Dear Lord, please give the police and media a brain! (Parents too!)

Dear God, Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and The Wizard of Oz:

Today I am writing you because of a very important issue. Here in America, there has been an increase in the amount of people shooting other people up in public places. There was the crazy Virgina Tech shootings, the Halo 3 Killer, the Mortal Combat killer, Columbine Shooting, and now this...you get my point. Have mercy on the killers and all, but that's not why I'm writing today.

Today I am asking that you give a brain to the media, police investigators, and some half-wit parents who can't seem to understand that children can be mentally unstable. (By Children I mean anyone under the age of 18.) Being a teenager can be hard. They think that their life is the center of the universe, and that no problem in their life will be more important than anything they have to deal with now. Some times, kids can't cope with their drama trauma and they steal a gun and shoot a person.

But how come the cops, the government, the parents, and the media all want to find a scape-goat and not blame the fucked up children? We are so quick to judge these days that we don't really look deeper than the surface. Sure, that dude shot up Virginia Tech, but he was a basket case. It was't because he played Counter-Strike for 30 hours a day. He played counter-strike because he was fucked up in the head(everyone knows Counter-Strike players are weird fuckers). Joking aside, before we jerk our knees into our faces, lets actually look at the facts. There are millions of well adjusted teens playing video games all over the nation. These kids aren't shooting anyone but their friends' digital avatars. Most kids know when fantasy ends and reality begins.

If you read the news articles, you will see that the 24-year old killed him self at the end of the shooting spree.(I'm speculating he had some issues.) It also said that he was quiet and stuck to himself. Referencing back to the movie anger management, (paraphrase) "there are 2 types of people, explosive and implosive. Explosive is the person yelling at the casheir because their coupon expired, and implosive people keep their emotions bottled up until they burst, shooting up every thing in the store."

For me, video games are a release. It allows me to blow stuff up in a controlled environment, so I don't act out my aggressions on my wife, my coworkers, or random people at a night club.

So, whom ever may be listening, please let the authorites, news media, and lame ass parents, find a brain, wether it be used, new, or somewhere in between. Let them see that Video Games are not fucking up our children. The answer lies deeper than you think.

Absolute Power

If anyone has been living under a rock the past few days, read this. For the rest of us, Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich is now back to work after posting a "signature bond" for 4,800 dollars. Corruption, Corruption, Corruption is all over the news. There seems to be something about these corruption cases that has caught my eye in recent hours. After reading a GamePolitics article, a weird idea popped into my head.

Why are Governors who support violent game laws getting busted for corruption? Mr. Spitzer was busted a few months back for paying prostitutes with government funds. Now, Mr. Blagojevitch is in the process of getting nailed for trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder. Both men who either supported or were propents of laws banning violent video games. (Both happen to be Democrats.)

There seems to be something about this mentality, a "Holier than thou" if you will, that doesn't compute. They want to save us from ourselves, yet they are living on the edge. Absolute power corrupts absolutely as they say. What makes these douchebags think they are above the law.

I hope this serves a reminder why the people hold the power in this country. If anyone tries to trample your liberties, Democrat or Republican, tell them to get lost.

Remember kids, Do as I say, not as I do!

Just Aweful...

Alright parents. Get your shit together. Put on your common sense caps and read this story. Two children, 6 and 7 years of age, stoned and hung a kitten by the cord of a video game controller after playing a session of GTA.

What is wrong with this picture. Psychotic children? Maybe. Violent Game? I'll give you that one. Under the recommended age for such game? Definitely. Parents? No where to be seen. Again and again we see children playing violent games who shouldn't be playing them. If the government wants to regulate something, how about bad parenting.

Such a heinous act perpetrated by children under the age of ten. Throwing rocks at a small animal and then hanging it by a controller is just sickening, even for an adult to do. GTA you can kill cops and hookers, but animals? These are some fucked up times we are living in folks.

According to the reports, it doesn't say that the game inspired them to do this, but you have to have some sick fucking ideas already implanted into their brains. One of the mother is an undocumented illegal and the other is on a work visa so it makes it hard to prosecute, and according to state law, children under 8 cannot be tried for crimes.

I don't know what to say. This fucking makes me sick...

Is There A Difference Between Democrats and Republicans

Today, I just felt the itch to write. This is something that has been nagging at me for a long time now. In the United States, we pretty much have a 2 party political system. You are either right or left, and never anywhere in the middle, so it seems. We always hear people screaming "the democrats are this" or "the republicans are that." The constant yelling never seems to end, fueled by the 24hour news networks and talking heads who have to dream up garbage to fill air time. I have recently come to the conclusion that we are under a 1 party political system with vocal nutjobs at the extremes of the spectrum. Nothing sparks my ire like the talk of violent video games, we will use this to demonstrate my point.

