School Shooters Inspired By Video Games? Not So Fast!

[Bullstomp]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/20/after-parkland-video-games-back-critics-crosshairs/356654002/

 

Once again, the politicians in America and even the NRA(WTF!!) are blaming video games for the recent school shooting on video games after the latest tragedy in Florida. I am beyond tired of video games being the scapegoat when, in fact, I believe they create a therapeutic alternative to physical violence. What are your thoughts on this?

 

In my opinion, Villanova's Patrick Markey drops some serious truth bombs in this article. I just wonder if anyone outside the gaming community is listening . . .

Edited February 21, 2018 by Bullstomp

[Dreakon13]

While I do think video games desensitize people to violence (same could be said for movies and television)... it takes either some serious mental illness or extremely negative environmental influence to drive someone to do what these shooters do.  The answer isn't to censor video games... the answer is for parents to do the right things for the health and happiness of their children (or for unfit parents to recognize that and stop having kids), for everyone to treat each other better in our day to day lives, and get help to those who need it before the voices in their head push them over the edge.

 

Naturally, how do we build the system to enforce all of that for a population of ~323 million people in the USA?  That's the golden question, and one politicians would rather not face head on (if there's even an answer to it).  It's complicated, and could cost them votes.  The evils of violent video games are easier to push on people.

 

And of course the NRA blames video games.  What else would they blame?  The guns?

Edited February 21, 2018 by Dreakon13

[Terra]

You've got to be mentally ill to be shooting up schools IMO. People who have those problems really shouldn't be playing games where they can kill people if they can't recognize the difference between a game and reality. You can kill virtual people because they aren't real but in reality, that has consequences and is morally wrong. Games help. Violent video games are a great outlet to the stresses of daily life instead of taking it out on others.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Terra

[Natsuu24]

Is just stupid... The guy who say that, why he didn't tell that the main cause maybe is the easy acess to weapons?? Why ? This isn't bad ?? (ok, i'm not from USA, so, maybe i'm messing with some ideals of people there, and i dont want to offend, if so, sorry.)

If the games have bad influence, so movies, series, teathre, etc etc, will have too.

[starcrunch061]

40 minutes ago, Bullstomp said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/20/after-parkland-video-games-back-critics-crosshairs/356654002/

 

Once again, the politicians in America and even the NRA(WTF!!) are blaming video games for the recent school shooting on video games after the latest tragedy in Florida. I am beyond tired of video games being the scapegoat when, in fact, I believe they create a therapeutic alternative to physical violence. What are your thoughts on this?

 

In my opinion, Villanova's Patrick Markey drops some serious truth bombs in this article. I just wonder if anyone outside the gaming community is listening . . .

 

Nothing new from the NRA - they've pinned blame for shootings on video games for years now. 

 

I withhold judgment at the moment, though. Most studies prior to last year could find no discernible link between video games and violence, but there were some recent findings out of Britain that said video games can increase aggression levels, particularly in males.

 

28 minutes ago, Natsuu24 said:

If the games have bad influence, so movies, series, teathre, etc etc, will have too.

 

It's not necessarily the same. The main difference is that in a theater, you are a spectator to violence, while with a video game, you are a participant.

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by starcrunch061

[DaivRules]

53 minutes ago, Bullstomp said:

blaming video games for the recent school shooting on video games after the latest tragedy in Florida. What are your thoughts on this?

 

Everyone looks for someone or something, anything, to blame when this stuff happens because most of us don't have the broken wiring in our head that would allow us to commit the acts we are seeing in these horrific situations. The human condition is to find comparable things and group them together as it's the foundation of learning.

 

I don't blame the people who want to blame video games, especially when it's made very easy for them to see the similarities in the "news."

 

There is no silver bullet solution to this shit. It's not going to be one law or action that just ends all this. Unfortunately, we have been led to believe by authorities of all types that situations are always black and white, binary. If we change one thing, it will fix the other thing. And that there's always someone else who's going to come along and solve it for everyone. It's sad. And it's not going to change. 

