Journal Safety Cap's Journal: Hillary vs. Video Games: a "fair and balanced" perspective 4
Actually, it isn't: Hillary is calling for a $90 million dollar study of the effects of video games, and she's wrong, wrong, wrong. (Note: I'm the Alabama Chapter President of the Elect Hillary '08 to Bust Your Hillbilly Redneck 'Values' Club, so be warned... I might be biased.)
Anyway, the Steven Johnson over at the LA Times sums it up nicely.
In effect, video games are valuable because they teach kids to think.
Of all the games that kids play, which ones require the most mental exertion? Parents can play this at home: Try a few rounds of Monopoly or Go Fish with your kids, and see who wins. I suspect most families will find that it's a relatively even match. Then sit down and try to play "Halo 2" with the kids. You'll be lucky if you survive 10 minutes.
The great secret of today's video games that has been lost in the moral panic over "Grand Theft Auto" is how difficult the games have become. That difficulty is not merely a question of hand-eye coordination; most of today's games force kids to learn complex rule systems, master challenging new interfaces, follow dozens of shifting variables in real time and prioritize between multiple objectives. [Emphasis mine]
If Sen. Clinton wants to investigate a violent activity that children participate in, Mr. Johnson aptly suggests she go right for the belly of the beast:
I'd like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids---a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.
I'm talking, of course, about high school football.
Of course, no politician would go gunning for HSFB; in those tiny-ass towns across the midwest US (I had the unfortunate luck to live in several over the years), there is no more important event than the Saturday-night HS Foosball game. Yes, it may be the devil, but it is their devil, and no Yankee Carpetbagger is gonna take away their Foosball!
Mr2Cents (Score:2)
In Real Life (tm):
Pacificst, will *never* work for the army or other parts of the war industry, will never hold a gun in my hands (unless if I could disable it permanently).
In Return To Castle Wolfenstein - ET (tm):
Your worst nightmare. Will slaughter you with my knife, shoot you in the back, blow you to smitherines, plant mines without thinking twice, play a nazi,
I don't really understand why this violence in games is so bad, just don't give it to 8yo kids, or expl
The question is (Score:2)
Why is it okay to kill a hooker and dance in her blood, but not okay to have carnal relations with your girlfriend?
Why is it okay to shoot a cop in the head and laugh with glee as hi brains explode all over the street, but not okay to do the hunka-chunka with another consenting adult?