Do video games make you want to shoot people??????????

[DainBramaged]

The NRA thinks so, and they want to ban them instead of 30 round magazines.



I never thought at any time in my life (since 1990 when I played Sim City) I wanted to go kill people because of video games. Ya think Mario makes people gun crazy???


Wayne LaPissed off also stated FELON'S CAN'T BUY GUNS at gun shows in the MTP interview

[Bennyboy]

1. Not me personally or most people BUT,

For some I imagine it a serious part of their psyche. It is all of that. Games, Christianity, Judaism,Football, the vernacular, the music etc...and the guns. And that is where the NRA is off. Blame everything BUT THE GUNS. And where the anti guns zealots lose me as well, it is NOT JUST THE GUNS either.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. The only game I play makes me want to conquer the world.

So obviously civ should be banned because hitler.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. You win 1000 internets.

[LAGC]

6. Shit, if we had video games back in the 1930s, Hitler could have just...

...gotten his kicks off conquering virtual worlds instead of the real one!

Who knows how many potential dictators/emperors have been pacified due to video games letting them realize their fantasies without doing it in real life?

[Enrique]

20. i play age of empires

it gives me an overpowering urge to chop wood.

[Warren Stupidity]

23. Yes but your motive for all that wood chopping is sick, very sick.

[Shankapotomus]

63. Used to love that and Empire Earth

The cities you could build in EE were amazing.

[JesterCS]

93. I still play EE over the network with my bro n/t

[MichaelMcGuire]

69. hahaha

[forgotmylogin]

80. That ticked me off.

The NRA says that *videogames* are dangerous?

How many living things died from the purchase of a videogame? There's that one guy who died from marathoning World of Warcraft in Korea, but other than that...

How many things die from the purchase of a weapon?

Guns don't kill people. Guns give cowards the way to kill people without threat to themselves.

[rrneck]

3. No, but you gotta blame somebody. nt

[angstlessk]

5. I don't play 'video' games..I play PC games..

Hidden Object Games..and they might make me want to murder someone..but that someone would be me..when I look and look and look and cannot find that 'duck' that is hidden behind the bookcase..GRRR! And need to resort to the HINT button! Did I forget to say GRRR?

OPPS... me too

[SummerSnow]

55. I play pc games too...

I'm addicted to Diner Dash..it gives me the urge to cook all the time

[Tab]

7. No, but I think they both glorify and desensitize the act

You become a "Rambo" with no consequences, and so used to killing indiscriminately that it doesn't affect you emotionally. They aren't the only reason we have a gun problem, but they don't help. Perhaps they should be minimized in ADDITION to banning 30 round magazines, but not instead of - that would be just plain silly.

[HooptieWagon]

32. Probably true in some cases.

A whole lot of kids (and adults) play video games, many of which are violent, even graphically so. Of those millions, a handful have turned out to be mass-murderers.
I would like to see studies done on this, including violence in movies, music, etc. But my own hunch is that video games aren't a cause of later violence, but are an instructional and behavioral tool that enable those few who are already capable of horrible violence develop and carry out their rage.

[Confusious]

56. Yes, it desensitizes me to killing draugr

We should ban video games so the zombies can feel safe while eating brains.

[egduj]

8. People? No. Zombies? Yes.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. Sorta the wrong question.

More like, "Do certain types of video games reduce inhibitions against acting out in some rage-prone individuals with pre-existing hostile impulses?"

[HooptieWagon]

33. Yes, exactly.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. No but I don't think they are all appropriate for kids.

I wouldn't let my kids play violent video games when they were young. We see too much evidence at school every day of kids desensitized to violence.

[DainBramaged]

13. And I totally agree with you

My beautiful daughter worked at Game Stop up until recently, and they have a strict policy of age enforcement on all games. But when the parent's buy them for the kids WITH THE KIDS RIGHT THERE, how can you prevent that?


Hope you are well.


DB

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. These games and that stupid fake wrestling on TV are the reason we don't allow free play at recess.

We now have to lead the kids in organized games because so many of them just start jumping on each other as soon as they get outside.

I know, it's crazy. But we can't just let them hurt each other.

Hope you have a great Christmas, my friend!