The Democrat party seems to be the party of "bleeding hearts" and socialists. I countless debates democrats talk of socialized medicine, safety nets for the poor, and other high dollar social programs on the back of American tax payers. That's all fine and dandy on paper, but we all know how the eastern block ended up. Anyways, from my experience the Dems want to protect you from yourself. They want heavy gun control so that guns can't harm anyone. They want to provide you with health care so that no one goes sick. If we look at the government track record, government pretty much sucks at doing every thing but nation defense and keeping a national currency. The Democrats want to enact a Nanny State that keeps everyone safe from harm.

Republicans on the other hand are stand for "Pro-business", "Pro-life", and "Traditional Values." Or so they think they do. The Republican party prides itself on "traditional values' something that is touted in every election, and spewed by pundits on Fox News. Now, I have nothing wrong with their stance, but when you start trying to legislate morality, you really hit the breaks. Trying to pass a law saying that "gay people cannot get married" or "creation must be taught in schools" is pretty much ridiculous. First off, marriage should not be a government function at all. It should be between you and whatever church or God you believe in. If you want to teach "creation" in school find me some hard evidence to back it up. Schools should be a place of fact and truth, not a place where religious ideas are forced on children. If you teach Christian creationism, shouldn't you have to teach Hindu, and Islamic, and Native American creationism as well? God, forbid that your child's eyes are opened to a wider world view.

Anyways what I'm getting at here is that both parties want to nanny you one way or the other. Whether its telling you who to give your money to or who you can pray to, both parties want the same thing; control over you! For the video game industry, this is a big issue. Both political parties see violent games as a harbinger of death for youngsters. States around the country are trying to ban the sale of violent games to minors. From the outside, "knee-jerk" reaction it sounds pretty good. No more school shootings, no more bullying because kids aren't subjected to the extreme interactive violence video games provide.

Scientifically, there are varying reports saying that violent games affect/do not affect kids. However, I will not argue that a 10 year old probably shouldn't be playing Mature rated games (17years +). As with movies, mature rated games have profanity, violence, and some times adult situations. However, this should fall on the parents to make sure their children aren't playing these games, NOT THE GOVERNMENT. The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has voluntarily enacted the standards board that rates all movies released in the US. The government has no involvement with this, nor does it enforce any of its regulations. Then why does the government feel the need to enact laws against video games?

Parents and prospective parents, you need to sit down and think about this for a second. You want more government in your lives because you are too much of a lazy ass to watch what your kids play on a Saturday afternoon? People cite the school shootings as an example of what video game violence does to your kids. In the case of Columbine, the shooters were making Pipe bombs in one of the boy's bedroom. Holyshit, if I was making pipe bombs in 9th grade, my parents would have known. You're going to blame that on video games? I call BULLSHIT on you sir. I call out all you shit-for-brains parents who are so wrapped up in your own social lives you can't spend a few minutes with your children. Here is a FUCK YOU for blaming your mistakes and failings on something else.

Creating a nanny state ultimately removes personal responsibility from our society. Evidence?: trillions of ridiculous "I spilled coffee on my lap, sue McDonalds" lawsuits. I guess that's alright if you want to go around living with your head in the sand for your entire life. For the rest of us, keep your personal bullshit out of politics, I won't bother you if you don't fucking bother me.

P.S Ban all the guns you want! Criminals don't get guns legally anyway. That's why they are criminals. You're only limiting the means of protection for the average citizen. But thats another story.

ESRB Descriptors

So for this holiday season, parents and other video game buyers can now go to esrb.org and search a database of rated games. Along with the very easy to understand rating system, parents and guardians now have another tool at hand, content descriptors. The ESRB has unfolded their new scheme aimed at stopping democrats from stuffing red tape down the industry's throat. These new descriptors summarize types of profanity, violence, and situations that you may want to keep from your precious offspring.

The idea is all well and good, however you can't stop a freight train when the conductor isn't watching the tracks. What I mean is no matter how many tid-bits you put out to parents and guardians, it will never work unless they start looking at the ratings. There is a disconnect between how some parents see video games as a medium, and how the game industry sees itself. Most parents, from my seat, see a kids hobby and nothing more. Gone are the days that video games are like Megaman or Super Mario Bros; harmless side scrolling ports of crude arcade games. The game industry now covers as much, or more ground than the movie business. Gamers range from 9-35, maybe 40 years old. The market is a diverse place, and lets face it, as a 30 year old gamer, you don't always play your "Leapster" or Wii sports.

