Guns Don't Kill People, Videogames Do

[Uncle Sam]

So, the kerfuffle has kicked off yet again recently with former attorney Jack Thompson carrying on what can only be called a blind hate campaign on the medium of videogames. This time he's claiming it was the game Counter-Strike that caused the recent NIU murders, having earlier claimed that videogames were to blame for the Virginia Tech massacre.

All I can say is this: how convenient. How convenient that you look over dozens of more significant factors: poor parenting, previous mental health issues, the fact that the person in question was recently coming off anti-depressants. How convenient that people will blame everyone and everything but themselves when their children turn out to be complete nutjobs. How convenient that literature and film, mediums far more prominent in our culture and the lives of the killers are conveniently excused and spared this sort of idiotic negative press. How convenient that people are scared enough to take this wild (and I mean wild) speculation as if it has some sort of basis.

Thoughts please.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Its fun how counterstrike can be blamed, yet we allow movies like the SAW trilogy to be showed in shopping malls. U cant run around and shoot people in a video game with mild violence, but the torture of young girls is cool to put up in a shopping mall. But Video games are to blame. Not like millions of people play these games, with little to no reprecussion, becuase well, gee, they are NORMAL FUCKING PEOPLE. Of course someone who is whacked out is gonna take a video game to an extreme. But if they werent whacked out from every other facet of their lives, then maybe they wouldnt have popped off. When the fuck ever has a killer who then turned the gun on themselves, ever had a note of writings that said " I did this becuase the video games told me to...I did this becuase Marylin manson or eminem told me to".....I belive the number on that one would be ZERO. Like you said sam, its easy to blame everyone else, when society, parents, and peers fail someone. Its not becuase we as people are peices of shit...no noooo it was the VIDEO GAMES that made them do it. Bullshit.

 

[X]

Don't even take this seriously Sam. Jack Thompson is a fuckin' idiot, who no one respects or takes seriously. This is the same guy who's been trying to get the Grand Theft Auto series banned for years. No judges take the guy seriously or even care about his opinion.

There will always be people like Jack Thompson, trying to grab publicity any way they can. It'll be his fault when he's being run over by cars and attacked by Counter Strike teams in hell.

 

[NYSandman]

Shit like this pisses me the fuck off. Everyone blames games, books, television, everything but the person's upbringing and the fact that they are just fucking pschyco! It's like when kids fail at school and they blame the parents, the kid's dog, everything but the fact that the kid is either an idiot, or just doesn't want to learn.

These lawyers are easily as low as child molesters, taking advantage of every opportunity to defend an obviously guilty person, and making every excuse in the book.

Another thing that pisses me off are these parents who have 350 pound 5 year olds because they feed them fast food three times a day, and then go sue the establishment! It has nothing to do with the fact that they can't cook for the little fat fuck, and feed him garbage everyday. It's Ronald McDonald's fault because he made a porno screwing a cheeseburger, and that tempted the kid, and now he has a heart attack and it's McDonald's fault.

I can go off on an infinite rant about this shit, but I'll stop. This shit is particularly prevolent here in the States.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

The only way a video game can be properly blamed for killing anyone.. is if the person used the game disc as a weapon, and killed someone with it. Case closed.

This is the worst example of people being too close minded and stupid to take responsibility where its needed. Parenting is the first place to look. The "killer's" childhood, their lifestyle. Their habits. Why bother studying a criminal's life though when we can just say "It was GTA3."

Overall, this is someone running their mouth because they as a person don't see the point in the fun and excitment people gain from video games. Its always some old guy, whos trying to politic for something, who wants to place blame on a "game" because he doesn't play them, so he has no need for them. But no, he isn't going to place the same amount of blame on a movie that could do just as much, if not more harm. (like fucking Hostel)

Why? Because that stupid son of a b*tch watches those movies. He probably gets as much enjoyment out of murder movies and gore movies like Hostel and Saw, as the actual killers do.

 

[klunderbunker]

Here we go again. Yet another instance of trying to blame a game for somethign bad happening. I've never played counter strike or many games involving shooting, but I have played Goldeneye, a James Bond game. The game is designed mainly around shooting people. I've played it for years and I've never wanted to go gun down anyone, and do you know why? Because I'm not a spy working for British intelligence, just like the people playing counter strike aren't terrorists. People who start playing one of these games don't automatically want to shoot someone. They've more than likely always thought about it and the game did nothing to change that.