[DainBramaged]

30. And you too

[Jamaal510]

11. I mostly play Pokemon and Mario,

and they don't have guns. And neither do Street Fighter and Madden. So...yeah, you fail LaPierre.

[DainBramaged]

14. My FIRST was Sim City in 1990.

didn't make we want to do anything but build a city....

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. That was the best game! We bought it for our school and had years of great lessons from it.

Now when the kids get on the computer, it's for endless test prep. Yuck.

[Posteritatis]

12. If they do, there's clearly a bug with the Canadian implementation. (nt)

[temporary311]

15. They've made me want to shoot

my computer on occasion, does that count?

[ZombieHorde]

17. The new NRA stance: Guns don't kill people, video games kill people. nt

[Arkansas Granny]

19. I never had any evidence that linked video games

and violent behavior, but when my kids were growing up, I didn't allow them to play violent games or watch violent shows. I was concerned that they would become desensitized to the violence. I wanted them to view violence for violence sake as abhorrent.

[Jackpine Radical]

75. But don't you think that kind of desensitization

also affects inhibitory controls?

[Arkansas Granny]

97. I have no opinion about that, I just didn't feel comfortable

exposing the kids to that type of images.

[Jackpine Radical]

101. I think that's a good instinct.

[krispos42]

21. Gun shows don't sell guns

Anymore than a mall sells clothing.


The individual retailers in a mall sell clothing, and the individual retailers at a gun show sell guns.


Gun shows have two types of sellers: federally licensed dealers (FFLs), and private sellers. The vast majority of sellers are FFLs, who are required to do a federal background check as well as anything the state and local governments require.

A felon can't LEGALLY buy a gun at a gun show, but only the FFLs have the power to use the background check. However, they make up the vast, vast majority of sellers at a gun show.



I believe the vast majority of convicted felons that get guns do it via black market sales (stolen guns), or straw purchases (friend/family member buys the gun for the felon).

[DainBramaged]

28. You can believe what you will, until the private seller loop hole is closed

I believe that the majority of guns in the hands of criminals come from gun shows.

[HooptieWagon]

38. Or private sales or theft.

Probably a sizable number of guns acquired without paperwork or background checks end up in the hands of criminals...though I don't have those numbers.

[krispos42]

42. :shrug:

You can believe all you want. FBI and DoJ data says otherwise.

The private-seller loophole can be closed, and should, but it's a state issue, not a federal one.

[DainBramaged]

74. I'm SURE ATF has covert agents at every gun show to keep the purchases legal

Two things come to mind, Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.



My ex-father in law in PA used to go to gun shows in the early 00's and buy guns without any kind of checking and then proudly show us his conquests when we came to visit, so please don't try to blow smoke up my ass. It's not a State issue, because the staes will never ACT ON IT.

[Lizzie Poppet]

22. Nope. Neither does owning firearms.

Funny how that works...

[Taverner]

24. Not really, but I do want to drive a Lamborini through a closed track in St Petersburg tho...

[Downwinder]

25. No, but Corporations do. Lets ban Corporations.

[Jim Warren]

26. Frame the question differently and yes

FPS (first person shooter) games can insensitive youngsters about extreme violence.

[DainBramaged]

27. Your proof?

[Jim Warren]

35. My observations mainly

Anecdotally my observations professionally, in case work serving 22 years as a police officer. I'm retired now but I do feel that offered significant insight into a broad cross section of violent crime cases that I attended.

Other than that there have been significant studies on FPS gaming and increased aggression:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/index.html

[DainBramaged]

43. Thank you

I personally feel that these games don't, but other factors, violence in the home, bullying, gang influences, are more of a contributing factor to youth gun violence and also later on as adults.

[Jim Warren]

49. Yes, quite right

and certainly not to mitigate those major contributing social factors but IMO the cultural acceptance of lethal violence in media of all varieties contributes as well, enough so to answer yes to your question, albeit framed in the way I suggested.

[Confusious]

57. No link between video games and violence

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121219/09593821438/yet-more-evidence-shows-no-link-between-video-games-actual-violence.shtml

http://prospect.org/article/still-no-strong-links-between-video-games-and-violence

Every study that says there is has severe methodological problems.