Parents need to understand that video games aren't just for Little Jimmy on Christmas Eve. If Jimmy asks for "BloodGuy 3" maybe you should look at it before throwing it into your shopping cart. If you shop at Wal-Mart or most of the big box stores, you have to buy your games from behind glass. That makes it a bit tough to read the back of the box. So I guess the descriptors are a good idea. However, this takes pre-planning, something a lot of parents lack these days.

Either way, its a step forward. It feels more like a C.Y.A move to me. If the game industry, publishers, and developers actively took arms against retailers who sold M rated games to minors, maybe we wouldn't have to worry about the Senate or Congress fucking us over.

I've noticed a trend lately that doesn't seem to help this either. Places like 7-11 and other quick-stop stores sell games. Some how I doubt that the caliber of employee that is hired at such an establishment is willing to take the time nor is paid enough to want to check an ID for a "stupid video game." Thus allowing little Jimmy to go get a Icee and a copy of GTA 4 with out mommy and daddy. Although, when I was still under my parents control, I never had 60 bucks to go blow on a damn video game.

If the ESA and ESRB want to keep government regulation out of their industry, they are going to have to start taking proactive measures with retail outlets at the forefront of the battle. Work with retailers to educate employees and shoppers that games are just like movies. Some are for kids and some are not. If the MPAA can enforce the same sort of rules without government intervention, the video game industry can do the same.

Media Attention: Scape-goat Journalism Discovered

Well, I've been looking for something to write about, and I finally found it. With the recent NIU shootings, the violence-in-games debate has started to roar. Finally, MSNBC puts Faux News and Jack Thompson in their respective places.

"On Friday, police were still struggling to figure out why a seemingly polite, well-respected graduate student named Steven Kazmierczak had shot and killed five students at Northern Illinois University and then turned the gun on himself. But Thompson had it all figured out. Faster than you can say wild speculation and reckless sensationalism, he leapt in front of Fox News cameras and suggested that video games were to blame.

Click Here to read the entire article. I think its about time someone starts asking questions and pointing out sensationalistic journalism.

A Frightening Trend in Modern Journalism

Thinking back to my highschool days as the Editor in Chief of the school news paper, we learned the principles of journalism. We learned of yellow journalism being credited for the Spanish-American war. We learned that journalists should dig for the truth and not interject his/her own opionions into a story, or simply journalists should not editorialize a story. That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.

Ok, with that said lets look at todays blunder. A local news affiliate out of Omaha Nebraska is reporting that a recent "study" says video games, even non-violent kiddie games increase emotional arousal and agression. This "study" did brain scans of kids who played a non-violent game and comparted it to scans of other kinds who played violent ones. Now, I'm not going to say that this is or is not true, however, what about kids who play competitive sports? Football or basketball, do thoes increase agression and emotional arrousal? A hundred bucks bet they do too.

My qualms aren't really with the data, but how these journalists interpret and depecti the data for the sheep watching the TV news. Just like Fox news, this local afflilate grabs some "expert" to rant on about how video games destroy our children. Later on in the article, Joe Blow Mr. Payne says after his kids are done playing a game all they have on their mind is Kill Kill Kill. However, the artlicel goes on to state that Mr. and Mrs Payne have not seen any signs of increased agression or violence. Some how that just doesn't sound right. Maybe Mr. Payne hates his wife for cheating on him, and some how projects that on to his kids. I'm not sure.

It's a sad sad time when junk science is so easily gobbled up by "journalists" and slammed into the piehole of middle America. I think its about time people start usuing their brain. It's amazing what human intellegence is wasted on.

Fox News; You're on Notice...

I'm a conservative and an avid video gamer, and to me this is abhorrent. If you have ever taken a journalism class, you would be familiar with "yellow journalism." It basically boils down to selling news. Just like the tabloids, Fox News uses sensationalistic headlines and stories to get ratings. It just goes to show you what kind of journalistic integrity Fox News has. Anyone who has Jack Thompson as an "expert" on the VT shootings shows no credibility what so ever. It just makes me sick to think that other conservatives eat this crap like candy.

What I want to know is why are parents buying kids a Mature rated game? Is it OK for your child to watch SAW 3 or Boogie Nights at 12 years old? For most kids; probably not. Obviously there are some cases where children are well adjusted enough and mature enough to understand causality (cause and effect). However to blame video games as the sole corrupter of youth is ridiculous. Movies are more violent now than ever before, but video games are killing our children.

Furthermore, uninvolved parents should be flogged, publicly. Buying a mature rated game for junior is ridiculous. Do some research; look into what your kids do. Be A Parent, not a friend. What happened to personal responsibility? This isn't just a "right wing G.W. Bush thing." Both the left and right sides of the istle are just as guilty of perpetuating this stereotype. These blatant lies only become fodder for politicians trying to promote their nanny state.

