Video games and violence: Does the action in shooting games leak
into real life?
Newtown and
Video Games: There is NO Connection! (Fokgames, The
Netherlands)
"It used to
be Rock 'n' Roll that caused people to became 'psychotic,' and in recent
years, the reason has become gaming. One moment of thought and self reflection
would come in handy here: Doesn't this boy live in a good neighborhood - and are
gun laws really necessary? Nah, of course not! Let's all stay nice and stupid and
blame those pixels on a screen!"
One didn't expect it, but within hours of the tragedy at an
elementary school in Newtown, the finger of blame had already been pointed. And
this time, the blame doesn't lie with upbringing, moronic laws on legally-owning
multiple weapons or a foolish child. No. It lies with video games, of course!
To give a painfully sad example: when they were still
blaming the wrong culprit for this tragedy, an immediate witch hunt began against
him on the Internet. Were it not for the fact that his Facebook
account is digital, it would have been completely looted. People looked at what
the "evil doer" Liked, and suddenly
all of it was blamed for this tragedy.
Anyway, one of the things this "wrong doer" Liked was the game Mass Effect, which features
shooting aliens to save the world from destruction. With over ten million
copies sold, the game is pretty casual, and even the most retarded can see there
is no direct link between the game and this drama. But then, you don't yet know
the real American housewives.
They have in fact been bombarding Mass Effect's Facebook
page with spam. With messages like: "You have blood on your hands,"
they say that makers of the game have been taken over by Satan. It's the same
old song: people blame the unknown simply because they don't have any other
outlet for your emotions, which lie with a young man who was completely out of control
and most likely couldn't think straight.
Although one can point to ignorant American housewives,
there is always someone worse. Namely, Jack Thompson.
When this man was still relevant, he began a smear campaign against videogame
journalism - and especially against the video game series Grand
Theft Auto. He called it violent, and hence, children would go out and
kill in real life. This man, who is loathed by one and all, hasn't been heard from
in years. But yesterday, when they were still counting bodies of little
children, Thompson decided to send an e-mail to a good number of gaming sites
with only the text: "Blood is on YOUR hands." Nauseating.
Although Jack Thompson deserves less attention than my
little toe, it is painful that during a tragedy like this, morons like this continue
to campaign against gaming. You are, if you do, as we say in Old Dutch, just a
narrow minded asshole. It seems that after every drama, we hear the same old
song. Someone starts shooting, and gaming gets the blame.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
It is, of course, easy to point a finger at gaming. Research
shows that 97 percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 30 play them. It is almost
impossible to find someone who doesn't. As shooters are the most popular genre,
one quickly realizes that boys play these games. Are they all potential
killers? No. It is simply time for the media and the less unsophisticated masses
to be a little more introspective.
Pointing at something because you can't deal with your
emotions is no longer acceptable. It used to be Rock 'n' Roll that caused people
to became "psychotic," and in recent years, the reason has
become gaming. One moment of thought and self reflection would come in handy
here: Doesn't this boy live in a good neighborhood - and are gun laws really
necessary? Nah, of course not! Let's all stay nice and stupid and blame those
pixels on a screen!