[OneMoreDemocrat]

36. Common sense...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sense

[Confusious]

59. Common sense isn't always reliable

That's why we have "science"

Common sense used to tell people the earth STOOD STILL and the sun ROTATED AROUND the earth.

[Posteritatis]

58. Panicked news agencies and cherrypicked studies says so, so it must be true. (nt)

[ChisolmTrailDem]

29. I don't know...

I will assume that video games would not make me want to shoot people. I don't know for 100% sure because I had to give me XBox away because I work at home and I wasn't actually getting any work done with it in the house.

But I'm almost certain if it were still here that it would not make me want to shoot people. Now, there's a few people I want to slap. But I digress.

[NV Whino]

31. No, but "news" shows do.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

39. ^^^ This is some truth right here ^^^ eom

[OneMoreDemocrat]

34. They don't make me want to kill people...

But they sure as Hell train me to be a better shooter with faster reflexes, and go a long way toward desensitizing me to violence.

[MichaelMcGuire]

37. If that was the case, all Facebook users would be farmers.

[backscatter712]

40. Didn't you know, Pacman caused the obesity epidemic! n/t

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

41. Not generally but...

...I can think of one or two games which I had some fleeting ideas of maybe chasing the QA team responsible for the game's release with a wet broom.





BTW, felons CAN actually buy guns at gun shows, it's just illegal to do so. But then being felons, they're not well known for following the laws, even gun control laws.

[Egnever]

44. People make me want to shoot people

Nothing to do with video games whatsoever

I dont own guns I dont like them. I do love FPS games though. For me its the competition in the game not the violence.

There have been plenty of asshats that have crossed my path in life that make me fantasize about poping a cap in their ass.

Will never happen of course cause I hate guns but if I was ever to shoot someone it would have nothing whatsoever to do with the many video games I have played in my life and everything to do with the person I shot.

[derby378]

45. If so, I'm in big trouble...

Ginny and I have been videogame fans for years. Her favorite console was the Super Nintendo. Her favorite games, which I enjoyed almost as much as she did, were Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart.

When the first generation of 64-bit machines came out, she didn't enjoy them quite as much as the older systems, partially because there was just so much more for her to keep track of on screen. After her near-fatal illness and hospitalization in 2003, part of her nervous system could no longer tolerate fast movement on screen. Also, she developed a case of carpal tunnel.

We'd dig out the old SNES and play it as much as we could, but Ginny's carpal tunnel always started acting up after a while.

Thing is, Ginny was always a big supporter of gun control in the same way that I am not, but neither of us developed any homicidal rages as a result of all that gaming. The worst that happened would be that Ginny would get sullen if she lost to me - she was very competitive. But when she won, she always enjoyed telling me, "You got beat by a girl." Ginny comes from a branch of the Read family that may also include the female pirate Mary Read, who had her own way of telling downed opponents that they got beat by a girl. I'll leave you to research that at your leisure.

And this year? I'm taking the plunge into Xbox 360, complete with the original Halo as well as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. I've got some catching up to do.

[The Straight Story]

46. No, and neither does owning a gun (nt)

[randome]

47. They can be a factor for an already emotionally disturbed individual.

What about torture porn films like the Saw series? I don't see that those films contribute anything to society at large. Can the same be said for the more gruesome video games, especially when they create a more immersive virtual environment?

I would say they CAN have an influence. That is not the same as saying they CAUSE violence.

The studies are out there. And, as usual, there are studies that indicate the exact opposite. I know which side I'd feel safer advocating.

Do we NEED gruesome video games? If not, why can't we play it safe and do what we can to remove them from the environment?

[DainBramaged]

52. True, violence on TV, the internet, and the movies is NEVER blamed, only video games

because those fuckers can't PLAY video games, too stoopid.

[randome]

53. Blaming video games SOLELY is definitely not relevant.

But there is an element in our society that celebrates torture and snuff movies and videogames and showing copious amounts of blood for no good reason.

I don't believe in censorship but I would advocate for producers being more aware of the effect they can have on already mentally unbalanced individuals.

And I would be very wary of censoring the Internet in any way.

But to say that none of these things have an effect on people at all sounds defensive to me.