[Sir_Bee]

Every time you turn on the news, you see violence and murder displayed front and center.  The vast majority of entertainment provided to your society has some basis in violence (video games are among this, but not front and center).  I mean you can have violence in a movie and still get it rated PG, but you show one naked body and that rating is gone.  The US political system is heavily focused on military, through recruitment and spending.  I mean many american focused books, movies, and video games parade the military as heroes killing the bad guys.  When you combine all of this, and blast it nearly 24/7 into the eyes and minds of your population, can you really be surprised when a number of them follow suit and become violent themselves?

 

Video games are not the 'cause', but they are part of a larger problem in a society that is so full of violence and 'heroism' that does create violent individuals like this.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Sir_Bee

[Bullstomp]

4 hours ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

It's not necessarily the same. The main difference is that in a theater, you are a spectator to violence, while with a video game, you are a participant.

 

You are right, it is different. According to the article, based on research on 41 school shooters-

 

*20% played video games

*70% liked watching violent movies

*One of the video game playing killers only played 1 game. Not GTA, not CoD. Wait for it: Dance Dance Revolution 

 

Seems more like political propaganda than a theory supported by research . . .

[RadiantFlamberge]

I'm also tired of politicians blaming violent video games.  The NRA's view is clearly an effort to scapegoat.  Of course, some of these politicians are likely getting handouts from them.

I don't get why the NRA doesn't require background checks on people who want to join it.  Gotta be that they're afraid of losing money to buy those politicians.

 

Violent games & movies have zero to do with the school shootings. If someone can't tell the difference between real life & a game, they've got serious issues.

7 hours ago, starcrunch061 said:

It's not necessarily the same. The main difference is that in a theater, you are a spectator to violence, while with a video game, you are a participant.

Sure, but movies depict the violence more realistically than a game could.  I can get squicked out from a particularly gory scene in a movie, but generally not from a game.

 

Trump said he'd ban bump stocks, but that should've been done sooner.  I doubt that he really wanted to do it.  He just strikes me as insincere, trying to make himself look better.

I'm not for a total gun ban but limits need to be set.  It's not like you need an AR-15 or assault rifle to hunt or guard your house.

[StewartBros]

I read that this Florida shooting was the 18th school shooting to occur in the States THIS YEAR.  That worked out to 1 such incident every 2.5 days.  Every TWO. AND. A. HALF. DAYS.

 

When is America going to wake up and realize that this appalling record cannot be allowed to continue?  As gameoverDude189 pointed out, no civilian needs an assault rifle or similar weapon on their property.  These are weapons of immense destructive capability that no-one outside of the police and the military needs to have access to.

 

In the UK, when we had our one and only school shooting in 1996, our government almost immediately passed new amendments that outlawed the sale, possession or use of virtually all handguns by members of the public.  Hell, even our police don't carry guns.  As a result, we have some of the strictest gun laws, and one of the lowest rates of gun homicide, in the world.

 

I realize that the problem is much more widespread in the US, and may in fact never be addressed.  "Thoughts and prayers" won't solve anything.  "Thoughts and prayers" won't stop it from happening again.  How many more children have to die before the US government finally begins to address the country's love affair with firearms?  Because so far as I can tell, they don't seem to care enough to bother, in case it costs them some votes.  Because, y'know, a fucking VOTE is more important than a child's LIFE.

[MidnightDragon]

People in power blaming video games instead of the real culprits? In other news, water is wet! Since they're unwilling to solve the real problems, they pick the easy target. Fucking idiots.

Edited February 22, 2018 by MidnightDragon

[Z1MZUM]

And Trump thinks arming teachers will stop attacks. The rest of the world looks again in shock as the U.S doesn't make even a hint on the ever lasting problem. I'm not aiming this at U.S citizens, I love you guys.

[Undead Wolf]

3 minutes ago, Z1MZUM said:

And Trump thinks arming teachers will stop attacks. The rest of the world looks again in shock as the U.S doesn't make even a hint on the ever lasting problem. I'm not aiming this at U.S citizens, I love you guys.

