Video games harmful ?

[Veta]

This is not a thread about gun control although my opinion is that if someone has a gun, he will use it at some point .

 

I have played video games as long as I can remember ,not once have I thought , "gee I should murder people".

 

So it is my opinion that politicians are trying to blame video games instead of guns because they all have profit from the guns industry . This truly offends me and all I stand for, because video games are my life I spend most of my free time playing them modding or talking about them . So when this oblivious bastard tries to avoid questions he cant answer by making such a statement it is just too much to handle .

 

 

He says "Video games affects <-(what a moron) people" does that mean the that when 20 children are shot and killed it doesn't affect people.

Many of you guys live in the US and I want to know your opinion in the matter .

 

 

Personal notes:

 

I don't live in the US but I can still have an opinion .

 

I don't own a gun and hope to never need one .

 

 

[video=youtube]

[leddis3]

This is what immediately comes to mind watching that:

 

 

Surprise surprise, it's yet another old man shaking his fist at something he doesn't understand.

Videogames remain the scapegoat de jour for people like him like movies, cartoons, theater and books before them.

 

Not turning this into a religious discussion, but I feel it must be pointed out that when a serial killer claims he's murdering on orders from God, nobody goes out and starts blaming religion but rather the killer's mental illness. Yet if that same killer were to say they were doing it on orders from.. I don't know, Duke Nukem, suddenly videogames are twisting minds and training murderers! Come on.

[Remy]

Heh, murdering, whole holocausts in the name of religion, peace, whatever, were done long before anyone even knew what a video game is...but its dem evilz video gamez!!

 

Dont want to offend anyone, but i always have a good laugh at these US politicians, whos usefulness was long gone before they even got to their place.

 

Nice world we men created, really.

[ChancellorKremlin]

Wow, he can't even put a coherent sentence together. Makes me wonder how some of these people get elected.

 

To me, his scattered thought processes are more telling than his stance on games per se.

[overkeks]

Almost all of the weirdos who run amok had a hard time in school because of their classmates. Thats not reason enough to kill innocent people, but including them into the school society instead of letting them permanently slide in a weird fantasy world is the most effective (and only) way to prevent that amok stuff.

 

That battle between the weapon lobby and the computer game industry is just about who has to be the sacrifical lamb, nothing else... especially NOT a solution.

But still: people that run amok here have smaller guns and kill therefore fewer people.

[Dex Luther]

A few years ago there was a religious ambulance chaser by the name of Jack Thomson. Don't know what happened to him. We don't hear of him anymore, but he used to show up at pretty much every school shooting and tell everyone he could that it was all violent video games' fault.

 

I'm pretty sure there's a few videos on youtube of him getting owned.

[CrimsonOmegaLance]

I wonder when someone will start to break out our First Amendment rights in the U.S. and call video games a form of speech, like novels or movies.

 

edit: nvm.. already happened.. how did I not hear about this.

[Jexsam]

It's certainly not unthinkable that a video game could have negative psychological effects on kids, but really, unless you're a total dumbfuck and let your five-year-old play Condemned without any semblance of supervision, it's pretty unlikely it'll have any effect beyond potential laziness. Most kids are old enough to conceptualize the difference between fantasy and reality by the time they're old enough to effectively manipulate a video game. As long as the parent does their job, the risk is hilariously minimal.

 

Hell, even without the parent, blaming the video game would be stupid.

[AgentChicken]

[video=youtube]

 

 

Total Biscuit Explains this very well and very informative. He also explains why the Media are the Accomplice in most of the tragedy's recently and the reason why Video games are getting the bad press. I have been playing Violent Video games since i was 5, Resident evil 1 was my very first video game. the Dogs jumping through the windows scared the living daylights outta me as a kid. But all the violence and death's has not harmed me mentally or physically. Kids who play violent video games only play it because the parents give them the money to buy it in the first place. And the Game store should be checking for ID anyway

[leddis3]

A few years ago there was a religious ambulance chaser by the name of Jack Thomson. Don't know what happened to him. We don't hear of him anymore' date=' but he used to show up at pretty much every school shooting and tell everyone he could that it was all violent video games' fault.

