Posted on Mar 7, 2018
If inanimate objects aren't to blame for mass shootings, why is the government meeting with the video game industry?
26.1K
409
189
45
45
0
People kill people, that has been established. We all understand that guns don't leap up from the kitchen table and take 17 lives. If this much is understood why are the cross hairs on video games? Ive played video games for 15-20 years now and not once has my gaming system or the games themselves killed anyone!
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 47
I would suggest you read LtCol Dave Grossman's book, "On Killing'. Grossman does a good job of laying out the process of 'desensitization' involved in grooming someone to accept the act of killing another human being. Only about 2% of the population will actually kill another human being if provoked. The rest may resort to violence, but the active choice to kill another person is never even entertained by most people, unless they are conditioned to this act. Violent video games are just another means to condition young people to accept the act of killing. Boot Camp is also a very polished desensitization process and was invented precisely for this reason. To prepare young men and women to accept the act of killing another human being.
Even if you shoot every day, you typically shoot at targets, cans, maybe deer or two. I personally used to like rolling watermelons down a hill and trying to hit them as they rolled away. But you don't strap a person to a board and practice shooting at them. The act of shooting is therefore disconnected from the act of killing.
Video games make the actual connection between shooting a gun and killing a person. This mental and virtual connector acts to desensitize you over a period of time. There are a number of studies on this issue, and it can link acts of violence and aggression to violent video games.
Every person is unique and while some may play the games for years and never be affected, others will succumb to the conditioning and be prone to accept the act of killing as a valid response to stressful situations.
Should the government be involved? Well that's another discussion entirely.
Even if you shoot every day, you typically shoot at targets, cans, maybe deer or two. I personally used to like rolling watermelons down a hill and trying to hit them as they rolled away. But you don't strap a person to a board and practice shooting at them. The act of shooting is therefore disconnected from the act of killing.
Video games make the actual connection between shooting a gun and killing a person. This mental and virtual connector acts to desensitize you over a period of time. There are a number of studies on this issue, and it can link acts of violence and aggression to violent video games.
Every person is unique and while some may play the games for years and never be affected, others will succumb to the conditioning and be prone to accept the act of killing as a valid response to stressful situations.
Should the government be involved? Well that's another discussion entirely.
(30)
(0)
SPC Jordan Sutich
I coach children in middle school and have actually heard them talking about the "killing games" and heard how descensitized they are. Even when applied to to normal everyday life. It
(1)
(0)
PO2 Joseph Fast
Well considering there is no link to video games and violence and quite the opposite, I'm not sure we can call video games as making you desensitized to violence. (playing video games is linked to less violence.... probably has more to do with not being around people more than anything else, but it certainly doesn't increase violence levels.) Most people don't relate pixels to actual people. I can shoot pixels all day long and send my infantry to take over cities, but the reality is it doesn't make more any more desensitized to a group of people committing genocide. It's still a horrible thing.
The military on the other hand has. You can only work in CT for so long before you go from (that's horrible) to (making a joke and laughing, knowing it's not funny). No amount of video games could do that. I can play civilization and create Islam and dominate the world with my holy warriors 100 times murdering all infidels each play through and never believe it would be okay to murder entire cities for religion (or any other belief for that matter).
Blaming video games at all just means the person is ignorant (stupid people) or doesn't actually play them (many females).
The military on the other hand has. You can only work in CT for so long before you go from (that's horrible) to (making a joke and laughing, knowing it's not funny). No amount of video games could do that. I can play civilization and create Islam and dominate the world with my holy warriors 100 times murdering all infidels each play through and never believe it would be okay to murder entire cities for religion (or any other belief for that matter).
Blaming video games at all just means the person is ignorant (stupid people) or doesn't actually play them (many females).
(0)
(0)
SPC (Join to see)
People need to be desensitized so they can understand that death happens and they need to get over it.
(0)
(0)
Because elected officials are flailing around trying to give the appearance of "doing something" until they can come up with a viable solution, or the more likely event; we the American public get our attention drawn away by some other "shiny object."
(22)
(0)
First off, don't look to the government to make sense all the time. I don't blame guns or video games or movies. I blame people. But, are there factors that need to be addressed other than the criminals? Of course. Guns are already controlled right? Felons can't own them. Background checks are done. Fully automatic weapons are illegal. Etc. So is that far of a leap to look at other areas that may influence crime (influence, not commit)?
(11)
(0)
MAJ (Join to see)
SSG Ronald Bloodworth - Hilarious! I find myself in moments like that stuck between getting mad and being proud.
(1)
(0)
SPC (Join to see)
MAJ (Join to see) - Not all parents use parental controls, I've been playing shooting games since elementary school and I never once killed someone.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next