 

I'm not American, but don't you think these school shooters would think twice if the people in there actually had a way of defending themselves? These "Gun-Free School Zones" are useless...

 

[Z1MZUM]

11 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

 

I'm not American, but don't you think these school shooters would think twice if the people in there actually had a way of defending themselves? These "Gun-Free School Zones" are useless...

 

 

As long as there;s firearms the situation is useless.

[Undead Wolf]

6 minutes ago, Z1MZUM said:

As long as there;s firearms the situation is useless.

 

I wouldn't say useless. The problem isn't with the guns themselves, but the people behind them pulling the trigger. It's just that fixing mental health issues is way harder than blaming everything on guns and saying they should be banned.

[MMDE]

16 hours ago, Dreakon13 said:

While I do think video games desensitize people to violence (same could be said for movies and television)...

 

In some cases, maybe, but it's usually a totally different thing real-life compared to viewing it in a movie or in a game. Viewing real cases on video is a bit of a different thing though. Practicing very realistic things in games over and over might automate it, but it doesn't really desensitize much.

[Z1MZUM]

Just now, Undead Wolf said:

 

I wouldn't say useless. The problem isn't with the guns themselves, but the people behind them pulling the trigger. It's just that fixing mental health issues is way harder than blaming everything on guns and saying they should be banned.

 

Impossible, not harder. You see this is the general consensus and exactly why the problem is here to stay.

[DrakeHellsing]

I myself think it's really just poor gun control in general.  As in Japan, at least from what I've read, there's heavy gun laws in places, lots of steps involved to get a gun, like a very extensive background search (I forget the word I'm thinking on now, mind is going blank), police checks and all that sort of stuff in place to get a gun there.

 

But in America, seems like that's nowhere near the case.  Sounds like all you need to do to get a gun there is just pass a course or something, go to the gun store, show your id and pick up your gun.

 

At least that's how I'm seeing things at this rate, just poor gun control in America really.  And with Trump in charge, doesn't seem like much is going to get done about it anytime soon.  And no, arming teachers with guns wont do a damn thing about it, if anything, it would just make matters worse really.  At least, I don't see how arming teachers with guns will help at all.

 

Honestly at the rate things are going in America, I'd rather not visit it there anytime soon, don't want to get caught in any of these shootings after all.  Sure, that sounds horrible, but at this rate, that's really just how things are at the moment.  But hey, that's just me.

[Deceptrox]

The politicians in the US need to realize that the background problem is mental health, otherwise everyone who plays a first person shooter video game will go outside and start killing everybody on his/her path. Sure most people if not everybody have problems or issues, but the vast majority of people know what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil hence they will never do such a thing.

 

On the other hand, individuals with mental health problems are more likely to do something that may harm others, and if they have easy access to firearms (I don't why someone would need to have an assault rifle in his house, I just don't get it), I don't want to think what they could be capable of.

 

To summarize, the US authorities need to restrict gun commerce and check on the mental health of people, specially young people if they want to prevent things like this happening in the future.

 

And please, love your family, and specially your kids tell them you love them, give them all the love you can. Have a word with them to know if they are doing ok in school, taugh them to respect others, not to bully the ones that are different, that everybody is the same regardless of any difference, physical or abstract.

 

[Feral]

They've gotten tired of using mental illness as an excuse so video games are the new excuse. Since there's no way in they're gonna go "hey, maybe it's a gun control issue and maybe we should get rid of the guns." 

[DaivRules]

Just wondering if all the non-US members here acknowledge the US has a constitutional amendment specifically giving the right to own guns. Yes, the foundation of what made and keeps the US a single entity is an agreement written down. And part of that agreement concerns gun ownership. That’s what makes this issue different than other places (countries) it keeps getting compared to. 100 million households have legally owned and registered guns that are handled responsibly. These sick people are a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of gun owners. It can’t just be “changed” overnight and one of the protected rights of the citizens can’t just be taken away without some major shit going on.

