Elmer Fudd no longer bears arms

Alert Bugs. Warner Bros has disarmed Elmer Fudd for good.

It’s 2020, and Warner Brothers (WB) has announced Elmer Fudd will no longer bear his gun, which begs the question: how will he hunt rabbits?More specifically, how will he hunt Bugs Bunny?

This is obviously in response to gun violence, which should be a sign WB believes cartoon violence perhaps contributes to real life violence.

But does it?

Do kids still even watch Bugs Bunny?

And if there actually is a cause and effect between cartoon violence and violence amongst kids and teens, then shouldn’t we first eliminate Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote? There are assassination plots portrayed in that series that could influence true terrorists. And aside from violence, what about sexual harassment from Pepe Le Pew? That dirty skunk doesn’t know how to take a no. Doesn’t aggressive sexual behavior toward women register more with young boys than exaggerated violence? 

We know why Warner Bros is doing this- to appeal to their audience. It’s the same reason they eventually removed Bugs Bunny in black face. Racist, misogynistic, and sexist behavior have been around in cartoons long before I was around, and it may slowly trickle out over time. But the question always comes to where does it stop- movies? Music? Video games? I’ve never ever heard of a deranged shooter give Elmer Fudd as his reasoning to commit violence. So does it subconsciously affect behavior, and more so in kids since they’re more prone to subliminal messaging? 

I know, I ask a lot of questions. I want to raise my kids correctly. I don’t want them to exhibit violent, sexist, or racist behavior. So I will instill proper values and ethics in them. If they act violently, I will correct them by showing them a better way to deal with problems, and describe why violence has negative consequences, along with how much they lose in life by being racist, and how the worst scum of our society have resorted to aggressive sexual harassment and it has resulted in loneliness and exile from society. And often times, these 3 “evils” go together- just look at history. I always say, aim for greatness, and these 3 acts pull you in the opposite direction.

So what’s the bottom line- kudos to companies working to better their brand and to appeal to a larger audience, even if it may be ineffective to decrease violence by disarming Elmer Fudd. But the burden of raising our children has always and will always come down to us, the parents.