GTA on 60 minutes

[Slime]

So wait, they're suing Sony now? By that logic, I should sue the government for creating the school system that gets so many people bullied. Why don't they also sue the company that provided the materials to make the PS2? Or whoever made the first computers, which inspired consoles? Oh, wait, they should sue God, because he made the earth which contained raw materials, and people, who's descendants made these games!

GTA is violent, but it's not Rockstar's fault that an underage teenager got hold of their game. Shouldn't the parents have been keeping an eye on what this kid was playing?

Edit: I have to go and see a lawyer about that time I got hit in the head with a ball. Yeah, I'm suing the company who made the ball, and then the company who laid the tarmac I landed on, the company who made the tarmac, the family of the inventor of tarmac (and the ball), and also the inventor of the maker of the material of the ball....you get the idea.

[Domon]

its just as others here have said all medias have been blamed for causing violence at one point or another. Now its videogames turn to be blamed for corrupting the youth, before that it was movies/tv, then before that it was probably comics and before that it at some point was books. violent media has evolved over the years and so has ignorant peoples hatred for it.

[Syka]

Originally Posted by Domon

its just as others here have said all medias have been blamed for causing violence at one point or another. Now its videogames turn to be blamed for corrupting the youth, before that it was movies/tv, then before that it was probably comics and before that it at some point was books. violent media has evolved over the years and so has ignorant peoples hatred for it.

That is one of the smartest things I have ever heard. I'm just wondering what the next "cause" of violence will be; nevermind that some people are just sickos that souldn't be aloud to procreate. By the way, when calling people ignorant don't use improper grammar, "people" is plural already 'peoples" is used when describing a culture of people. Still a great post, I'm giving you a rep up

[Terex4]

What we should really be doing is suing the people who make these lawsuits for animal cruelty. If that poor horse hadn't died long ago, it'd be in a hell of a lot of pain.

Are there any major groups of people that actively fight this blame shifting? I'm not talking about the people being sued, they're obviously fighting it. I just want the comfort in knowing that at least some smart people have decided to rally.

[Number 81]

IMHO, violent games such as GTA can glorify violence and turn cops into someone to be hated or laughed at instead of someone to be respected. Even if it may not teach kids to kill, it may give them slightly lower moral standards. The change may not be dramatic, but for some people (stupid people and children) it may be even greater.

[Syka]

Originally Posted by Number 81

IMHO, violent games such as GTA can glorify violence and turn cops into someone to be hated or laughed at instead of someone to be respected. Even if it may not teach kids to kill, it may give them slightly lower moral standards. The change may not be dramatic, but for some people (stupid people and children) it may be even greater.

Finally a reasonable arguement against video games. Unfortuantly the games are labeled so this is bad parenting. I hate to blame the parents, but they are the only ones with the right to restrict what their child(ren) see. As for the stupid people this is where we have a grey area; is it right to ban material because of the minority, and is it right to keep certain people out of regular society because of how they are born? I honestly don't think games like GTA should be banned, but checking ID is just fine with me so some jackass 10 year old who knows everything can't play this type of game and then place all responsibility on it when they fuck up. By the way if someone is impressionable enough to think that a video game is real then they shouldn't read certain books (Stephen King, Tom Clancy for example) or watch certain shows and movies (24, any of the countless slasher flicks) because it is not just the video games doing it despite what it being said.

[Mirai Gen]

Originally Posted by Number 81

IMHO, violent games such as GTA can glorify violence and turn cops into someone to be hated or laughed at instead of someone to be respected. Even if it may not teach kids to kill, it may give them slightly lower moral standards. The change may not be dramatic, but for some people (stupid people and children) it may be even greater.

Yeah but 90% of the time the cops are shown as corrupt, fat, stupid, etc. for the sake of a laugh in GTA. High chances are if a guy named Officer Hoyle comes up to your window with a bald head, Super Trooper-glasses, and beefy arms and asks for your lisence and registration, you aren't going to shoot him and drive off because you 'don't repsect him'.

And I really don't think corruption in police force goes much further beyond the larger cities. Not much corruption in pothead county down here in california.

[Syka]

Mirai Gen I see what you mean. I have Vice City and it is filled with shameless satire. This is literally the only time I enjoy commercials because they are hilarious, especially VCPR.

