Of Virginia Tech, Dr. Phil and mass murderers – a personal stand

In the wake of the tragic events that ensued in Virginia Tech, Jack Thompson put the blame on video games. Don’t look now but he’s found a friend we’re all too familiar with despite the fact that a lot of us have never watched his show. The well-publicized motivator unleashed a mouthful in Larry King Live with this statement:

The problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me – common sense tells you – that if these people are playing video games where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, itÂ’s glamorized on the big screen, itÂ’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath, or someone suffering from mental illness, add in a dose of rage, the suggestability is just too high. And weÂ’re going to have to start dealing with that. WeÂ’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murderers of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.

I recognize Dr. Phil’s point that a heavy dose of violent media will probably aggravate the violent tendencies of the mentally disturbed. However, arguing on the premise that violent games can influence kids to become mass murderers is unfounded and inaccurate. The sheer fact that the identity of the killer(s) have/has not yet been revealed is a testament to his premature judgment. What if the shooter(s) have/has never touched a control pad in their lives?

The (very, very, very) few who do play games and exercise their ability to inflict terrible violence do not reflect the majority of gamers worldwide. To say that exposing children to violent games breeds sociopaths is a vile misconception. An entire generation of people who played games as kids have grown up to be successful, peace-loving individuals who never once thought of blowing away friends and family with guns.

Violence is a natural human instinct. Take away all the guns and violent games in the world and people will still beat each other to death with their bare fists. Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler and Ivan the Terrible have never even conceived of the games of today and they are far worse offenders than any modern criminal. Dr. Phil and to other riders of “blame it on the video games” bandwagon, please get your facts straight.

In the wake of the tragic events that ensued in Virginia Tech, Jack Thompson put the blame on video games. Don’t look now but he’s found a friend we’re all too familiar with despite the fact that a lot of us have never watched his show. The well-publicized motivator unleashed a mouthful in Larry King Live with this statement:

The problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me – common sense tells you – that if these people are playing video games where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, itÂ’s glamorized on the big screen, itÂ’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath, or someone suffering from mental illness, add in a dose of rage, the suggestability is just too high. And weÂ’re going to have to start dealing with that. WeÂ’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murderers of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.

I recognize Dr. Phil’s point that a heavy dose of violent media will probably aggravate the violent tendencies of the mentally disturbed. However, arguing on the premise that violent games can influence kids to become mass murderers is unfounded and inaccurate. The sheer fact that the identity of the killer(s) have/has not yet been revealed is a testament to his premature judgment. What if the shooter(s) have/has never touched a control pad in their lives?

The (very, very, very) few who do play games and exercise their ability to inflict terrible violence do not reflect the majority of gamers worldwide. To say that exposing children to violent games breeds sociopaths is a vile misconception. An entire generation of people who played games as kids have grown up to be successful, peace-loving individuals who never once thought of blowing away friends and family with guns.

Violence is a natural human instinct. Take away all the guns and violent games in the world and people will still beat each other to death with their bare fists. Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler and Ivan the Terrible have never even conceived of the games of today and they are far worse offenders than any modern criminal. Dr. Phil and to other riders of “blame it on the video games” bandwagon, please get your facts straight.