Rockstar and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

[Isuka]

This is untamable stupidness to the maximum (note: before clicking, turn on all your adblockers). GG!'s right, as if that's anything new; it's useless, we're trying to talk shit-flinging retards.

Look mom, I'm spindashing through the TV!!! XD

[Esrever]

I dunno! That article seemed pretty even-handed. I'm surprised they bothered to find people denouncing the connection between games and real violence at all, let alone give them equal time with the nutcases.

[Senbei]

I love this. On the one hand, we've got newspaper reporters writing bias articles featuring the media-hungry queuing up to denounce a medium they've obviously never even engaged it in order to appeal to an angry and possibly oblivious community. On the other, we've got gaming reporters writing bias articles that take cheap shots at the newspaper reporters' articles and their sources in order to appeal to an angry and possibly oblivious community.

I just don't understand. The psychologists and watchdogs are wrong. The mass media is wrong. The gaming media is wrong. The angry gamers are wrong. Why do they keep TALKING? And am I just gas on the flames for making this post?

Why does mass media even CARE what gamers play? Why can't they just trust the ESRB? Isn't there something else the Boston Globe could do with their time? Isn't the US, like, in a war or something? Isn't pollution, like, slowly killing the planet? Aren't there, like, huge stockpiles of weapons that could at any instant blow humanity off the face of the Earth just lying around in various places?

Okay, I think I'm done.

[jenkins]

Aren't there, like, huge stockpiles of weapons that could at any instant blow humanity off the face of the Earth just lying around in various obvious places?

Fix'd

and good points.

[Black Rook]

You're missing the point.

Little Johnny walks in on his big brother Frat Boy Hostel-Watching Justin and sees him watching a crudely rendered stripper. In a videogame.

Or maybe Little Johnny is the one doing that. I don't know.

Anyway, Little Johnny tells his friend Big Timmy (who is a fatty) about it, and they agree that it is socially acceptable to steal their dads' chainsaws and cut people in half. In fact, it's not just socially acceptable- it's socially mandated. If Little Johnny wants to be part of society, he must follow sports, he must like girls, he must show some passing interest in cars, and now he believes he must cut people in half with a chainsaw.

Now, all the leftist wankers will use buzzwords like "little sociopath" to describe Johnny, and they'll claim Johnny may have already had mental issues. They may even try to blame Little Johnny and smear his good name by saying he's "mentally retarded." Or worse, they'll try to blame his parents. So what now, Michael Moore, is Little Johnny's dad supposed to keep his chainsaw behind some kind of lock? Fuck that! That's chainsaw control, and a man has the right to bear chainsaws, and to chainsaw bears. It's not Little Johnny's fault a video game fooled him into thinking it was okay to cut people in half.

No, it's not Little Johnny's fault. It's not Uncle Ted's fault for touching Johnny in places that made him feel funny. It's not Little Johnny's father's fault for showing him the path to Jesus via a taut belt, or for reminding Little Johnny's mother twice a day that a woman must work for her man. Do not blame murder on conservative, moral values. Blame it on the video game company. Blame it on Frat Boy Justin. And blame it on Little Johnny's mom for not focusing on women's work like the Lord intended.

But more importantly, blame it on WAL-MART for carrying the game in the first place. It's Wal-mart's fault for catering to the ignorant and the uncultured masses. It's Wal-mart's fault for providing a fresh stable of victims for Little Johnny to chainsaw. It's Wal-mart's fault for allowing the old man to stand in the middle of the aisle, staring at the floor. It's Wal-mart's fault that the fat lady was inching her cart across the aisle and taking up valuable space while her six undisciplined children destroyed everything nearby like chubby locusts. It's Wal-mart's fault that their employees are infuriatingly inept. How could Little Johnny help himself? Wal-mart tempted him with masses of victims just begging to be killed in gruesome fashion. Can Little Johnny really be blamed for what he did?

Could any of us?

In closing, I think we should stop arguing over censorship and just get rid of Wal-mart and everyone who regularly shops there. This would solve all problems regarding this issue.

[Oompa Star]

Another act of parental idiocy I think that people seem to overlook is that some parents would think that their children are perfect little angels and would be unaffected by violent images or scenes. This might have been why I was allowed to play Doom at the tender age of seven.

[gr4yJ4Y]

Thank you Rook, that was awesome.

Pediatrician Michael Rich , director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital, says there is a solid body of research to show that exposure to screen violence takes a toll. Teens risk becoming desensitized because their empathy skills and social restraints are not fully developed.

I do think that too much video games, TV, and computer usage can take a toll on teenagers, but it's not because it's violent. It's because they're using their time infront of a screen instead of spending time with other human beings.

But hey, that's how I grew up and I turned out fine.

Also, who's to say that there is one source to blame for someone going crazy? One video game is probably not going to do it.

[Isuka]

GG! never mentioned that his real name was Andrew Fletcher.
But he says at the end that he liked the original Manhunt, so maybe they're two different persons.

[Frieza2000]

The names of the staff are not a secret.

[Isuka]

... 'twas a joke. You know, the guy says that the game's not really good, that Rockstar's doing this on purpose, and so... yeah, it's a bad joke. Sorry, I'm at work and in totally unfunny mode.

[Delphine]

The names of the staff are not a secret.

<i>shit they found it</i>

[Black Rook]

Oh, you're all getting my newsletter now. Prepare for mundane cake recipes and updates on my cousin Tom's garage band.