I don't think anyone said hunting or sport shooting was a bad thing. The hardware is much different.

12/20/2012 10:35:03 AM

Whether young kids can be influenced by video games might be a matter of debate, but if parents followed the rating guides it wouldn't matter.

But the shooter from friday and the Batman shooter were both adults. You can't blame the actions of adults on entertainment.

12/20/2012 11:03:20 AM

Quote :

"I know some VERY avid gun owners and not one of them has used their handguns to "hurt someone""

that is super beside the point.

Quote :

"There's also the sport side which you completely ignored. Yes, people shoot for enjoying/entertainment. Marksmanship is a sport and in this case, firearms are no different from a bowling ball in bowling or a bow in archery. The Olympics recognizes firearm marksmanship is a valid sport. Saying guns have only one use is like saying cars only have one use. Automobiles can be competitively/recreationally raced; they are used for more than just transportation."

thats fair, i suppose i should have set its "primary/intended" use instead of "only." the point is, you can use a bowling ball to hurt someone but 99.9999 percent use it for the sport whereas the vast majority of gun use/intent in the world is for hurting/killing people, then a much smaller but still
large for killing animals (which i have zero problem with, just trying to classify as a weapon), then a tiny percentage that use it only for "sport." I put people that have guns for theoretical home defense in the first category b/c while they hope to never use the gun, there intent is to threaten or harm someone if need be.

I am absolutely not making the case that guns need to be banned. I in fact much of the responsibility resides w/ state/local gov't/law enforcement to actively report mental illness and other issues to the federal gov't to prevent those people from purchasing guns.

My primary point in my initial post is that it is dumb to compare a WEAPON to something whose intended purpose is entertainment.

12/21/2012 8:50:39 PM

I see Vishnu and think: man, that chick could handle 7 dudes at once. What the fuck is wrong with me...

12/22/2012 12:11:16 PM

What can't you blame when something like this happens?

12/22/2012 12:13:36 PM

the US murder rate is the lowest its been in at least 25 years

who wants to compare it to what it was during prohibition? anyone?

12/22/2012 4:57:18 PM

Quote :

" Whether young kids can be influenced by video games might be a matter of debate"

Not really says the secret service, Harvard, and surgeon general.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversies

Quote :