 

I'm pretty sure there's a few videos on youtube of him getting owned.

[/quote']

 

It's a shame Thompson quit his antics, because he was such an embarassing failure that he was really the best supporter the videogames industry has ever had. Nobody could take him seriously.

[AgentChicken]

Jack Thompson was one of those guys that you hated so much that you Boiled with anger every time you saw his stupid face, but once he is gone you wish he was back so you can hate him again

[Dex Luther]

A few years ago there was a religious ambulance chaser by the name of Jack Thomson. Don't know what happened to him. We don't hear of him anymore' date=' but he used to show up at pretty much every school shooting and tell everyone he could that it was all violent video games' fault.

 

I'm pretty sure there's a few videos on youtube of him getting owned.

[/quote']

 

It's a shame Thompson quit his antics, because he was such an embarassing failure that he was really the best supporter the videogames industry has ever had. Nobody could take him seriously.

 

As far as I know, he never quit. He got disbarred, but even after that he continued.

 

I know he at least wrote a pretty shitty letter to some videogame company's CEO's mother (I think it was Rockstar) and another letter to the president.

[Dex Luther]

Same old story' date=' first they pointed a finger at religion because some nutjob said god told him to kill, now he's banned in schools, court rooms, government buildings and heaven forbid you should be a child in school and mention god. I wonder just how many kids today even know there was ever a pledge of allegiance.

 

Give a listen, from 1965.

 

 

 

 

[/quote']

 

Who's banned in schools? I don't see what the pledge of allegiance has to do with the subject.

 

Besides, I doubt saying some words at the start of the day will prevent some mad man from walking into a school or even prevent people from being lunatics in the first place.

 

If that were the case, then where are the mass shootings in Sweden, Finland, Canada, the UK, Japan, and many many other countries that don't have and never had a pledge of allegiance?

 

Japan has violent cartoons, video games, movies, shows, but they have very strict gun laws. Japan averages 10 gun related murders a year.

 

Look at the rates of gun violence in all countries. Amongst the countries with the lowest rates there's something that's common between them all, and it's not a pledge of allegiance.

[mclericp]

what has USA gotten itself to now...

[leddis3]

Same old story, first they pointed a finger at religion because some nutjob said god told him to kill, now he's banned in schools, court rooms, government buildings and heaven forbid you should be a child in school and mention god. I wonder just how many kids today even know there was ever a pledge of allegiance.

 

Give a listen, from 1965.

 

As far as I know the pledge of allegiance is still practiced in American schools, moreover the only part relevant to religion, "under God" was something added to the pledge in the 1950s by politicians.

In any case I've never liked the idea of an oath of allegiance to a country, religious or not. It seems vaguely cultish and like indoctrination to me.

[Dex Luther]

Same old story, first they pointed a finger at religion because some nutjob said god told him to kill, now he's banned in schools, court rooms, government buildings and heaven forbid you should be a child in school and mention god. I wonder just how many kids today even know there was ever a pledge of allegiance.

 

Give a listen, from 1965.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh btw, god isn't banned from school at all. In fact ALL gods are still allowed there. Students and teachers can pray for themselves to themselves whenever they please.

 

 

Same old story, first they pointed a finger at religion because some nutjob said god told him to kill, now he's banned in schools, court rooms, government buildings and heaven forbid you should be a child in school and mention god. I wonder just how many kids today even know there was ever a pledge of allegiance.

 

Give a listen, from 1965.

 

As far as I know the pledge of allegiance is still practiced in American schools, moreover the only part relevant to religion, "under God" was something added to the pledge in the 1950s by politicians.

In any case I've never liked the idea of an oath of allegiance to a country, religious or not. It seems vaguely cultish and like indoctrination to me.

 

I think he was referring to teacher lead prayer, which as far as I know, has been stopped because of this:

 

Thomas Jefferson:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between

Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or

his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions

only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that

act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature

should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of

separation between Church and State.

 

 

And then there's this:

 

 

Treaty with Tripoli, Article 11:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense,

founded on the Christian religion

; as it has in itself no character of

enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as

the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against

any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext

arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of

the harmony existing between the two countries.

