Oh, For Gog's sake...

[seawasp]

Once more we're going to see political figures rant and rave about something UTTERLY UNRELATED to the problem because it looks like an easy political target. Yes, our government, led by this idiot Rockefeller (how the mighty names have fallen), will be investigating if watching violent videogames makes people violent.

No. I have four kids, and I've been watching them. The ones who are already PREDISPOSED to be agitated and energetic can be pushed in that direction easily. The ones who aren't... don't. This indicates the problem isn't "videogames" or "D&D", or anything else outside of the person. It's something to do with THE PERSON IN QUESTION.

Of course, it's so much easier to talk about blaming some other innocuous but eyecatching activity, rather than address the real issue, which is that people who have various mental problems -- large and small -- generally can't get them treated under the current system because they don't have the money to pay for it or the support to convince them to go do it and KEEP doing it (even if you have a condition that's treatable with drugs, it's not just a matter of finding the drug and everything's happy-ever-after; you have to monitor the dosage, observe changes over time, etc.).

Comments

[patricksmalone.livejournal.com]

There is actually research on this, and the current consensus (as far as I know) is that there isn't a relation.

But never let facts get in the way of good demagoguery.

[melchar.livejournal.com]

Yes, the politicos want to ignore the research that has found that the population is increasing, but that individual violent crimes are falling. The why? IMO video games let people inclined to violence work out their aggression in-game. D&D / rpgs have been described as 'interactive talk therapy' which serves the same purpose.

Does this matter to the talking heads? Nope. How can they rail against what they don't like, if they give heed to the facts? Make games the straw man and get a headline out of it.

[niall-shapero.livejournal.com]

Not merely something that they may (or may not) like, but something that they cannot understand. And the reality of the situation - that the world is CHANGING - scares the idiots in the crow's nest even more...

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

While wandering the channels the other night I briefly saw someone on some news show rambling on about "murder simulators" in reference to first person shooters. ::sigh:: I didn't stay on the channel long enough actually to see who they where or which news show it was... That was enough for me.

[kjn]

Blaming the mental health care system is also a dead end, IMO, though at least there you have a small chance of getting a better health care system in the end.

The main problem is the gun fetishism in US culture.

[seawasp]

I agree only in the limited sense of "if you could go back 200 years and change the course of history". Otherwise, that's basically the same as complaining that, for instance, we SHOULD have built the main railroad lines over --->there instead of over <---- here; no one's going to move the railroad lines for innumerable reasons.

You have to deal with the culture and the laws and the assumptions that exist -- unless what you want is complete revolution and re-organization of the country. That generally involves uncomfortable times and LOTS of people getting shot.

I'm not entirely sure we won't end up coming to that anyway.

[kjn]

Yeah, you have to handle the hand you're dealt, but that doesn't mean you can't change the hand, given time. Most countries has managed at least one peaceful re-organisation of the country by now (the US has had several - the north and frontier switched from slave states to free states, the Human Rights movement, arguably the current neoconservative surge et c), and countries change their culture all the time, constantly.

Heck, the entire point of democracy is that you are supposed to be able to do peaceful re-organisations of the country.

[niall-shapero.livejournal.com]

I've seen the "X causes violence" routine before - first in comic books, then in D&D and (of course) all the other role playing games, then in the first round of video games and...well...you get the picture. It made no sense before, but it allowed the politicos to deny reality (again) for long enough so that no one would demand that they actually DO something that made sense.

"Those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it".

-- N. C. Shapero

[barbarakitten-t.livejournal.com]

damn straight, 'wasp....but there are assholes out there who use any excuse to beat their own drums...and ride their particular hobby horses into the ground...