 

[Matt Phoenix]

Yeah, i fully agree with all the above posts and it just shits me that people like this guy even get media attention because it is obvious that this is all they want. I mean i have been playing video games for a long time and i am not stupid enough to believe that i can command fire, or there are evil monsters that need killing or oblivion gates that need closing. I use these as a form of relaxation and as an escape from the outside world for a couple of hours.
Sam has got it right by saying that blaming computer games is by far an easier way of placing blame when there are far more likely contributing factors to someone going psycho, for lack of a better word, and killing people. Simply and sadly some people are just nutbags and there is nothing that banning perfectly safe games will accomplish in eradicating the murders and violence in the world today.

A little off topic but relevant nontheless. Here in Australia we do not have an R classification (18+) for computer games meaning that if it does not comply with an MA 15+ rating then it is banned, They were recently trying to change this introduce an R classification but the Govenor in South Australia said that he wouldnt allow it and the change needed the governors from all 8 states to agree before it was passed so therefore since one wouldnt allow it than the classification was refused. I mena what a crock of shit, why should one person be allowed to tell me what i can and cant watch, there is a good chance that i probably wouldnt even buy the games in question but i would like the choice to decide for myself. And the part is that the gov of South Australia probably shares a similar view to the guy in question in blaming games for some of the violence in society.

 

[Kamaki]

Jack Thompson? I thought everyone had pretty much decided that whatever comes out of his mouth is crap.

He probably had a bad experience with games once; his parents probably beat him with them or something, he is deeply religious. No offence to religious people of course, he’s an eccentric - definitely not the norm.

He's always bending the evidence to try and win. Here's an example below.

There was a murder case against a 29-year-old called Charles McCoy, Jr. When McCoy was captured the police found a game console and a copy of The Getaway were in his motel room. Although not representing McCoy and over the objections of McCoy's lawyers, Thompson succeeded in getting the court to unseal a search warrant for McCoy's residence. This showed, among other things, the discovery of additional games State of Emergency, Max Payne, and Dead To Rights. However, he was not allowed to present the evidence to McCoy, whose defence team was relying on an insanity defence based on paranoid schizophrenia.
Thompson's belief was that McCoy was the "functional equivalent of a 15-year-old," and "the only thing insane about this case is the (insanity) defence."

I repeat. He's crazy. Ignore him.

it just shits me that people like this guy even get media attention because it is obvious that this is all they want.

He doesn't, he’s been deemed insane by almost everyone so he hardly gets anymore coverage at all. At least that’s what I though (>_<) Sorry if I'm wrong

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

ugh when is this guy gonna learn that the video game industry CANNOT be blamed for stupid people copying the stunts used in video games... I can't WAIT for someone to try and copy a scene from the new game Prototype.... or the new GTA IV..... ugh

 

[Total Impact]

I play madden, I don't go out and tackle everybody I see. Videogames don't kill people, crazy people kill people. Kids who have parents that will buy their son a riffle and let them handle guns as a child is what is killing a lot of people, not videogames. I one of the people in the world who think we need to call people like wee see it, and just say crazy people are crazy, nothing cause it, they are just crazy and no videogame made them crazy, no song, they are just crazy.

 

[Danmen001]

I have always found this issue and the way it is directed to be stupid, it is nice to know I am not the only one.

First of all, if everyone who played a violent video game, or some sort of media entertainment did this.......well, I can honestly say I think we would all be dead by now. It is really unfair to blame things like this on entertainment that is so common nowadays.

People should be focusing on the real issue of here, which is either a flat out problem with the people involved, or an outside issue. I.e parenting.

Open your eyes world and see what is there not what you want to see.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Ladies and gentlemen, a new warrior against videogames has entered the fray: Anne Diamond, a UK TV presenter, apparently. Even I don't know who this person is, but the Daily Mail seem to love her so alrighty then.

Computer games will carry cinema-style age ratings to protect children from violent and sexual images, ministers said yesterday.

Parents will be advised to take computers out of their children's bedrooms after a report has warned of the potential of the Internet and violent console games to harm children.

Dr Tanya Byron, the television psychologist whose study was commissioned by Gordon Brown, said allowing children to play on computers unsupervised is as dangerous as letting them play outside on their own.

These games are played by hundreds of thousands of youngsters, but how many parents know what their teenagers are confronted with when spending hours in their bedrooms on the computer?