 

The state has no business forcing people to pray to a god that either isn't their god or they don't believe in. It shouldn't even be on money or in the pledge to begin with. That isn't the issue though, countries that are much more atheistic still don't have as much violence as in the states )gun related or otherwise).

[Lolzao]

The first game that i played was quake 2 when i was 5 years old(it was very violent by the way,if i remember it right) and it didn't turn me into a psycho freak,and i have guns(or rather my father does) at home but i never fell the "urge" to use them,aside from hunting and target practice.

[Ark of Truth]

Playing video games does not make you violent.

 

I have played loads of violent games but it real life I am the nice person and would never do violence like it is shown in video games.

[leddis3]

Not to mention that videogames aren't even good at training people to use guns.

It's not like they prepare you for the recoil and real world environments. Anyone who claims that they'd make a good soldier because they have a headshot killstreak in Call of Duty or whatever is laughed at because they're talking out of their ass (and no army trains you to headshot anyway).

[Siouliusn]

Videogames does hurt.

At least my thumbs still hurt since our last SFighter session xD

More seriously, it's just a culprit (easy) or a way to distract people  from the real problem.

[DevinC]

I watch some of these thugs at bars who fight with everyone at the drop of a hat and I wonder if maybe they SHOULD be playing video games Help them work out some of these violent urges.

 

I think violent video games have the potential to be harmful to young children if they receive very little parenting or 'good' parenting. Other than that, there is zero statistically significant research to show a link between violent video games and violence (some of the studies done have so many confound variables it isn't even funny as well as insufficient sample sizes to be statistically relevant).

 

And if there WAS a link, all of us who visit this site would be a bunch of... what? Raping, nudist, slavetaking, scantily-clad sex maniacs?

 

I think not.

...well, at least not in public.

[Something]

Wasn't all of modern society's woes at one point blamed on Opera?

[DevinC]

Wasn't all of modern society's woes at one point blamed on Opera?

And rock music... and disco... and alcohol... and... hey, wait a minute, doesn't it kinda look like people don't like taking responsibility for anything? It's like the old cry of THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT, only now it's VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES MADE HIM DO IT!

[Someone92]

What often sends chill down my spine when I read an article or a documentation that puts the blame of a school massacre on video games is how badly informed the reporters are.

 

I remember an acticle from a couple of years that claimed that the ultra-violent game Half-Pipe is the main reason the guy committed his shooting rampage. According to the article you fight as either a terrorist and counter-terrorist and have to steal the opponent's flag to score, and killing grandmas and schoolgirls grant extra points; the game they were actually talking about was Counter-Strike, a (former) mod to the game Half-Life, the game modus CTF doesn't exist in CS, and the anecdote about the grandmas and schoolgirls is from the uncensored, in most contries not purchasable, version of (iirc) Taxi Driver.

Now, not every coverage about video games is this blatantly wrong but I saw so often false facts that anyone who had informed themselves for a few hours or even minutes would realize they are false.

 

In what areas the press makes an equally bad job and we simply don't notice it?!?

[AgentChicken]

People are Too Self absorbed today to take the blame for something they have done themselves So they have to push it on some other Source. As i have stated before i played video games when i was a child and they were violent, Resident evil was my first video game. And I still remain Sane and Normal, One of my favrouite game series is Grand theft auto for fuck sake and i still remain normal. I have no need or Mental illness from such Video game to run people over with cars or shoot hookers after the deed has been done.

 

Video games were apart of my childhood as a Child and video games will stay a part of my life for as long as i live. Nothing will stop me from Enjoying video games or buying Video games for my future sons or daughters. Video games do not give people mental illness's or the urge to kill, Video games are NOT Worse than guns. Do you Honestly see someone doing a Robbery at a bank with a fucking copy of GTA in their hands acting as a gun?, Do you see people acting out "gangs" or attacks  because they saw it in video games...maybe but thats not the video games problem. Its the Parents who buy the fucking thing for their children, If they had the responsibility and the time to pull their heads outta their asses they might see what they are buying and buy something less Violent.

 

Sorry if this is more of a rage than a discussion, but i had to get it out there.