If we are going to mess with the literal fabric of society, I’d rather focus on something that will have a much more positive effect for a lot more people and do way, way more to address mental health.

[Bullstomp]

1 hour ago, DaivRules said:

Just wondering if all the non-US members here acknowledge the US has a constitutional amendment specifically giving the right to own guns. Yes, the foundation of what made and keeps the US a single entity is an agreement written down. And part of that agreement concerns gun ownership. That’s what makes this issue different than other places (countries) it keeps getting compared to. 100 million households have legally owned and registered guns that are handled responsibly. These sick people are a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of gun owners. It can’t just be “changed” overnight and one of the protected rights of the citizens can’t just be taken away without some major shit going on.

If we are going to mess with the literal fabric of society, I’d rather focus on something that will have a much more positive effect for a lot more people and do way, way more to address mental health.

 

Maybe we can amend the Constitution to remove the right to bear arms? That was written in when we were still 13 colonies fighting King George's oppression from across the pond, which hasn't been an issue for hundreds of years now. Controversial I know. 

 

I don't think it is a question of legal ownership but accessibility. Most criminals don't jump through the hoops of getting a gun license. However most people interested in guns know you can road trip to states like Virginia to get guns with minimal issues (Ummm, I know this because I am a military man).

 

As was said earlier, England had a school shooting in 1996 and, based on the measures taken, none since. We really don't need to brainstorm; an effective plan has already been made.

 

Oh, and a news flash to the politicians and the NRA blaming video games: England has video games! And no school shootings for 22 years! So back off!

Edited February 22, 2018 by Bullstomp

[DaivRules]

1 hour ago, Bullstomp said:

 

Maybe we can amend the Constitution to remove the right to bear arms? That was written in when we were still 13 colonies fighting King George's oppression from across the pond, which hasn't been an issue for hundreds of years now. Controversial I know. 

 

*snip* I am a military man

 

I don't think this conversation would resolve, ever, if we started going down this path of discussion. I respect your point of view and experiences and you're totally entitled to them.

 

We're both in agreement that exposure to fictional gun handling (video games or movies/books/whatever) doesn't correlate to violence.

[Dreakon13]

I'm of the mindset that gun control could work... but it's not as some people picture it.  It'd take (IMO) hundreds of years to get to the point where Americans no longer have the idea of guns hardwired into their heads as they have been.  Like alcohol and prohibition, just taking them away cold turkey could be a pointless exercise... or in this case specifically, potentially dangerous.

 

Versus other countries where guns were never institutionalized as they are here, or they've already survived said exercise (though not nearly at this scale).

 

 

8 hours ago, MMDE said:

 

In some cases, maybe, but it's usually a totally different thing real-life compared to viewing it in a movie or in a game. Viewing real cases on video is a bit of a different thing though. Practicing very realistic things in games over and over might automate it, but it doesn't really desensitize much.

 

Fair point.  I suppose I meant desensitize in the sense that it can make a rational person no longer phased by the idea of violence.  Of course, in a real life situation, it'd probably be just as disturbing/traumatizing as it ever would be for most people.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Dreakon13

[Feral]

3 hours ago, DaivRules said:

Just wondering if all the non-US members here acknowledge the US has a constitutional amendment specifically giving the right to own guns. Yes, the foundation of what made and keeps the US a single entity is an agreement written down. And part of that agreement concerns gun ownership. That’s what makes this issue different than other places (countries) it keeps getting compared to. 100 million households have legally owned and registered guns that are handled responsibly. These sick people are a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of gun owners. It can’t just be “changed” overnight and one of the protected rights of the citizens can’t just be taken away without some major shit going on.

If we are going to mess with the literal fabric of society, I’d rather focus on something that will have a much more positive effect for a lot more people and do way, way more to address mental health.

How could we ever forget about the US constitution, you guys bring it up everytime someone says anything bad about guns. Yet you all seem to forget the part where it was written 331 years ago, things have change a bit since then. 

 

Of course any changes will take time but doing nothing clearly isn't working.