To find out, the Mail asked TV presenter Anne Diamond, who lives with her four sons aged 12 to 20, to buy a series of the most popular games.

Some are classified 15 or 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification.

Others have an unofficial rating of 16+ or 18+ from a European body which aims to help parents decide what their children should play.

After seeing them Anne said: "Just reviewing these games, made my hair stand on end. I have never got into computer games.but my sons all love them.

"I have to guard constantly that they don't use my ignorance to play games that I wouldn't allow in the house, if only I knew their content.

"Some of the games were so mindless it would be hard to see them as a destructive influence. But others were sickening in their gratuitous use of violence and bloodthirsty imagery."

The Mail website wouldn't let me copy the individual reviews, probably so I couldn't ridicule the fuck out of them. Basically, she goes out looking for the most violent games possible (apparently Halo 3 falls under that bracket) and she then sucks balls at them - she repeatedly describes how she's violently killed. Bitch, teenagers don't suck as much as you at playing games. Worst of all, she says Resident Evil 4 shouldn't be played by anyone. No, it's the best game probably in the world now and just because you're terrified that your kids are going to chainsaw your head off in the night don't take it out on everyone else. I mean, they probably will anyway because you took their Xbox away. I don't get why old ladies like this play videogames; I mean, obviously so the Mail can bash them even more. It's just, it's like me reviewing the menopause. I don't think that review would be very positive either.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

its called common sense people... if you don't got it you shouldn't be playing video games in the first place. there's a REASON why there's an ESRB. you wouldn't want a 10 yr old playing Grand Theft Auto unless your the kind of parent who teaches their kid how to shoot pigeons.

 

[gorsty2k7]

Jack Thompson is a moron, why people still listen to his inane, senile rantings are beyond me. He has had issues with Howard Stern, Janet Reno, 2 Live Crew and numerous video games (mainly GTA and Bully) although he also apparently sent a cease and desist notice to Midway games because you could make a fighter which resembled him in the Kreate a Fighter mode.

Honestly, the man is clinically insane and the sooner this inbred is sectioned the better the human race will be where not every single tragedy will be blamed on music or video games.

As for the rating of video games like films, I think its a stupid idea. I agree moreso with the PEGI system in the UK which provides a lot more information as to why it is rated as it is (e.g. does it contain violence or nudity) as opposed to the BBFC ratings where it is rated as either 12, 15 or 18 without any justification

 

[Kasey]

I've heard all of these same half-assed arguments from guys like Thompson ever since Doom was under fire post-Columbine. Never mind that most parents today don't take an active role in their child's development. Never mind that the word (or use of) discipline is as foreign to most kids these days as a jock speaking Klingon. And never mind that a growing number of parents these days don't force their kids to do anything remotely physical all the while pumping them full of the shittiest food known to man (which has been proven to be a factor in development in test schools). I grew up watching (and still do watch) and play some of the most violent games and films since I was five or six years old, but in all honesty, my parents gave me the sense enough to not be a fucking jackoff. Shit, at the age of five Conan the Barbarian was one of my favorite movies (and still is). No one wants to admit that America has a parenting problem (amongst many other things). Instead, they'll just point the finger at Midway and Rockstar Games because we all know that Shang Tsung spells societal destruction. Fuck, people are so dumb. I hope I can move to another planet before I die just to get away from here.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Listening to Marilyn Manson once made me rape a squirrel. And playing GTA made me borrow my dad's sniper rifle and take pop shots at random old people. True story. I had a whale of a time.

If people are fucked up and they don't get help then they are going to do crayzee things. The trick is to keep them in some sort of storage facility. I myself like the premis behind Escape From New York. Or if they're really crazy Escape From L.A.

Either way I can watch the most horrific, violent, sadistic thing in the world. But it won't make me go out and do the same. Because even though I'm slightly unhinged myself, I know that I won't ever be able to get hold of a sniper rifle.

 

[Derf]

This guy seems like a complete fool just from what I've red here just now. Video Games have violence, but anyone thats ever been violent from a game can't only have the game to blame. Some phsyco goes on a killing spree and blames Video Games on his idiotness, I can garentee theres more to it. Movies maybe? The kid was neglected? Anything. Video games are supposed to be a release from real life, there a place to go if you wanna shoot someone. This Jack guy is a fool, and I don't think anyone has ever killed someone in real life because "Grand Theft Auto" made it look fun.