Gamer Sentenced to Death
In 2003 a young man named Devin Moore killed 3 police officers after being brought in on suspicion of stealing a car. Prior to his heinous crime he had played a violent videogame. So clearly this is cause, isn't it?
Oh, I forgot to mention that Moore was physically and mentally abused his entire childhood. Perhaps that might have had a little more to do with his mental breakdown than playing a videogame.
There are millions of gamers, myself included, who have grown up playing videogames and violent ones at that. I can safely say that 99% of us have never even been in a fist fight much less picked up a gun and blown someone away or have ever had any inclination to do so.
But Lincoln, gaming is escapism that trains kids to kill- not exactly.
How easy is it to play a videogame? Quite, you push buttons and, well, there you are. By the same token, how hard is it to shoot a handgun (or any gun for that matter) with accuracy? Extremely. Police officers and licensed handgun owners must go through rigorous training in order to use a handgun with any sort of accuracy.
As far as escapism goes- absolutely games are escapism. If they weren’t no one would play them. Some times you need to get away from the humdrum redundancy that is daily life. But that’s wrong isn’t it? Well aren’t movies and books escapism? Well, the good ones are anyway and there is nothing wrong with that.
We need to take a look at ourselves instead of looking for somewhere to place the blame. Parents- look at what your kids are playing. If you love them, you’ll be interested in everything they’re doing, including the games they’re playing. There is a rating system in place but it is only as good as the people who enforce it. Let’s start cracking down on the M rated games being sold to minors and not blame the games themselves.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Moore was physically and mentally abused his entire childhood. Perhaps that might have had a little more to do with his mental breakdown than playing a videogame.
There are millions of gamers, myself included, who have grown up playing videogames and violent ones at that. I can safely say that 99% of us have never even been in a fist fight much less picked up a gun and blown someone away or have ever had any inclination to do so.
But Lincoln, gaming is escapism that trains kids to kill- not exactly.
How easy is it to play a videogame? Quite, you push buttons and, well, there you are. By the same token, how hard is it to shoot a handgun (or any gun for that matter) with accuracy? Extremely. Police officers and licensed handgun owners must go through rigorous training in order to use a handgun with any sort of accuracy.
As far as escapism goes- absolutely games are escapism. If they weren’t no one would play them. Some times you need to get away from the humdrum redundancy that is daily life. But that’s wrong isn’t it? Well aren’t movies and books escapism? Well, the good ones are anyway and there is nothing wrong with that.
We need to take a look at ourselves instead of looking for somewhere to place the blame. Parents- look at what your kids are playing. If you love them, you’ll be interested in everything they’re doing, including the games they’re playing. There is a rating system in place but it is only as good as the people who enforce it. Let’s start cracking down on the M rated games being sold to minors and not blame the games themselves.
posted by Muse-ack_Man at 6:41 AM
1 Comments:
Lincoln,
I love your sense of humor and use os sarcasm! It always cracks me up. I agree with you. People put the blame on ridiculous things that to someone even remotely smart, would know that that isn't what really caused it. And oh, the dude who killed the officers "after playing a violent video game"? I love how some forget to mention his years and years of abuse!
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