The Video Game Debate

[Carthrat]

I took it upon myself to scour google for a few articles relating to the above topic.

Have fun ripping these apart, guys.

http://www.musicalenglishlessons.com/art-violence.htm
http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/videogameviolence/ (links to a few articles- a couple of them are realllly bad)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/AmericanFamily/GMA011015War_Games.html

[Black Dragon]

Wow. I didn't even get past the first link. And I didn't read the whole thing, either.
What certain people fail to realize (which really amazes me) is that, yeah, video games and music DO influence people. ALONG WITH EVERYTHING ELSE!
This guy, at least had the sense of mind to recognize that there is no single cause, but he (or she, I didn't look to see the gender of the author) is still trying to find factors to blame.
The answer is really quite simple: It's the PEOPLE, not the bloody video games. If you're so inept at parenting that your kid plays Grand Theft Auto 3 and says, "Wow, all that shooting people and taking their money is really cool! I think I'll do that for real!", I think that they really would have grown up to be a pimple on society's buttocks anyway, and it's rather unfortunate that he didn't watch an episode of Superfriends and try to fly.
People have to stop blaming the outside influences and just work on raising their children better. Because the only way that anybody will grow up without any negative influencing factors is if they live in an isolated basement all their lives. And that's only if you don't count the rats. Carrion feeders are bad influences too.

[Dracos]

Heya BD, glad ta see ya here.

Carth, okay, excellent topic for the ECB to take swipes at.  The logic here appears solid on face but to anyone with a few wits about them falls apart rather handily.  There's one problem I have, which is that these are news articles.  In standard form with ECB doctrine we'd like to be able to send our criticism and response back  to the author of said article.  Preferrably we don't want to get "I wrote that three years ago, it's unimportant".  Best way  to do this is to find incredibly recent articles.

Therefore I charge ye with finding the most recent articles in this type of ritualistic stupidity that you can.  I'll organize this as a group session again.   We'll get pseudo-sympathetic viewpoints, outsiders, insiders, and of  course gamers like myself together and comment thoroughly on one before sending it off to one of these news corporations.

Fearless Leader

[Carthrat]

Well, I finally discovered the 'advanced search' option.

*slaps himself*

Anyway. I found a pretty juicy group of articles, involving groups arguing for and against the issue.

It's actually quite entertaining just to read both sides.

*shrugs* Anyway. Couple links...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/21/earlyshow/leisure/books/main513075.shtml (Most of the other links can be found from this site.)

http://www.mediafamily.org/press/20020807-1.shtml
(Headline Article)

http://www.mediafamily.org/

This site has tons of crap on it. Gentlemen, load your crossbows.

[Dracos]

Hum, you are right.  That site is quite full of shit.  Hum, it will be a bit until I could personally oversee an ecb of that site but...  those who want to participate in this, please post here.  If one of our more experienced ECB'ers is willing to oversee this group project personally, then that would be fine as well.

Fearless Leader

[Anonymous]

It's all true! I played SimCity and now I have an undeniable urge to run for public office!

[Calorn]

Hmm I listen to music to take out my aggressive and the anger that I feel towards a system that thinks it can run my life(authority over others).  I play video games because I can't go out and express the way I feel in public(shooting stupid people like in GTA) because I have to live in a society that feels that these things are not natural and should not be exhibited.  In other words fuck the system, fuck what those articles say because its all BS to begin with.  It's people like the ones that write these articles that need to take a step back and realize that nobody has a perfect life and that things for us change every minute and the way react to these changes is a natural reaction, whether it is violent or not.  Everyone is different.  The sooner these morons figure this out the better this world will be.

[Zorknot]

Strangely enough, when I'm playin GTA3 and driving through say, the construction site on Staunton Island and all sorts of people are shooting bullets through my car meaning any moment I might blow up, I'm usually yelling "Give peace a chance!"

[nemesis_zero]

I'm with ya all the way, veloce.

Honestly, does it never occur to these people that the only reason these sorts of violent outbursts don't happen MORE OFTEN is that we have violent videogames, music, movies, etc. around to let off steam?  Attacking these few remaining outlets for perfectly natural behavior will only cause more anger in the short term from fans of these hobbies and more anger in the long term because it will just build up with no pleace left to go.  

Heck, I personally wonder what would hapen to the domestic abuse rates in this country if the government sent out free anger-releasing videogames to everyone.

[Calorn]

The word domestic and abuse would never be used together that's what would happen.  In the old says people killed each other freely.  People with money were scared to die form a robbery so they used their money to get their way with the government so that these people that killed were punished, hence why our society thinks it is wrong to kill someone.  If it shuts up some moron that really doesn't need to be talking then by all means shoot him.  
"Who the fuck are you to judge me??"
-NOFX "Herojuana"

Unfortunately we can't do that unless we want to spend the rest of our life locked up with the worst society can find and imprison.  Violence is an artistic expression for some.  I personally don't want to kill anyone unless they give me a good reason to.  But if I have a good reason, if I have my reasons period to end someone elses life then that is our problem not anyone elses.