V ideogames being blamed for real-world violence.... again (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

As usual, there is a Penny Arcade for every occasion.
-Dave

 

[Leif Wall]

Actually, the mushrooms that Mario eats (aka- Amanita Muscaria or 'Fly Agaric') are not poisonous. There are VERY similiar looking mushrooms that are though. The Amanita Muscaria is a hallucinogenic mushroom, not really too common nowadays. Especially with the safer and much more potent Psilocybin (aka-Magic Mushroom) out there.
Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I remember reading once a quote that said "If videogames influence our children that much, the current generation of 20-30 year old adults would reenact Pac-Man by walking aimlessly around their basements eating random pills and listening to techno music...wait a sec"

 

[Jeremy_Nelson]

Sensationalistic media! I can't wait until I hear that retailers in the DC area are pulling games like 'Counter-strike' off thier shelves because they are afraid it's influencing the sniper. Sure, keep selling .22 cartridges in the sporting goods section, but banning Silent Scope will save lives!

I dont know if they are pulling CS, but Walmart is pulling several games including GTA3. Other retailers in the DC area are following suit

 

[Josh Lowe]

I dont know if they are pulling CS, but Walmart is pulling several games including GTA3. Other retailers in the DC area are following suit

thank god, washington DC has historically had the highest murder rate in the world. of course it's completely due to video games, what other reason could there possibly be.

 

[Romier S]

After November 19th we can all say that we learned to drive a Vertical Tank in Steel Battallion. Does anyone realize how very dangerous this knowledge will be. My god the havoc someone could wreak.
Forgive me whilst I become sick from hearing the media's opinion on what creates violence in the world.

 

[John Spencer]

I can't tell you the number of nights I've lain weeping and shivering because it was dark and I was likely to be eaten by a grue....



To quote the great George Carlin, "Think about the average intelligence of all the people you know. Then realize that, mathematically, half the world is stupider than that!"

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

Everyone knows Hannibal Lector got that way playing too much Pac-Man.

You'll excuse me, igotta go HaruKen my coworkers.
Peter

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

I will say in general I agree with the things people in this thread has said. I did read one thing in a norwegian newspaper though that was said by a military trainer of some kind in the U.S. which was kinda disturbing and had a true ring to it.

Basically he started with saying that almost everybody has a deep ingrained resistance to killing other people, even is situations of war. The example he was using was the American civil war, where the kill to shoot ratio was very low, suggesting that people missed on purpose and shot over their enemys head. Also, a lot of guns picked up from the ground afterwards, still had bullets in them, meaning that many people didn't even fire. This all came from this resistance to kill others. Sounds true to me.

The reaction to this in the US military, especially in units trained for war is a psychological training designed to overcome this reluctance. The theory he suggested was that video games had the same effect.

Personally I still think people should have a reality button in their head when playing games. Personally I've played tons of games and still think I am not really even capable of killing, but it was still kind of unsettling to read.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think that while a game like Half-Life looks to most people like a murder simulator, most of the people who play it often see it as just a game and can disconnect ourselves from a game.

Also, why can't movies be blamed for violence? They're generally more violent, graphic, and have REAL people in them, which makes them a million times more realistic, regardless of the 3rd person perspective most movies are told through.

Anywho, unless they can prove that all people (not just children or teens) are made murderers through videogames, then I see no point in what they're claiming.

 

[BrianB]

Also, why can't movies be blamed for violence?

They frequently are.

 

[Jeff Adams]

Video games, movies, music, being blaimed for all the bad things that happen in this world. What a freaking joke! There were evil, psychotic people way before movies and video games. I love to play violent video games and love watching violent movies. Does not mean that I am sick in the head and going to go out and start killing people. The day that the system starts telling us what we can and cannot watch and can and cannot play is the day that we loose alot of what this country is all about. Freedom of choice. I also heard that the show 24 is going to have some scenes deleted due to theses shootings. How ridiculous is that? Are we going to remove every movie and game that has a sniper in it?

 

[DonRoeber]

Basically he started with saying that almost everybody has a deep ingrained resistance to killing other people, even is situations of war. The example he was using was the American civil war, where the kill to shoot ratio was very low, suggesting that people missed on purpose and shot over their enemys head. Also, a lot of guns picked up from the ground afterwards, still had bullets in them, meaning that many people didn't even fire. This all came from this resistance to kill others. Sounds true to me.

While I certainly can't vouch for the psychological state of the soldiers in the civil war, I can say that I've shot black powder rifles before, simmilar to the ones used during that war. And they're a pain in the butt. They're difficult, complicated and dangerous to load, not to mention time consuming. They're also very hard to aim and control, because of their weight, size and the kick of the shot. Under ideal circumstances (ie. not being shot at, starving, cold and sick), it takes at least 30 seconds to load a black powder rifle, and another few seconds to aim and fire. During that time, your enemy is running at you, either with a sword or bayonet. So it doesn't surprise me at all that many weapons were found in the state that you described.

 

[Woo Jae]

Nothing new. Media will BS itself as the "omniscient" entity that will tell us all we know...

The fact is that though the games have gotten realistic, this does NOT truly equate to inducing one to COMMIT violent acts. Most gamers are responsible adults (and young adults - when the don't trash talk) and play games mostly for fun. Some use it to let off some steam/reduce stress. But GAMES are NOT the cause of the violence.

The cause of the violence? Well, that differs from case to case. Some would say a disturbed childhood. Perhaps growing up in a very violent area (though this is NOT necessarily true.) Or maybe a biological/neurological reason. But in most of these, the use of videogames and audio video media seems to me to be a cop out. Mainly because it relies on EXTERNAL factors only and takes no consideration of the life experiences of that person.

Blah...

Mostly, I just smile when the media gets stupid - because if there is one thing that is true, it's that the media will NEVER but NEVER admit the truth (that they often know even less than we do and spout 'authoritative' BS.)