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Did you hear that they blame Counterstrike for the deeds of the sniper in washington?
Man, do they realy believe that?

 

I'd say it's fairly believable. I played it once and got killed by a sniper more than one time. What makes you think that people wouldn't become too obssessed with the "One shot, one kill," ideal and carry out their fantasies in reality?

 

Nowdays, almost every shooting is blamed on video games. I think the media and the politicians are to blame for this. I've heard a lot of statistics claiming that violent crimes are going down, but the media sensationalizes cases like this, spreading fear and panic. Politicians jump on it and start screaming about how these "murder simulators" are undermining our nations morals by desensitizing our kids to violence. It's a relatively safe way to act concerned to your voters about an important issue, because the video game industry, as a whole, does not really fight back and defend themselves.

People see an "epidemic" of shootings or whatever, because the media picks up on stories that get people's attention, and every similar case is reported in every newspaper and television news show in the entire US. So people develop a perception that these crimes are becoming more widespread and more frequent, because it's in the news constantly. They start looking for a cause, something to blame that they can point thier finger at and say "this has inspired people to commit these crimes". Video games are an easy target because some of the games feature shooting and violence, and graphics have gotten more and more realistic.

Back when I was a kid and first started gaming (in the Atari 2600 years), games were just blocky pixels. I remember that horror movies were quite frequently blamed for violent crimes. Then in the 80's it was heavy metal which was causing all of our problems. When first person shooters became popular, the blame shifted again.

People will always look for simplistic, surface solutions. Ban violent games and your kids will be safe. Ban swear words and violent language in music and your kids will be safe.

Remember the Columbine tragedy? The kids involved were "outcasts" and repeatedly bullied by other students. Not to say that the bullying was a justification for what they did, but the point is instead of looking at this widespread, complex problem, the media focused on the fact that the kids were avid Doom players. A few stories early on picked up on the bullying aspect, but most pretty much ignored it as time went on because it was too complex of a problem with no nice and easy answers. As a result, video games came under fire again.

Side note: There was an article in my local paper with quotes from gun enthusiasts denouncing this killer as a coward and basically saying how he was "giving snipers a bad name". Which I thought was rather strange...

[ October 14, 2002, 03:14: Message edited by: Nutrimat ]

 

On a related side note, the "media" specifcially gets paid by the number of viewers/readers that indulge in their broadcasts/print.

There are few people who want to read about how little Johnny made it to school safely, and had a wonderful time learning about the relation of the greater-then/less-than symbols.

There are, however, quite a few people that wish to watch/read about how some rather ingenous, mostly religious, individuals have the courage and determination to detonate a bomb, killing 200+ people.

 

Hmm. I can see the possibility of a correlation if the murderers only encountered death in video games.

If someone had taken this guy in DC hunting as a child, he might have learned how real death is -- not something to be toyed with or taken lightly.

 

Probably. This maniac has also awakened the question why civilians in the US are allowed to own sniper rifles up to .50 cal or automatic weapons ... oh, I forgot - for home defence

However, silly thing that this guy has not yet been caught, but no one has ever said it is easy to catch a sniper out for spreading terror. Hopefully ge gets what he deserves - whatever that is.

 

I'm just glad that he isn't doing his thing in Holland, not that I want him in america either but if he would be caught in holland he probably would have gotten a sentence of 10 year (maybe) and (perhaps) a little time in an institution.

The only thing I like about america: death sentence (not in every state but still)

 

Llllllllleeeetttt's get ready to rumble!

 

Home defense includes not only defense against burglars but also against the British military when they try to forcibly reunite the US and UK.

We're waiting for you and your limey friends, Yerril!

BRING IT!

 

Aah we could woop your ass anyday...really....we could.... we just don't err....feel like it....

 

my friend tells me the KGB once released an intel report stating an invastion of the States would be impossible due to the number of civilians with guns and the knowledge to use them It's all about Red Dawn, baby.

oh, and Z, in the best Evil Imperialist American spirit, I'm going to press this nice little ignition button on my cute little Minuteman II-then we'll see how willing you are.

 

The cute little problem there is that not only for the KGB it would have been dangerous to go to the states The americans and their guns are much more dangerous for themselves - when citizens outgun the authorities there can't be a real monopol of power of the government. Why call the cops when you can enjoy shooting a potential burglar yourself ... ?! oops, it was the new postman, what a pity ...

