Week of the nutjobs?

I think the mindless crap on the boob tube, and especially zombie-kids addicted to video games, is responsible for this. Quite frankly, I'm shocked at the realistic violence displayed on video games played by kids

Some of those shoot-em-up games I find disturbing as it brings back painful memories of Army service

 

At the risk of making myself sound even more crazy than you already know that I am, I have a story about this: Doom was one of the first really good "first person shooter" games. When it first came out and I played it a lot, I found that everyone started looking like a target to me. I would walk down the sidewalk and visualize random people in my sights. It was at that point that I decided that first person shooter games could be dangerous for unstable people. I don't think they make normal people into killers, but they are desensitizing.

Tom

 

After playing Doom I did want to buy a Chain Gun.

And I started rounding the corners at work more carefully.

 

Mmm.. I don't think violent video games have anything to do with it. Heck, I used to play "violent video games" all the time when I was younger and haven't mowed anyone down.

Thomas

 

That sounds familiar. I remember playing Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six in college. After doing so, I would catch myself subconciously being cautious when approaching corners or doorways. The games are very immersive. I am not suggesting that they lead to people shooting up schools, but I can see how they could affect unstable people more dramatically than most.

 

Oh so true.

Tom

 

There has to be causality somewhere, that is causing this sort of behavior. Consider the Great Depression, did we have kids shooting other kids like we do now?

What has changed in our society - and other societies around the world - that suddenly it's ok for a "repressed" teenager to start shooting other people?

Easy access to firearms? Bulls***, it was far easier to get firearms +50 years ago

Boob tube? Lack of personal interaction? Nutjob headshrinkers who have convinced us that nobody is to blame for their actions?

I just don't buy into this crap that repressed kids have to act out in a violent manner. As kids, all of us went through periods of social denial and social acceptance.

At worst, there would be a scuffle and somebody would end up with a bloody nose. Now the kid gets hold of a handgun and starts shooting.

My question remains valid: what has changed??

 

Tom

Now that's interesting. We're close to the same age, yet the first time I was shown such a video game, after a few moments I said "f*** this" and walked away

Yes, there is a part of my military career that influenced this reaction. I will not get into it, so don't bother asking

But the behavior you just described, I have always attributed to soldiers with severe PTSD. It doesn't take much of an event (Familiar smell, sight, color, sensation, etc) to push the person right off into the deep end

Another example, I was invited to go along with some co-workers to the theater run of "28 Weeks Later." I generally don't like zombie movies, or scary garbage like that, and much prefer light hearted comedies

Anyway, that scene where the zombies show up again and start infecting "normal" people in the green zone they had in London. That was uncomfortable for me to watch, first of all I have stayed at the Hilton and the Four Seasons at Canary Wharf, which is located on the Isle of Dogs. I recognized the scenery

In the movie, when the rooftop snipers started shooting at the people running on the streets, the surround sound was pretty convincing. I got the hell out of that theater in a hurry

Just as you should never give a firearm to an emotionally unstable person, I wonder what effect a violent video game has on an emotionally unstable person? Some would argue no effect, I would argue a great deal of effect

Just my opinion

jay

 

Lot's of silence surrounding the most important question asked. I'll give my take.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book "The Tipping Point" talks about how smoking, suicides, and other movements occur in an epidemic type manner. In Micronesia, 15-24 year old male suicide went from non-existent to the highest rate in the world by 1980. So it is very clear that one school shooting can trigger many more. What primes that pump? .....

The book then examines the commonality of these "epidemics". A real factor is how teenagers talk about these things amoung themselves. (e.g. Adult - Suicide is stupid. Teenager - Wow! he went out with a statement). Apparently some of these horrible acts are considered "heroic" within a deranged peer group. The book has much better detail and real world examples, but this is part of the story. Where as the ultraviolent video games and movies by themselves can be questioned, when a peer group starts talking about how cool it would be to do "that" in real live, someone in the group may be listening and seriously thinking about it.

 

That's a good comment. I have read Dr. Lonnie H. Athen's book "The Creation of Dangerous Violent Criminals," and it touches along similar lines

 

Yea, PTSD pretty well defines it.

Tom

 

I think, ban the media and issue rifles and hand guns to school children.

 

It's been done. A mom I know that came from the Ukraine was in the Soviet equivalent of high school during the cold war. One of the things they had to learn was how to shoot AK-47s.....and we know the state of the media.

 

I think some people can be affected by violent video games and shows. Other's not so much, why not? We just heard several people say they were affected in ways I or someone else have not. It's just like medicine some works some don't it all depends on the person.

Wildkow

 

As far as violent video games and movies apply, if these are not the seeds of violence, they sure are good fertilizer for it.

 

I agree with that statement

 

oooops, sorry, this thread is not AT ALL what I thought it was going to be about.

 

Well, *that* discussion is still going pretty strong over at "Bhaaaa means no!" thread