Fictional shootings courtesy of violent video games are more to blame for real-life shootings than guns. Yeah, that makes sense...
It really cracks me up (not literally, of course) how many conservatives are so quick to blame the entertainment world - particularly violent video games, violent films, and violent lyrics - as the main reason for shooting sprees like the one that happened in Newtown, Connecticut last month. Can entertainment influence people, especially younger people? Sure, but it's the parents' responsibility to have a mature conversation with their children about these matters, differentiating the real world from the fantasy world. Anymore, I see these entertainment arguments as nothing more than red herrings, diverting attention away from the real issues at hand.
Here's a question for the NRA and the like - how many people were killed by others playing violent video games? Zero. It really amazes me that to these people, animated shootings depicted in the fantasy world via video games are more responsible for actual real-life gun deaths than the weapon used to kill its victims - that being guns.
While we're at it, let's blame the following for our country's problems:
- Governmental financial woes: Sim City - It's no wonder our leaders don't know how to properly run a city, state, or country. This game taught them that when things are going bad, to just pray that Godzilla stomps all across the area, so they can garner both sympathy and money from the outside.
- Masturbation: Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" - It's all in the title, folks. Instead of properly telling teenagers that it'll make them go blind, the moonwalker enthusiastically tells people, regardless of age, to go to the nearest restroom and "beat it." Lord only knows what happened at this guy's concerts during this very song. Hopefully it was the last song played, so Jackson didn't need to take a break for janitors to clean the place.
- Rape and assault: A Clockwork Orange - Rapes and assaults, especially those which include a giant ceramic dildo, are running rampant in this country. Giant ceramic dildo or not giant ceramic dildo, however, whenever one hears about an assault or rape on the news, the first thought that enters his or her mind has to be, "That person obviously saw A Clockwork Orange. Damn that Stanley Kubrick! Now, why in the world did I buy this giant ceramic dildo off E-Bay? ::scratches head - both heads if it's a guy::"
- Divorce: The TV show Friends - It could very well have been called The Ross and Rachel Show toward the show's end - that or Another Ross and Rachel Soap Opera. In any case, the couple's seemingly constant fights, break-ups, and eventual divorce was too much for the American psyche to handle. It resulted in millions of couples either role-playing Ross and Rachel and breaking-up or divorcing as a result, since that's what the couple did on the show, or being that they were more devoted to the show than to each other, Ross and Rachel's break-up led to depression, an outside-the-relationship-sex-because-I'm-vulnerable partner, which eventually ended things between them.
- As*holes: The Bible - When people read this book, they thought, "So, this guy was perfect and got killed via a crucifixion for his efforts? Well, f**k that s**t! From this day forward, I'm going to be an as*hole!" Amen.
Here's a question for the NRA and the like - how many people were killed by others playing violent video games? Zero. It really amazes me that to these people, animated shootings depicted in the fantasy world via video games are more responsible for actual real-life gun deaths than the weapon used to kill its victims - that being guns.
While we're at it, let's blame the following for our country's problems:
- Governmental financial woes: Sim City - It's no wonder our leaders don't know how to properly run a city, state, or country. This game taught them that when things are going bad, to just pray that Godzilla stomps all across the area, so they can garner both sympathy and money from the outside.
- Masturbation: Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" - It's all in the title, folks. Instead of properly telling teenagers that it'll make them go blind, the moonwalker enthusiastically tells people, regardless of age, to go to the nearest restroom and "beat it." Lord only knows what happened at this guy's concerts during this very song. Hopefully it was the last song played, so Jackson didn't need to take a break for janitors to clean the place.
- Rape and assault: A Clockwork Orange - Rapes and assaults, especially those which include a giant ceramic dildo, are running rampant in this country. Giant ceramic dildo or not giant ceramic dildo, however, whenever one hears about an assault or rape on the news, the first thought that enters his or her mind has to be, "That person obviously saw A Clockwork Orange. Damn that Stanley Kubrick! Now, why in the world did I buy this giant ceramic dildo off E-Bay? ::scratches head - both heads if it's a guy::"
- Divorce: The TV show Friends - It could very well have been called The Ross and Rachel Show toward the show's end - that or Another Ross and Rachel Soap Opera. In any case, the couple's seemingly constant fights, break-ups, and eventual divorce was too much for the American psyche to handle. It resulted in millions of couples either role-playing Ross and Rachel and breaking-up or divorcing as a result, since that's what the couple did on the show, or being that they were more devoted to the show than to each other, Ross and Rachel's break-up led to depression, an outside-the-relationship-sex-because-I'm-vulnerable partner, which eventually ended things between them.
- As*holes: The Bible - When people read this book, they thought, "So, this guy was perfect and got killed via a crucifixion for his efforts? Well, f**k that s**t! From this day forward, I'm going to be an as*hole!" Amen.
Ok, let's clear the air for a second! Video games, music, movies, and TV are not always to blame. I play video games where there's shooting. I play Scarface: The World is Yours, and there's plenty of shooting and blood, gore, drugs in there, but you certainly don't see me on the 10:00 news because of a shooting. These things are not always to blame. And personally, I've never played Sim City, but it sounds fun! I like the Sims games for PS2. Because if you really think about it, The Sims Games sort of teach you about life. Like if you don't pay your bills, the repo man comes. You go to work to earn money. You move to different places and things. But these people are so ignorant that they simply place the blame on things like this; Well, I guess for them ignorance is bliss!
ReplyDeleteYeah, who is of more danger to society: Person A, who is playing violent video games at home or Person B, who is out shooting people with actual guns? Eh... It saddens me that this is actually a question the NRA and the like feel is one we need to discuss. ::facepalm::
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, these same violent video games (some which are even more violent) are present in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere, yet they don't have nearly as many gun-related deaths as we do in this country. So, I think it's a quite far-fetched for some to believe that violent video games in this country are the main reason for shooting sprees, such as the one in Newtown, Connecticut.