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For the people in the back: Video games don't cause violence
Video games do not cause violent behavior. There is no scientific, consensus-backed research supporting the idea that playing video games -- even bloody, realistic shooters -- leads to real-life acts of brutality. However, this misguided theory prevails. After a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, left 17 people dead on February 14th, a handful of politicians decried video games for corrupting young minds and inciting violent behavior. Days later, President Donald Trump said during a meeting about safety in schools, "I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts." Tomorrow, video game industry leaders are scheduled to meet with Trump to discuss the (non-existent, completely imaginary) problem. The Entertainment Software Association will be there and it has a clear message for the White House: "Video games are plainly not the issue: entertainment is distributed and consumed globally, but the US has an exponentially higher level of gun violence than any other nation."
ESA hasn't received an invite to discuss video games with Trump
Yesterday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders claimed that President Trump was planning to meet with "members of the video game industry" to discuss violence in video games and how it might play into the spat of school violence that has plagued the country for years now. But it seems Sanders may have gotten ahead of herself -- the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represents the US video game industry, released a statement last night saying that neither it nor non of its members received an invitation to talk with the president.
Trump will meet video game execs to discuss school violence
A variety of potential actions have been discussed to limit school violence in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL last month, from the uninspired option of raising the minimum age of potential gun-buyers to President Trump's controversial suggestion of arming teachers. But a familiar target for blame appears to be on the mind of the president, as well. In today's White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Trump would soon meet with "members of the video game industry" to see what could be discussed around "protect[ing] schools around the country."
Yet another crime blamed on games
Video games always seem to be blamed for a crime if they are so much as within 1,000 yards miles of the crime scene. Games are the center of attention again after a man went on a shooting spree; he injured 27 before killing himself. Only in America ... except this time it's Germany. The man, identified as Bastian B., apparently performed the dastardly deed because of violent computer simulations. Deputy head of the Christian Democrats -- the party Chancellor Angela Merkel is a part of -- Wolfgang Bosbach decided that all violent games needed to be banned. The wild accusations didn't stop with games and even spilled over into paintball and laser tag. No evidence surfaced in the article -- or possibly in reality -- that the man even played computer games. Volker Beck (a semi-voice of reason and member of the Greens) urged to avoid conclusions until a solid motive was established. We are inclined to agree with Beck. Rearing back and immediately blaming games, especially in a situation where the criminal may not have even played them, is absurd. Even then, banning violent games would not only put a hamper on first person shooters, but would also stop any other game where violence is a factor; Final Fantasy and even cartoony violent games like Pikmin would fall under the rule. German gamers would certainly be unhappy if they could only play Barbie's Horse Adventure and EA Sports games because of some law that doesn't make anyone safer. [Thanks, pandlcg]
Lack of video games incites teen to violence, says teen's grandmother
A 17 year old boy shot in the thigh by a state trooper after he attempted to choke his grandmother was apparently in a rage because his grandmother had taken away his "violent games". As is usual with the mainstream and local media, the report in Today's THV links the violence to video games in the first paragraph yet offers no explanation for the boy's extreme reaction to his grandmother's ban. When normal kids have their games taken away, they usually don't attempt to kill the enforcer. Wikipedia's entry on rage tells us that contributors to irritability can "include fatigue, hunger, being in pain, sexual frustration, recovery from an illness, or the use of certain drugs." We wouldn't be surprised to find one or more of these factors was a greater influence on the boy's behavior.From my vantage point of the gun restricted UK, I'm shocked that the state trooper found himself with no choice other than to shoot the boy. With another fatal accident occurring only a few days earlier (a trooper shot and killed a mentally and physically handicapped man after mistaking him for a fugitive from Michigan) analysis of the trooper's actions shouldn't have been left to the single line: "the shooting is under investigation."[Image credit: Rob Rogers. Thanks, striegs]