[rug]

48. Only Farmville.

[Algebra Palin]

50. video games make me want to

hurl fireballs from my palms at annoying people, but since that's impossible. . .

[backscatter712]

51. There's absolutely nothing in video games that justifies censorship.

Censorship is always where these discussions go, and I've already explained a thousand times on my site my position on censorship.

[Blaukraut]

54. Only PVP (player vs player) and then I want to strangle the person with my bare hands n/t

[Llewlladdwr]

60. I no longer give a crap about gamer's 1st Amendment rights.

Don't really give a crap about the publishers' either.

I honestly don't see why a game like Grand Theft Auto or Saint's Row needs to exist. And I've played both.

Y'all want to see my hobby get taken away? Same to ya....

[Posteritatis]

61. It's fortunate your opinion is irrelevant, then. (nt)

[Llewlladdwr]

62. Keep hoping.... nt

[backscatter712]

65. Your lack of concern is noted.

[randome]

67. Guys? We need to be talking about how to stop children from being killed, remember?

Everyone's opinion is relevant. And so is everyone's First Amendment rights. All this petulance and dismissiveness is counter-productive.

[white_wolf]

99. Well sadly for you freedom of speech and expression is much more important than gun rights.

Many democracies do just fine without a "right" to own guns, but none survive without freedom of speech and expression. Furthermore, your lobby shooting and own guns is directly linked with crime, video games are not. There has been no studies proving correlation between the two.

[LWolf]

64. Video games make me yawn

and leave the room.

On occasion, they have sparked a stronger response. In the 90s, when my 2 sons told me, after being told to shut it off and do their chores, one too many times: "In a minute; we have to die first," I unplugged the game from the outlet and the tv, grabbed the cord, the system, and the games that went with it, marched across the street, knocked on the door, and told the kid that opened it, "Here; it's an early xmas present."

The boys reacted as if they'd been shot, anyway.

[AverageJoe90]

71. Eh, that's going a tad overboard, don'tcha think? n/t

[LWolf]

103. My boys sure thought it was, lol.

It didn't prevent them from playing video games. It did end the daily battles to get the thing turned off, and require them to moderate their use and modify their priorities. They had to be done with chores at home to go somewhere else to play, and they had to be back on time to be allowed to go play another time.

Time at home was spent interacting with family. We played board games and card games.

In their 30s, they still play video games. I got the older son a Madden NFL 13 for xmas. He's 35.

[LeftyMom]

66. Every time my kid spends $60 on one and beats it in two days.

And don't get me started on game systems only coming with one controller now.

[DainBramaged]

68. Like the size of cereal boxes........

I think what they are saying is gaming is becoming a more solitary experience. My beautiful daughter played by herself until her current (and bestest) boyfriend (who gets it) and they play together constantly......

[Neoma]

70. The NRA made their own videogame.

You just can't take them seriously...

[GoCubsGo]

72. No. They make me want to shoot myself.

I find video games to be excruciatingly boring. I can't even stand the thought of playing them. If I'm going to play games on a computer, I would rather play Spider Solitaire or Scrabble.

[DainBramaged]

73. MMMk

[ibegurpard]

76. No, but they make me want to punch a lot of WoW plowers in the teeth

rude fucking assholes

[DainBramaged]

102. HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

yep

[Skittles]

77. maybe, but they are too busy PLAYING VIDEO GAMES

[Honeycombe8]

78. You mean VIOLENT video games. I don't think Mario Bros. makes people react violently, but yes,

violent video games do, I think, according to some studies I read. That's an odd thing to want to do, when you think about it. Pretend-kill people. Sort of like buying a high count mag. Who would want that?

It doesn't have to be one or the other. It can be both....or neither.

Australia and a lot of other countries have banned at least some (or all) violent video games, and their homicide rates went down. Just like countries that ban some (or all) guns, and their homicide rates go down.

If you want to know what works, look at other countries. If you want to know the truth.

[DainBramaged]

81. We can't look at other countries because they aren't plagued with guns

'Cept Maybe Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, some African nations, they have the same disease we have, but we're supposed to be a developed modern nation...................


Europe, no guns, Japan, China, the same.


What the fuck is wrong with us?