" One of the most common criticisms of video games is that they increase the violent tendencies among youth.[1][17][18] However, several major studies by groups such as The Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health, The Journal of Adolescent Health, and The British Medical Journal have shown no conclusive link between video game usage and violent activity."[19][20][21] One study did find an increase in reports of bullying, noting, "Our research found that certain patterns of video game play were much more likely to be associated with these types of behavioral problems than with major violent crime such as school shootings.[19][20] One of the first widely accepted controversial video games was developer Exidy's 1976 title Death Race, in which players controlled cars that ran over pixelated representations of "gremlins". The game caused such an outcry that it was pulled from store shelves and profiled on 60 Minutes. Long Island PTA president Ronnie Lamm pushed for legislation in the early 1980s to place restrictions on how close video game arcades could be to schools, asserting that they caused children to fight.[22] Portrayals of violence allegedly became more realistic with time, and so politicians such as U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman conducted hearings during the 1990s regarding what he referred to as "violent video games" which, in his opinion, included such games as Mortal Kombat. His sentiments have been echoed by certain researchers, such as Dr. Craig A. Anderson who testified before the Senate, "Some studies have yielded nonsignificant video game effects, just as some smoking studies failed to find a significant link to lung cancer. But when one combines all relevant empirical studies using meta-analytic techniques it shows that violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased pro-social (helping) behavior."[23][24] Anderson himself was later criticized in a 2005 video game court case for failing to cite research that differed from his view.[25]Disbarred attorney Jack Thompson has filed lawsuits against the makers of violent games, alleging the simulated violence causes real-world violence.Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is an example of a video game that caused controversy, over and above the debate surrounding the violent gameplay, for allegedly encouraging racist hate crimes. The game takes place in "Vice City", a fictionalized Miami, in 1986, and involves a gang war between Haitians and Cuban refugees, with the player's character getting involved and encouraging the inter-ethnic violence. For example, in a shoot-out with the Haitian gang, the player's character uses phrases such as "kill the Haitian dickheads", which highly incensed both Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation groups; after the Haitian-American Coalition threatened to sue, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase in the game's subtitles.Lt. Col. David Grossman, a former West Point psychology professor, has written several books that pertain to the subject of violence in the media, including On Killing and Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill. During heights of video game controversy he has been interviewed on the content of his books, and has repeatedly used the term "murder simulator" to describefirst-person shooter games. He argues that video game publishers unethically train children in the use of weapons and, more importantly, harden them emotionally to the act of murder by simulating the killing of hundreds or thousands of opponents in a single typical video game. Grossman's conclusions have been criticized by some scholars, however, as highly selective and misleading.[26]Research published in 2001 suggested that violent video games may increase mild forms of aggressive behavior in children and young adults. Analyses also showed that exposure to violent video games results in increased physiological arousal, aggression-related thoughts and feelings as well as decreased prosocial behavior. The research comprised a meta analysis, laboratory and field studies.[1] However meta-analyses by other groups have not replicated these findings[2][3] and these other groups have been critical of attempts to link violent games with aggression. For instance John Sherry has said (2007) "Further, why do some researchers (e.g. Gentile & Anderson, 2003) continue to argue that video games are dangerous despite evidence to the contrary?" (p. 244). A study by Matthew Eastin focuses on seeing if the influences of competitive and cooperative group game play on state hostility will be affected by the impact of group size, game motivation, in-game behavior, and verbal aggression. This research findings were consistent with other research in which that the group size and verbal aggression showed signs of connections with positive hostility. The more people that were playing together would in turn in up causing higher levels of post-game hostility. They also found that communicative act of aggression was shown to influence hostility-related outcomes.[27]A study by Dr. Craig A. Anderson et al. compared the effects of violent video games to those of smoking on lung cancer[28][29] This view has been challenged, however. For instance, Ferguson (2010) has ruled out a relationship between video game violence and serious aggression, concluding "Taken together these meta-analyses range from those which argue against meaningful effects to those which find weak effects. Thus the debate on video game violence has been reduced to whether video game violence produces no effects...or almost no effects."[30]"

[Edited on December 22, 2012 at 6:10 PM. Reason : 1]

[Edited on December 22, 2012 at 6:14 PM. Reason : 1]

[Edited on December 22, 2012 at 6:16 PM. Reason : 1]

12/22/2012 6:09:34 PM

Quote :

"the US murder rate is the lowest its been in at least 25 years"

And yet, for some reason, we are in a state of moral decline

12/22/2012 8:36:30 PM

12/23/2012 2:33:16 PM

I dont see how it's any more unreasonable to blame video games than the size of a clip.

If we're really concerned about the rate of fire we should be putting restraints on semis that are similar to autos.

12/24/2012 9:19:35 AM

All bullets should cost $5,000 you know why?

12/24/2012 9:25:42 AM

instead of limiting magazine sizes, lets make it super slow and annoying to reload

(because who cares if I have 3 10-rd magazines instead of 1 30rd, I can still put 30-rds down range very quickly)

12/24/2012 9:28:33 AM

ViolentMAW

Quote :

"What conservatives are blaming video games for the shooting? Name some. Even one or two will be fine"

Quote :

"This update is still making me rage."

Quote :

"Sad day for Americans and especially Connecticut, Here we go again with everybody blaming Guns for this tragedy. I know i'll catch shit over this but here is my two cents, Its the stupid VIDEO GAMES! Rather than a responsible Adult teaching their kids about proper Gun safety and use these kids are spending all their free time playing these Shootem up video games where they think they're invincible and can freely shoot at everything and anybody. There are Games where you can kill cops! whats that teaching a kid? Zombie killing games and T.V. and the list goes on and on. I'm telling you, Video games are a big problem in the wrong mindset. Think about it"

Quote :

"This guy. This fucking guy. If only one good thing comes out of this maybe there will be less first person shooters and some more original games (yea right)"

this fucking guy that you can't even name?

