Violence in Video Games-Violence in Real Life

  A couple of days ago a news story dropped about an 8 year old boy shooting his grandmother in Slaughter, Louisiana. Since this story has been the subject of much debate around the internet, mostly about the fact that the child had been playing Grand Theft Auto IV. This debate has been raging on pretty much since the Columbine massacre, and has show no clear signs of stopping anytime soon. However, debates like this have been raging practically since entertainment, and media began. First they blamed the books for being too corruptible, then they blamed movies for being too gory and violent, and now it's video games. It seems that as much as this cycle shifts, many seem to not notice the pattern here, but I digress.

Believe me, Morpheus, I've tried. 

  In this blog I want to try to dissect, and  cover the difference between real life violence, and violence in a video game. Before I start, I know that some people that an 8 year old child may be too impressionable to differentiate between real life, and fantasy. I agree wholeheartedly. That's why there's an ESRB rating system. Games that are rated "M" are meant for teenagers, and adults 17 years or older. Also, some consideration should be given to the fact that this child had fairly easy access to a loaded firearm. I think that detail deserves as much attention, if not more, as the child playing an M rated game. 

  Violence generated in a video game universe is usually generated as a goal. There are NPCs in the game, usually blocking an objective, that want to kill the player, and player needs to kill them first to reach your objective. This structure has existed since the 8-bit era. It didn't really become a problem until the Columbine massacre. Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold were said to have been huge fans of the video game Doom, and some media outlets stated that Eric Harris had modified levels to resemble the layout of Columbine high school. These claims have since been dismissed as unsustainable rumors. 

 Typically, people who have a fondness of violent video games are not violent individuals. I know this seems a bit skewed given the surge of death threats sent from gamers, but those people are just a small minority in the world of gamers. Most gamers that play violent video games do so as an outlet for anger, stress, etc. Or just to have fun. Most folks that play violent video games have a firm grasp of reality, and cause and effect. I, myself, have played many violent video games, and have rarely reacted with violence. Seriously, the only fight I've ever been in (that wasn't sanctioned) was in middle school. 

He made fun of my slap bracelet. No one makes fun of my slap bracelet. 

  Now, lets look at some cases of violence in real life. Violence is acted out for many different reasons, but let's focus on the particular story that spun this blog. In this case, we're dealing with a child. Children don't have that strong of a grasp on actions, and consequences. Hell, they barely have a firm grasp on spoken language. So, it could be argued that this child had no business playing an M rated game, which I agree with. It could also be argued that the person whom the child was placed in the care of should not have had a loaded firearm within arms length, or within view of the child. To me, the latter would be a stronger argument. 

  This whole "video games cause violence" debate, in every case I've seen it, is just a scape goat to cover up the more pressing issues at hand, and to shift the responsibility from those who should be held responsible. I don't know this child's story, nor do I know his parent's, and/or guardian's. What I do know is that having loaded weapons anywhere within a child's ability to acquire them. That goes along the same principle as covering electrical outlets, and putting away cutlery to keep children from harming themselves. I'm not an advocate for gun control, but I do like to press the importance of common sense, and better judgement when I can. 

  That will do me for this blog. I want to thank everyone who reads this, as well as my other blogs (90% of which are friends and family), and thank you all for listening.