Many believe that video games are to blame for what happened last Friday morning in Newtown, Connecticut. The gesture is meant to be an act of respect and solidarity, but will others see it that way?
Antwand Pearman, editor-in-chief of GamerFitNation, is asking everyone this upcoming Friday to put down their virtual guns, in honor of the victims of in Newtown, CT…
The associated Facebook page states right up front, and in bold: WE ARE NOT BLAMING VIDEO GAMES! But I wouldn’t be surprised if the thoughtful sentiment ends up becoming twisted by certain parties, to help further place the blame on video games for what happened at Sandy Hook.
Despite the fact that no evidence exists that demonstrates Adam Lanza’s interest in video games (if you heard that he liked Call of Duty, you were fed wrong info, simple as that), certain members of the media have been trying their best to blame his actions on them.
Simply refer to Kotaku’s highlight reel to see what I mean. While certain folk like MSNBC and CNN both casually attempt to place the blame, you have other folk like Fox News who flat out state that video games (plus movies) is the direct cause, end of story.
Many cite a study conducted by Ohio State that links violent games to aggressive behavior. But the thing is, as Dr. Phil points out, there have also been plenty of studies that shows no connection whatsoever. Like the one that the Washington Post just published.
Listen, I’m no idiot; I can understand how why some people might think that playing a first person shooter might somehow lead to someone becoming a trained killer. But I’m guessing that many people back in the day had that same gut feeling about the world being flat.
I also understand that people are desperate for answers, and justifiably so. Sadly, we may never truly understand why Lanza did what he did. Still, anger and grief are no excuses for coming to ill informed conclusions.
Like how, as Mashable reports, an angry internet mob went after the Mass Effect Facebook page. All because someone who was misidentified as the suspect had listed it on his page. Even four days later, in which the real perpetrator has been identified (and who, again, has not been linked to video games), it’s still getting comments like…
The killer played this game, it obviously influnced him to kill. Video hames are the reason there is so many shootings. Stop being ignorant and do research. Shooting have increased ever since games like mass effect and cod have come out. Your all idiots.
Meanwhile, as Destructoid points out, some British rag is placing the blame on, of all things, Dynasty Warriors. A hack and slash that is completely devoid of any guns because it takes place during in ancient China, circa the 2nd and 3rd century. Here’s a taste…
Video games, along with all the usual suspects, will continue to be used as a red herring as the debate regarding the Sandy Hook tragedy rages on. Thank goodness we have people like Pearman, who is out to prove that not all gamers are murderers in training who have little regard to what happened in Newtown.
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