[Number 81]

Originally Posted by Mirai Gen

Yeah but 90% of the time the cops are shown as corrupt, fat, stupid, etc. for the sake of a laugh in GTA. High chances are if a guy named Officer Hoyle comes up to your window with a bald head, Super Trooper-glasses, and beefy arms and asks for your lisence and registration, you aren't going to shoot him and drive off because you 'don't repsect him'.

And I really don't think corruption in police force goes much further beyond the larger cities. Not much corruption in pothead county down here in california.

True, but violent games, TV, and videos can cause kids to think that violent acts are cool. And with huge amounts of peer presure from kids at school today's teens do not need any more reason to commit crimes. Drugs, sex, theft, violence, the more kids are introduced to these things their morality will diminish. Every day teens choose whether to do drugs and have intercorse or not. And their decision depends on their morality and influences. If their influences, whether it is around the house or at school, are bad, thy will be more likely to make wrong choices. And video games are a huge influence in a teen's life. Fear is a very powerful emotion, and if a teen sees this huge police officer that is trying to arrest him, the teen may become frightened and react violently.

[Krylo]

Originally Posted by Number 81

True, but violent games, TV, and videos can cause kids to think that violent acts are cool.

And violent books can't?

And with huge amounts of peer presure from kids at school today's teens do not need any more reason to commit crimes.

So, wait, is it the games and TV or the peer pressure now? What's causing the crimes?

Drugs, sex, theft, violence, the more kids are introduced to these things their morality will diminish.

Firstly, I hate the word morality. There's nothing immoral, dirty, or wrong about sex. It's a natural part of humanity. It's something to be gone into with care, because it DOES carry consequences, but doing it without that care isn't 'immoral'. It's stupid. Like going parachuting without a parachute. You take a stupid risk and pay the price. The same goes for drugs. Unless people are actively thinking about how drugs and unprotected/promiscuous sex are going to hurt them and are doing it JUST to spite everyone else in their lives, it's not immoral. Merely stupid... and with drugs, maybe not even stupid. Just weak, exploratory, or experimentative. When something harms only you, directly, morality doesn't enter into it.

Secondly, kids have been introduced to drugs, sex, theft, and violence since the dawn of time. It's no worse now than it was one hundred years ago. Or even a few decades ago. Do you really think that GTA has even close to the same desensitizing effect toward violence as reading Lord of the Flies (in which a pig is raped by spears), Johnny Got his Gun, (in which a man has all his limbs blown off), or, for a better allegory, Johnathon Swift's "A Modest Proposal"? The last one fits particularily well, because, like GTA it's satire disguising itself as a serious attitude. Swift's was about eating babies, however. It even went so far as to suggest seasoning and cooking techniques.

How about news reports on Vietnam? Woodstock? The witch burnings? Pictures from Iraq of children with bullets in their heads. Saturday Night Fever. I could list things that children were subjected to LONG before videogames for hours and hours. This isn't a new thing. It hasn't killed society yet.

There are two options, here:

1) We ban all forms of violent or suggestive media. This, however, wouldn't really work. It would just force people to get their baser kicks elsewhere. It would cause porn and violent movies to move into the underground.

2) Responsible parenting. This doesn't mean keeping children away from these things, because they're going to be exposed eventually anyway. It means preparing them for exposure. It means teaching them the difference between reality and fiction. It means teaching them that their actions to other people in the real world have consequences. Not consequences like jail or groundings. Consequences like their victim's family losing a loved one.

Every day teens choose whether to do drugs and have intercorse or not. And their decision depends on their morality and influences. If their influences, whether it is around the house or at school, are bad, thy will be more likely to make wrong choices.

Again, parenting.

And video games are a huge influence in a teen's life.

And I suppose the parents have no influence. I suppose the teen doesn't have the ability to decide whether or not to do something for himself. I suppose movies, friends, and books have no influence. I suppose music doesn't either. I suppose people on the street don't. Or teachers. Or other students. Video games are a drop in the bucket. Not even a big one.

Fear is a very powerful emotion, and if a teen sees this huge police officer that is trying to arrest him, the teen may become frightened and react violently.

ANYONE may react violently to that. It doesn't have anything to do with video games. When you're scared the game of GTA you played last week doesn't run through your head telling you how to react. It's all pure human instinct. Adrenaline. Fight or flight. Your brain immediately gauges your chances of escape versus your chances of killing everyone, and it forces you in the right direction.

Video games, and other small social conditioners, can only affect premeditated decisions. In order to alter your natural fear and anger response you need heavy training. You need to teach your body how to react through repetitive motions. You need to hone your mind.

Video games don't do that.