by Rob Kohr

Personally I didn’t want to use this story to bring up this issue, though I knew it would be inevitable after I heard about the murders committed earlier this week at Virgina Tech. As is the custom in the United States, when ever a tragic event involving a “youth” and guns happens, the pundits come out screaming that video games are at fault. Without fail, after the Columbine shootings back in 1999, everyone was quick to blame games and recording artists such as Marylin Manson. I am finding it hard to not push my political views on this and am instead looking at it form the standpoint of someone working in the Media / Gaming Industry. Those in that industry have to be aware of the the people they vote for and how they will effect their livelihood.

You might have a different opinion on this topic than me, which is fine. Still its important to know that people like Tipper Gore and Hilary Clinton were very vocal in the late 90’s about the gaming industry and the movie industry. They remind us of Marge Simpson’s plea on FOX’s animated show, when she says “Won’t you think of the children?” Its interesting that this is usually thought of as something coming from parents, in the end it IS the parents who are to blame for the actions of the “youths” who commit these crimes. Mind you, the majority of the blame does fall on the child and usually links to mental illness as well. In fact in the US it is easier for someone who is mentally ill to procure a hand gun than it is for the same person to get the medication they need to treat their illness.

This brings me to the transcript from this past weeks Larry King Live, where he had on Dr. Phil as a guest.

They’re usually dead after something like this happens because the police take them out or they take themselves out. The question really is can we spot them. And the problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me — common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’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 and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high. And we’re going to have to start dealing with that. We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murders of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.

Transcript from Larry King: View Transcript

The problem with this logic, other than the fact that school shootings do in fact pre-date the video game, is that you are not treating the source of the problem. Its like dealing with a flood by stopping the flow of water when it hits the town rather than at it source. The source here being the mental illness. Of course, in the end this will come down on the video game industry and how these game are at fault for corrupting the children.

Here is another piece blaming game:

Jack Thompson implies that those who play Grand Theft Auto, may in fact be dangerous and also that they use the games to “stage” the rampages. This logic is also wrong on so many levels, there is just no comparison to acting out something on a game and doing it in reality, you can’t fine tune your gunman ship in a game and have it relate to your real life. Any gamer worth their salt knows that something like GTA does not allow you to actually shoot “at” stuff, it is a 3rd person shooter, meaning that you do not have the view of a gunman. Also from the standpoint of games like Halo, you are using a game pad not a gun to shoot the opponent. There are still games that use guns in the Arcades or Red Steel for the Wii, but once again, a reality disconnect. Most people see the difference, and their entertainment should not be impinged on because someone else was mentally un-hinged and could not make that distinction. It is not the game it is the mental health industry that is a fault for not recognizing and addressing this man’s problems.

In the end though it more comes down to the fact that rather than blaming the gaming and entertainment industries we should be paying more attention to the metal health of these individuals, not the games they play, the movies they watch or the stories they write. And on that theme, many an artist has produced a disturbing piece of work at some point, it is a way to get through the hard parts of life. That is by no means a “red flag” that the person is disturbed.

Thanks to Monica Ong for the Mental Health Info (thelune.org)