I think people in America, especially the Baby Boomer Generation ,are failing to adapt to the new technology. To paraphrase Adam Sessler, this is today's modern day comic book, and it will corrupt the youth. Today's games aren't like Pong or Pac-Man. The medium has grown up with the audience, and older folks are failing to see that.

It just makes me so mad I want to burst.

Video Game Violence

This is a great subject for discussion today. So many neat things to get mad about...so I guess I'll take it from the top. Does violence effect children? Yes most likely. Growing "Tweens" and Teens can be influenced very easily. Either by peer pressure, what they see on TV, or most importantly their environment at home. Kids are a product of their reality, and their reality reflects how they have grown up, their demeanor, attitude. When one or all of these things are unstable, kids can become really messed up and kill people, I.E Columbine High School. Anyways, what ever happened to "responsible parenting?" What happened to "responsibility?" The Answer: The Pussification of our society. I know thats not a word, but it works. The dumbing down and removal of all things tough in a persons life. Example: Ms. Crapinsworth, the local engish teacher, transpanted from Berkley, decides to have a pop quiz. After the grades are in, Ms. Crapinsworth thinks that giving a person an F on a paper will hurt their feelings and cause them to dispair.

Spare the children any trauma. Lets shelter them from the consequences of real life. If you don't study, you're going to fuck up on the test. If you hit someone, you're going to get hit back. If you shoot someone, what happens now? How are these kids supposed to learn life lessons. I just does not make sense to me. In today's society, where parents are busy running kids to play dates and other garbage that they don't actually take the time to talk to their kids. Taking your kids to a soccer game or to after school whatever is not the same as talking to them. Again, lets use Columbine as an example. These 2 shooters, Clebold and Harris. Had plotted to kill classmates and teachers. They were making pipe bombs in their room at home. Had assault rifles and other illegal shit. Ok, this is what the fuck I want to know. HOW DID YOU MAKE A PIPE BOMB IN YOUR ROOM AND MOM AND DAD DON'T KNOW? Shit, when I was that age, I couldn't get a freakin' Playboy or 40 oz beer without someone getting light. But then again, I wasn't at odds with my parents, not that I told them I was being mischievous, but I didn't hate anyone. If your child sits in his room with the doors closed for hours at a time, doesn't come out or say a peep, wouldn't you ask whats going on? Not to say that you don't trust your child, but just to know what the hell is so interesting? I guess not.

This is what I don't get. How are these politicians single-handedly blaming video games as the sole corrupter of today's youth? I guess it could be the Blame-Game dijour. Movies this week, video games next week, then back to movies? Lets pause here to take a look. R-rated movies require an ID or someone over 21 to purchase. Wal-Mart, K-mart, Target, as well as most retailers require ID's to purchase these movies. The same goes for video games. However, and that is a big HOWEVER, that does not stop retard parents from buying the games for little Douche Jr. Video Games have a rating system. There has been a standing rating system for video games since the mid-1990's. This battle still rages on. Politicians like Leeland Yee from California and Hillary Clinton are on a rampage to save us from our selves. An example of this is the game Grand Theft Auto. It is a very popular game, but it has mature themes. I would consider it along the lines of Scarface or the Godfather. If it was a movie, it would be rated R. But, its a video game so its Rated M, for MATURE. That means 17 years+. So then, tell me how does little Douche Jr. get his hands on the game. He begs his inattentive irresponsible parents to get the game for Christmas or whatever. So, when Douche Jr. is in the living room punching a whore in the face or car-jacking a Porche, Mr and Mrs Douche are totally flabberghasted at what they see.

This boils down to choice. People who do this shit are idiots. You get no sympathy from me. I grew up with violent games. I am a well adjusted individual who can tell reality from fantasy. I know that my actions have consequences. After I played Mortal Combat, i didn't go out and stab someone in the throat. I some how managed to graduate from college, get married. What else can you ask for.

Its like driving around in the car without a seat belt, or getting cancer because you smoked cigarettes all your life. You CHOSE to do what you did, if it be buying a video game, puffing on that cig, or rolling your SUV and dying cause you didn't wear your safety belt. This shit can be prevented. Parents look at the game ratings, talk to your children, don't be afraid, you were once in their shoes, if you can remember. You are not here to be a friend, you are here to parent.

ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!

It's shit like this that rolls right into the clutches of activist litigators like Jack Thompson. A Florida lawyer who is on a rampage to destroy the video game industry. If you do a Google search, you can find tons of info on his stupid ass. Violent games should not be banned. Stupid idiots should be banned. Legislating to the lowest common denominator also pussifies our society. Lets make everything safe for everyone. I thought we had rights. I thought you couldn't pass laws that infringe on our rights?

Well, I guess I'm wrong.