12/28/2012 12:09:36 PM

Quote :

"And yet, for some reason, we are in a state of moral decline "

more like hyper media.

12/28/2012 12:14:15 PM

^^^^^^ (comic)

Quote :

"It’s rare, but not completely unheard of, for us to check in on some political thing. It’s something we’re reticent to do; it’s easy to do wrong, and usually is, and so we avoid it the same way you might avoid any other treacherous pit. The trouble is that, occasionally, an entity can dig a trench of this kind entirely around you, and it cannot be avoided. For the purposes of the metaphor, flight is impossible; I know you are enthusiastic about games, and have already begun to devise a method of escape. I appreciate it! Let me know. You may resent such incursions as today’s strip, and rest assured, I resent them also. I vastly prefer our ordinary business, which may be thought of as the application of psychic unguents. I don’t have any particular interest in carrying water for the Gaming Industrial Complex, which is fraught on its best day, like any human endeavor. I sure as shit don’t give it unfettered access to my children. But I couldn’t be expected to sit completely inert on a day when ALL media - every way that a society talks to itself, every form of communication - was being set up the bomb. It was beyond surreal, and drove a wedge straight through their own base of support; their choice of boogeyman made it generational. It’s the same message I heard in church circa 1986, frankly. The message discipline is incredible. I grew up in a hunting family; I’m not afraid of guns, but I certainly don’t worship them. They are devices which throw lethal metal at high speeds. I mean, right? It stands to reason that such devices would be correlated with injury, and it stands to reason that we could discuss the extent to which these injuries could be foreseen or avoided. If you don’t want me to talk about this kind of stuff, go make your world less dumb. That will deprive me of the opportunity."

12/28/2012 12:15:51 PM

Shit is heating back up again thanks to Biden's meetings.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/14/the-japan-lesson-can-americans-learn-from-the-country-that-has-almost-zero-gun-deaths/

Man, all those violent videogames made in Japan sure are a problem

1/11/2013 3:22:38 PM

^

Most of the truely violent games like Mortal Komat, grand theft autoand Call of Duty are made here. In Japan RPGs are very popular more so than shooters. Fighting games without the gore are also popular. Its one of parts of bowling for columbine that was particuarly specious.

1/13/2013 3:14:07 PM

I agree that Western games are more violent overall but look at Japanese movies like Ichi the Killer (which is banned in a few countries for it's violence), games like Ninja Gaiden, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, the upcoming Metal Gear Rising where you can slice enemies into multiple pieces and the list goes on ...

1/13/2013 3:28:38 PM

I've seen nothing to indicate that they are the problem and not just another symptom of the problem

1/13/2013 3:28:56 PM

Yea, it's kind of what came first, the chicken or the egg. I think it's def the egg. The popularity of FPS games has gone through the roof. Companies would not be making these games if people didn't buy them. Personally, I'm sick of them.

1/13/2013 3:44:18 PM

Old, sheltered, suburbanite whities tried to blame metal in the 80's and rap in the 90's so I guess video games are next on the list.

These people fear and blame what they don't understand.

1/13/2013 4:47:25 PM

Forreal though, the chicken came first.

1/13/2013 4:58:26 PM

The egg in this case, haha. Also, Tokyo is the world's safest city. Wonder if they take potential for devastating earthquakes into account?

[Edited on January 13, 2013 at 5:53 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2013 5:52:17 PM

GTA is a shitty game anyway

games like that just make dumb kids dumber, and make them do shit like this

I ain't even conservative either :3

1/13/2013 5:58:57 PM

that is nuts to blame video games

these guys are to blame

1/13/2013 6:31:37 PM

Here is another conservative blaming video games for Sandy Hook:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1aGiCaZd19o

Oh wait this is Chris Murphy, a Democrat senator from Connecticut. My bad.

1/27/2013 8:41:05 AM

Quote :

"These people fear and blame what they don't understand."

same can be said for those blaming evil "assault rifles"

1/27/2013 9:19:48 AM