to a stick of dynamite that blew off the man’s fight hand.

“Bugs Bunny made me do it!”

He squeezed someone so hard, blood burst out of his victim’s nose and ears.

“I ate spinach and Popeye made me do it!”

He pushed a big boulder off a mountain on top of an elderly woman.

“Road Runner made me do it!”

OK, none of the above is true. Yet, here’s a question I have asked myself: Why, after watching these classic cartoons every Saturday morning when I was a kid, did I not run out into the streets and blow up my neighborhood?

The answer to me is simple. First, I understood that a cartoon was a cartoon, and even if I tried to throw a bomb at a kid who I didn’t like and it blew his head off, I knew he wouldn’t grow a new a head in 5 seconds like Tom the cat did and chase me down the street.

I laughed when Bugs Bunny shoved a double barrel shotgun up Elmer’s nose and pulled the trigger. I cheered for Popeye after he ate his spinach and punched Brutus so hard, the big bloke landed on top of the moon.

As child in the ’60s, my buddies and I had our angry moments, too. We threw rocks at each other. We had bicycle wars, riding into head-on crashes like we were knights in a jousting tournament. And we didn’t punch anyone to the moon, but sometimes we pounded each other into tears and bloody noses.

Psychology Today magazine reported a study in which one group of young children were exposed to nonviolent cartoons like Dora the Explorer and another group watched violent animation each for a six-month period of time.

“The outcomes are striking, though perhaps not surprising. Very young children immersed in pro-social and nonviolent cartoons after six months are more sociable children. The kids left to watch violent cartoons manifest more often early signs of aggression.

“In the follow-up six months later, many parents have reverted to old media habits, and their kids seem more violent. In other cases, the parents chose to remain on the nonviolent diet, and the kids often remain better behaved.”

I’m sorry, Psychology Today, but I don’t agree that aggression in children is always a bad thing as long as parents are able to help them channel it into the right directions. Of course, bullying is bad, but bullies will seek out the kids who they know can’t defend themselves. Aggression is also good in athletic competition and it can foster self-confidence, perseverance and resiliency.

Yet, let’s be honest. If I grow up in the jungle, unsupervised and unloved, and you come near me, I will bite your head off.

In 1990, the government passed the Children’s Television Act that sent Saturday morning classic cartoons like Popeye and Tom and Jerry to network extinction. The major channels were required to provide at least three hours of educational programming for children. This looked like a good parent-pleasing idea on paper, but upon further examination, is it really? Our kids come home from school, turn on the TV and what do they get? More school! Did the adults who passed this bill remember their childhoods and didn’t they watch the classic cartoons to escape the humdrum of their classrooms? If kids had been allowed to vote on the Children’s Television Act, do you think they would have wanted entertainment or education?

According to the study reported by Psychology Today, kids who grow up and become sociable adults can give at least some credit to Dora the Explorer and Big Bird and Barney. Unfortunately, Big Bird and Barney won’t help our kids deal with the conflicts of the world they will inevitably face when they grow up. Yes, they are young and impressionable, but it’s never too early to teach them courage in the face of conflict and adversity.

For me, I’ll keep laughing at the old cartoons with their time bombs, dynamite sticks, double-barrel shotguns, and roundhouse fist punches.

Then I might watch my son kill a few zombies on his PlayStation before I take him and my daughter to Annie’s for some ice cream.

Rich Strack can be reached at katehep11@gmail.com.