Lawmakers are finally looking at something besides gun control after our most recent massacre by a teenager. I agree that instead, Violent Video Games are harming more of our children than most people realize. We need to stop these mind damaging games from getting into the heads of our children...and in my case...grandchildren. My grandson spends 24/7 killing and maiming, a convenient babysitting ploy by his father, who could care less what it is doing to him. He is live on XBox with older players who routinely use foul language and fill his young mind with trash. We need to put a stop to this. What do you think?
I completely agree with you. I think these games have desensitized young minds. They are way too explicit, way too real...
I think I'm blessed that my kids aren't into that type thing ..yet. They are 12½ and 14 and their favorite game is Little Big Planet and the old Sly Cooper games. They come home from school telling me of conversations they've had with their peers about Halo..Black Ops.. smh. Glad they still obsess over Legos.
You know, when I was growing up, the fear du jour was Rock and Roll, then it was TV. We ("we" meaning "you") keep wanting to blame everything on some inanimate object and ignore the #1 factor in how children grow up. That is, the parents and others in direct control of how a child is raised. Back in the day, when parents were allowed to spank their children, and schools allowed prayer and the pledge of allegiance, and, well, pretty much everything that has since been stopped for fear of hurting someone else's feelings or their self-esteem, things like Columbine, Aurora and Sandy Hook Elementary didn't happen. You want to blame all this on video games? How about a little self honesty?
I'm not a fan of banning something that a lot of people enjoy RESPONSIBLY. There are always going to be a certain percentage of people who take anything to far. Video gaming just happens to be a convenient target right now, the same as some of these "gun control" advocates using CT to advance their cause. You don't like video games? GREAT! Don't have them. They are enjoyed by my son and my husband at my house with my blessing IN MODERATION. DS is well aware of the difference between real life and a game, because that's what we've taught him. I'm sorry that seems to be a really difficult concept for some people to grasp. :banghead: I'll veto a game with a woman spilling out of her top a whole lot faster than I will Halo. Those parental guidelines? They are there for a reason. USE THEM.
I am going to have to like this post. Was going to post in the "Isnt it time?" thread that would resemble Cliffs post. Just couldn't get it all put together. This a brutally honest post. Seems everyone is looking to blame something other themselves.
:iagree: OMG I agree with Cliff on something. I remember growing up having cap guns to play with. But I didn't turn out to be a shooter. I have shot guns as an adult and they actually kind of scare me. I also remember if we didn't have any toy guns to play with we would use a stick as a gun or rifle or even point our fingers in a gun gesture going 'pow pow'. And even going over to my neighbors yard and grabbing a weeping willow branch and making a pretend whip out of it. But I do agree that violent first person shooter games really do need to be looked at. Also what is the point of an assault rifle if not to kill more people more efficiently. Are people afraid of a 'zombie' apocalypse, that they need such a weapon? I had heard on the news this morning that they had interviewed the baby sitter. They baby sitter had said he had been told not to ever take his eyes off the 'shooter' not even to go to the bathroom. HELLO!!!!! if that isn't a sign of trouble. And the mother went out and bought the weapons and took her son to gun ranges to shoot them. That's like the hangman tying his own noose
No, they're afraid of a government apocalypse. You need to understand the purpose of the Second Amendment. We have a right to keep and bear arms, not to protect us from outsiders, but to protect us from our own government (should the need arise).
Rocky, the purpose of EVERY GUN EVER MADE is to kill. However, that does not mean that it can not have other applications, or that people can have a gun for a reason other than to kill. Fact is ASSAULT WEAPONS ARE NOT LEGAL. A semi automatic rifle that "looks scary" or militarized is no more deadly than a 30-06 hunting rifle. Hunting rifles tend to be bigger calibers, do more damage, and oh, since they are for hunting, tend to be designed to kill with one shot. Guns are legal. The fact is, if I am law abiding, not crazy, I can own a gun for whatever reason i want. I do not have to justify anything to anyone about why I own a particular gun any more than someone who wants to buy and drive a Hummer has to explain why they have such a large fuel inefficient vehicle.
As usual... BRAVO!!!! Video games played here as well and mine know how to handle real guns and the responsibility of them (lil one is now just learning). INSTEAD OF BLAMING.... DO PARENTING
I agree with Cliff, but also think "desensitizing" does play a role in some of the changes we are seeing with people. When you are exposed to something over and over, it lessens it's shock value and can alter someone's reactions. Not to be mistaken as an excuse for misconduct either. I watched the Road Runner repeatedly hurt Wile E. Coyote but haven't pushed anyone off a cliff yet. In the case of the CT shooter, I seriously doubt his motive was to shock people nor did he make a conscious decision based on playing video games. When bad things happen, people want a reason they can understand to help them deal with it and something or someone to blame. In this case, I think we can only blame the shooter and we may never know what set him off. As for the babysitter's comments, maybe the warning was because the kid would take off out the door if given the chance...it may not have had anything to do with him attempting to harm him.
Would so many people be having a discussion about gun control or video games if Adam Lanza had walked into that school with a bomb strapped to him? He would have done at least as much damage. Timothy McVeigh helped detonate a truck bomb which killed 168, including 19 children, and injured hundreds of others in a matter of seconds. At that time, it was the deadliest act of terrorism within the United States. Isn't this really an act of terrorism? Methinks that some folks are focusing on the wrong things here.
I agree, the visiting minister for my church thought our congregation needed to talk through this issue, and for a very liberal church only about 1/4 the congregation wanted the 2nd amendment eliminated. My point is that you cannot eliminate guns, that just in the last month a person was able to print a gun using a 3D printer. The scary thing about someone being able to just print off a gun is that there is no mental evaluations or gun checks possible. There are many other technologies now and in the future which will be much deadlier.
:cheers: Yup. DS has his rifle and shotgun merit badges, he's a crack shot. He is WELL aware of the difference between make believe video games and the real deal.
Don't take it the wrong way I just wanted to clarify my comment about video games. First, I am seeing first hand what some of these video games are like. Halo is just a kids game compared to some of the ones on the market. It cannot be healthy for a 9 year old (in this case, my grandson) to be totally immersed in this kind of activity as his father permits. The "News" media has already reported the killer was an avid gamer, thus making an argument that this "could" have affected his behavior. Who Knows? I am the last person to want more laws inflicted upon us, there are too many already. But I do think that parents ought to carefully monitor what young people are doing on the internet and on these game consoles. By the way, I am 67 and enjoy video games on my computer. My wife takes care of Parental Control on everything else
Growing up in middle and high school I was an avid gamer as well, though it was a different sort of game. We played Dungeons and Dragons and oh the stories that brought up. And I grew up hunting and fishing and shooting as well. And for the record I think I turned out ok.
The issue is the dad. Not the games. The games are rated just like movies. If the dad isn't abiding by that, I'm not sure what you expect to happen. Lack of parenting. Not lack of ratings on the games. It's just that simple. Might not be what you want to hear, but there it is.