I know, the guns are the cause of crime, because they are EVERYWHERE in the US, so yeah, guns cause crime....

[Honeycombe8]

85. Australia had a mass killing problem, but no more. It banned violent video games & assault weapons.

Also, the UK and a lot of other countries banned violent video games BECAUSE THEY DID, IN FACT, HAVE A HOMICIDE PROBLEM.

[DainBramaged]

100. & assault weapons

[theKed]

105. Of course

There's places like South Korea, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy...I could go on, but it's a rather extensive list...places that have not banned video games for violence and yet, somehow, manage to keep deaths to a fraction of America's. It's almost as if the two things aren't related...huh.

Incidentally, the Australian video games censorship and gun ban are totally unrelated pieces of law. Your phrasing makes it sound as though they were passed together, as a single bill.

[Kalidurga]

79. I am tired of people acting like there was like virtually no violence before video games.

Mass murder has been part of the human experience for more than 40,000 years before the invention of video games and if every video game was gone it would still happen. It's not the game it's the player who would find some other reason to do horrible things.

[DainBramaged]

82. I wonder how many gun 'hobbyists' can even play any games?

[Whisp]

83. If I had a room full of Glocks and grenades it wouldn't make me want to use them on people

but I've have to wonder why I had them...

I don't get that part.

[Fla_Democrat]

84. Does seeing a cartoon camel

make you want to buy cigarettes?

[randome]

86. Not a good analogy, really. Advertising works.

There is a reason smoking is no longer 'in fashion'. Part of that reason is that advertising is severely restricted.

[DainBramaged]

87. People also finally realized (like myself 7 years ago) smoking KILLS

[randome]

90. So did I about 20 years ago.

But public service announcements and health warnings and high taxes also helped drive the point home for most.

Shit. Time flies. It's more like 25 years now.

[DainBramaged]

94. I didn't stop in time, the COPD is creeping up on my timeline.......

[randome]

95. Don't stop fighting back.

[tblue37]

88. Nah--but they make me want to shoot video games. nt

[LiberalMadeline]

89. s

Fallout turned me into a ghoul.

[Zorra]

91. No, they don't MAKE them want to shoot anyone. But...

Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions
Studies provide converging evidence that exposure to media violence is a significant risk factor for aggressive and violent behavior.

http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2003/10/anderson.aspx

Violent Video Games May Increase Aggression in Some But Not Others, Says New Research

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/06/violent-video-games.aspx

Violent Video Games - Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects
Psychological research confirms that violent video games can increase children's aggression, but that parents moderate the negative effects.

http://www.apa.org/research/action/games.aspx

Violent Video Games can Increase Aggression
May be more harmful than violent television and movies because of the interactive nature of the games

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2000/04/video-games.aspx

Violent Video Games Only Affect Some Individuals, says APA

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/violent-video-games-only-affect-some-individuals-says-apa/http:/www.industrygamers.com/news/violent-games-blunt-response-to-aggression-says-study/

[JoeyT]

92. The game? No.

Uplay made me want to slap whoever was responsible for it, but that's about the most violent video games have made me.

[NashvilleLefty]

96. "They" always say this.

It because they play music backwards that reveals demonic messages. It's because of violence on TV. It's because... ad naseum.

There have been studies dating back as long as I can remember, and they have always been "inclusive', which basically means NO.

Entertainment in general tends to sell what people buy. There are some very violent games available, but they wouldn't have developed these games if there were not a market for it. Movies, video games, etc seldom determine the market - they simply follow it.

They don't determine the violence in our current culture, they merely follow it.

In other news, such games provide an outlet for aggressive feelings, and so actually help to PREVENT real-world aggression.

[Toronto]

98. The development of empathy in children is the greatest predicter of prosocial behavior

in the future. A normal child will have a well developed sense of empathy by age 5. Children with autism or autism spectrum disorders will have significant deficits in this department as will children who are psychotic. People with a well developed sense of empathy will not become deranged psychotic killers simply by playing violent video games. On the other hand autistic or psychotic individuals without the requisite empathic ability to care about killing actual people may be influenced adversely by playing such games.

[Berserker]

104. Do video games make you want to shoot people?

No of course not and neither do my guns.