The Digital Pulse 04.20.07: Gamers Taking A Stand
Posted by Joshua Richey on 04.20.2007
The effects of video games on people is being questioned by the media once again; it's time that gamers defended themselves.
[DEAR READERS: In light of the horrible occurrence that took place this past Monday at Virginia Tech, I'm going to change things up a bit this week. There will be no Quickie's or any of that other quirky stuff. This is just me, Joshua Richey, speaking straight from the heart. The Digital Pulse will return in its usual format next week. Thank you.]
As horrible as the Virginia Tech school shootings were, I couldn't help but to stop and wonder how long it would take for the ‘experts' to put this tragedy onto the shoulders of gamers and those that makeup the gaming industry. It didn't take long… it never does.
I am so sick and tired of Hollywood and video games being thrown under the bus every time that something like this happens. Yeah, I feel sorry for all of the parties involved; but it just seems like every time that something awful like this happens – some politician or lawyer comes out of the word work hoping to use that event as a stage to promote his or her own personal agenda. Is it really that hard to believe that Cho Seung-Hui was just a sick, demented individual on his own account… and that he didn't need the inspiration of video games or the violence in movies to send him on a killing spree?
I turn on CNN on Tuesday morning and I see a former FBI Specialist named Don Clark running down some of the telling signs that these ‘school-shooters' usually have. Among these traits were that they were loners and they showed an interest in video games. Wow, that's shocking. Those traits also happen to describe hundreds of millions of other teenagers on this planet. Does that mean all of us gamers are going to go and shoot up our local universities? No.
You know, I would expect the ridiculous ‘games turn people into killers' argument from bush league lawyers like Jack Thompson – but, now, Dr. Phil and others are jumping on the bandwagon too.
I understand why these people are saying these things – that being because they don't know what in the hell they're talking about – but that doesn't make it right. Believe it or not, there were murderers, psychopaths, and crazies back long before video games ever came along.
It's time that gamers stopped having to defend themselves. It's time that gamers stopped needing to be defended. It's time that the media realized that the vast majority of us gamers are smart enough to separate
computer-simulation and reality. But most importantly, it's time that gamers took a stand.
Video Games aren't just some culturally embraced trend. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that is growing leaps and bounds and is looking down on everyone else. It's not going anywhere. The reason that there are so many violent games on store shelves is because there is a demand for them. Just because you're a gamer doesn't make you any more likely to cause harm to anyone or anything else. Okay, Cho may have played video games at some point… but I'm sure that Cho also indulged on more than a few Cheez It's at some point in his life too. What's there to say that Cheez-It's don't cause kids to go shoot up schools? It may sound ridiculous, but there is just as much evidence to support that as there is to support the notion that video games are responsible.
Society seems to respond to events like the one that happened this last Monday and instantly want someone to blame. Cho Seung-Hui killed himself, so the media tries to pass the buck onto anyone and everyone else that they can. Meanwhile, these same media executives live for tragedies like this. I btet that when word first broke of a school shooting that there were more than a few high fives coming for the Fox News war room. Those graphic designers probably had a field day thinking up dramatic names for the shootings (IE: College Columbine). It's sickening; even more so in this case. By now we've all seen the videos and images that Cho sent to NBC. Just look at those pictures and tell me that that kid was under the influence of anything other than some mental-related illness. His incoherent ramblings mentioned nothing about what motivated him to do these evil things. This kid was sick; he wasn't right in the head; whatever you want to call it – that's what he was. Oh, and perhaps this is a good time to remind you that Cho Seung-Hui didn't even own video games - according to recent reports.
FACT: There are no games that encourage this kind of behavior. In recent days I've heard some of these ‘experts' cite games like Super Columbine Massacre RPG as examples to better their cases. Again, this is bush league. Games like SCMRPG don't represent what the video game industry is about. Not even the most risky companies would consider doing a game that includes such themes. It was an independently made game that one person made to draw attention to himself. It's no more a reflection of gaming as Jack Thompson is to the justice system.
Don't compare us gamers to the Cho Seung-Hui, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold's of the world. We love, admire, and appreciate the greatest art form in the world today: the video game. That's not something that we should feel the need to lower our heads in shame for.
