UK teen murder spurs Conservatives against videogames, Jack Thompson approves

In light of the tragic ride-by killing of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, U.K. Conservative David Cameron cited and spoke out against various cultural influences – one of which is violent videogames – to be responsible for such abhorrent behavior among today’s youth. The part of his rather lengthy speech about videogames, verbatim:

What has become of our society when we have this spate of children killing children? It means understanding and acting on that age-old maxim that it takes a village to raise a child. It means retailers stopping the sale of alcohol to young teenagers.

It means music companies, media companies, games manufacturers, not just thinking, ‘What is my social responsibility as a company in terms of the projects I support and the charities I back, good and important as they are’, but asking, ‘What is the effect of the music I produce, the games I market and the programmes I broadcast?’

The rest of the article after the jump!

 

In light of the tragic ride-by killing of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, U.K. Conservative David Cameron cited and spoke out against various cultural influences – one of which is violent videogames – to be responsible for such abhorrent behavior among today’s youth. The part of his rather lengthy speech about videogames, verbatim:

What has become of our society when we have this spate of children killing children? It means understanding and acting on that age-old maxim that it takes a village to raise a child. It means retailers stopping the sale of alcohol to young teenagers.

It means music companies, media companies, games manufacturers, not just thinking, ‘What is my social responsibility as a company in terms of the projects I support and the charities I back, good and important as they are’, but asking, ‘What is the effect of the music I produce, the games I market and the programmes I broadcast?’

A fellow conservative by the name of Jeremy Hunt also released a similar-toned statement, this time citing the all-too-familiar incident between Sony and the Church of England with the popular PlayStation 3 FPS title, Resistance: Fall of Man. His statement, unedited and as is:

The UK video games industry is obviously a vitally important part of our economy. The Government needs to do all it can to support the video games sector and allow it to flourish. I would, however, place equal weight on the cultural influence that games can have. As children and young people make up a significant proportion of video game users it is important for the industry to act in a responsible and sensitive way.

Issues involving content have largely focused on the negative aspects associated with games. The arguments around Resistance: Fall of Man and Manchester Cathedral being the most recent example. The industry needs to accept it has a duty to act responsibly when it comes to appropriate content and politicians and the media needs to realise that the industry can have a positive impact on young peopleÂ’s lives.

I believe that it is time for the games industry to act in a responsible and sensitive way and play their part in the prevention of unsuitable material falling into the hands of children. It is essential that manufacturers take seriously the messages sent out by violent and increasingly life-like video games and I believe that most currently do so.

Certainly strong words and valid points raised by both gentlemen. Of course, Jack Thompson, Florida-based attorney, also gave his own two cents via a comment in the GamePolitics blog. Here it is:

Cameron understands what teen gamers do not: That adults are in charge of this world and should be. Further, everyone on this planet who has power has a responsibility to exercise it for the common good. Heck, even Spiderman gets that.

Thank God for MP Cameron, as adult leaders on both sides of the pond are understanding that pop culture is by and large raw sewage in which teens are drowning. Once you kids grow up, youÂ’ll understand. Until then, pay attention. YouÂ’ll learn something. Remember, I was once as ignorant as you. I grew up.

While we certainly can agree that today’s acts of tragic violence involving the youth is a sad state of affairs, it’s also to note that the other potential causes of such acts can be traced back even before videogames began to attract attention as being “too violent”. One of these is poverty, which forces youths and young adults into crime.

Another is incessant bullying and one-upmanship in schools – this could create a mindset of wanting to please the “cooler” kids, or inversely, create an introverted individual who keeps his emotions bottled in.

It’s certainly good that politicians are addressing these issues, serious as they are, and are drawing attention to them. Here’s hoping, though, that they delve further into the more prevalent and important matters, rather than take notice of something that is merely a source of entertainment that remains digital, i.e. not real. Developments as they happen, and you can let us know what you think by your comments below.

Via GamePolitics