Where people in other countries are happy to beat each other to pulp, the americans seem to happily use the extended capabilities their guns offer in everyday conflicts. This also seems to apply for the guy with the sniper rifle - his long arm allows him to strike with impunity - agression without repercussion.

However, I strongly doubt it's counterstrike that makes people go kill-kill-kill. The calls to ban such games are populistic babbling from politicians who want to show that they *do something* against violence. It's just an attempt to gain public popularity.

Even when these games don't make people kill, they look so ugly that they are perfectly suited to scare the average citizen enough to commend a ban. And even when a ban is unfair to the gamers who play these games, who cares? People who play games like that are freaks anyway, and a small group in the elections ...

[ October 15, 2002, 18:05: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

 

These sniper people are awful, so's the game.

 

Post some numbers or shut up, Ragusa. Your little deluded fantasies about what America is like sound (again) like someone who operates on stereotypes rather than actual information. Seig heil.

 

Oh, if those who spoke of these killings had any idea what they're talking about.

This is hardly an extraordinary weapon being used. A .223 is a common cartridge used in a variety of applications. I believe, in fact, if you went through the rolls of the weapons that American citizens sent to British homes in WWII, you'd find a lot of them.

Nor are these killings the work of a professional. Nothing more than 100 yards, either stationary targets or people walking in a straight line either towards or away from the shooter.

This is a sicko, plain and simple. It's a man with no conscience or regard for human life. No law will (or would have) stopped him and I'd love to see anyone argue otherwise.

 

As for use of guns in general: Their availability is a necessity for their use.

However, posting my personal, deluded fantasies I can't see a reason to post any numbers to proove myself what I think. As a matter of fact, I don't really care enough to search any statistics about it not only because I don't trust a statistic I haven't manipulated myself - I would probably end up in the internet anyway .... and outside of SP that is not really a guarantee for profound information

And eventually Shralp, you should have become used to my posts a long time ago ...

[ October 15, 2002, 18:19: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

 

You must remember that we have nukes too. Aah this is a horrible thing to talk about!

 

I wonder why a lot of you people here look down on cs (and probably shooters in general). Sure they look down on RPG's, but that's no reason to do the same.

Yes it's violent and yes it's more about reflexes than about thinking, but what's wrong with people having a good time playing those games?

The same thing could happen to RPG's. It takes but one person with a sword and some murderous thoughts inspired on the BG series to have RPG's banned.

[ October 16, 2002, 17:04: Message edited by: Uytuun ]

 

Come live here in Texas, the words "Dungeons and Dragons" will have every religious fanatic (that is to say most Southern Babtests) threatening to kill you with all their guns. I think here in the south of the United States games like CS are more tolerated as opposed to RPGs because many people think that it's "Satin worshipping" to play games that deal with magic or mention the word "Demon" nevermind the fact that the average gamer is more interested in killing the damn thing.
I get so sick and tired of politicians here in the US blame games for violence. The average gamer has no desire to pick up a rifle and go kill someone in real life. I play shooters myself but I'm not totally desensitized as some politicians think most gamers think. When I saw the movie "We Were Soldiers" and when they showed the Vietnam Wall Memorial at the end of the movie I nearly had tears in my eyes, same with the movie Black Hawk Down, I thought it was a very sad movie, yet I play shooters all the time.
Of course, you guys haven't come to the other conclusion that motivates politicians here in the US: power. The only reasons that lawyers even take up the cause of suing gaming companies for supposedly causing school shootings is to line their own pockets. They don't care about little Tim being killed because of some psycho kid, they just want cash. If society here in the good old US wants to point fingers maybe they should start looking closer to home yes?

 

This is just the next stop along the way. It used to be D&D, horror movies, and heavy metal (remember Judas Priest being sued over the suicide of two fans?). I grew up playing D&D, watching horror movies, listening to heavy metal, and playing computer games (some with guns). I have no urge to act out anything I saw (or heard, or experienced) in any of these mediums.
I can say that I was desensitized to violence.
Why do people do this? Perhaps it is easier to blame something inanimate for societies problems. It's easier than blaming the parents.

[ October 16, 2002, 18:19: Message edited by: Jack Funk ]