Are Games to Blame for Columbine?
John Erickson
computer games like DOOM and QUAKE and others were a factor in the Colorado
massacre. It is times like this when I recall a simple saying that has
become my personal philosophy over the years:
FIX THE PROBLEM, NOT THE BLAME.
The Colorado gunmen may have been influenced by violent video games.
They may also have been influenced by the fact that they were outcasts in
school, picked on by the student athletes.
They may have been influenced by the constant barrage of violent images
available on any T.V.
They may have been influenced by the fact that their parents didn't pay
enough attention to them and to what they were doing.
The point is, we will never know. The reason for their murderous rampage
died with them. Instead of looking for someone or something to blame, let's
look for ways to prevent it from ever happening again.
This may be impossible, but let's give it a try, huh?
EJ
P.S. This letter is strictly my opinion. Any comments are welcome, but
please be nice. I realize this is not strictly about games, but I hope the
games list administrators will not hold it against me.
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Joe Monson
>> The Colorado gunmen may have been influenced by violent video games.
>>
>> They may also have been influenced by the fact that they were outcasts in
>> school, picked on by the student athletes.
>>
>> They may have been influenced by the constant barrage of violent images
>> available on any T.V.
>>
>> They may have been influenced by the fact that their parents didn't pay
>> enough attention to them and to what they were doing.
>
>that motivated the kids to do what they did. But violent video games is the
>one I don't agree with. Like I said in my other post, if 2D sprites and big
>red pixels drive you to murder, then something's seriously wrong with you to
>begin with. I really doubt that anyone could be so influenced by a game that
>depicts unrealistic violence and an unbelievable story could make someone
>want to kill, especially in the numbers the Colorado kids did.
It's not _only_ the violent video games, but a combination of many things
_including_ the violent video games. Violence on TV, in movies, and in
video games, coupled with rude treatment by their peers and possibly being
ignored by their parents all went into the mix that produced this. All of
the violence the absorbed desensitized them.
>I don't think
>that anyone could have such a disregard for human life that they would just
>destroy anyone they chose to simply because they saw it in a game.
>Certainly, human life would be a bit more important to them. Games aren't so
>powerful that they can make people view other humans as future victims and
>shooting targets. And everyone knows that most of the things you do in games
>would never work in real life. Any kid would know that. "Oh, hey, I can kill
>however-many demons with a chaingun in DooM, surely I must be able to
>accomplish that in my school! It worked in the game, it must work in
>real-life!" I know that no one thinks that way.
This is where you are wrong. There _are_ people who think that way. Sure,
they don't start out that way (no one does), but because of the various
factors I listed above (and possibly others that are currently unknown)
they came to the conclusion that the only way to be noticed by anyone was
to do what they did. They were apparently shunned by all the "popular"
cliques in the school. Everyone apparently made fun of them and was
generally rude and mean to them, especially the athletes (or so they
thought). They probably slowly withdrew from the real owrld and created
their own little world where they felt comfortable.
>I just think that the media
>is placing the blame on violent video games because that's the only factor
>that they feel they can control. They can't force every kid in school to be
>kind to everyone else. They can't eliminate T.V. or the violent shows being
>displayed on them, because, of course, that's what everyone wants to see and
>won't settle for anything less. They can't monitor every home in America and
>force every parent to treat his/her kid in an acceptable way. Because those
>factors are beyond their control, they target the one thing that they can
>control: violent video games. And then all the blame is suddenly dumped on
>that. I think they need blame the real problem, whether they can control it
>or not, rather than blaming the things that have no bad effect on people,
>just because they can control it.
The thing is, there is no _one_ factor that is the real problem. It's a
combination of many, many things. They don't know all the factors, but the
violent video games _are_ one of the factors over which they have some
control. It certainly isn't the only factor, and it may not be one of the
biggest, but that kind of game _does_ affect you whether you want to admit
it or not. Ultra violence and ultra gore does affect your mind. Ask anyone
who has fought in a war where they've had to kill people.
The first time it make you sick. It's very difficult to deal with,
especially if it happens right in front of you. Gradually, though, as you
kill ore and more people, you become numbed to the effects, and they don't
bother you as much as the first few. You become more of a machine when it
happens and just accept it.
The same thing is true of violence in video games, TV shows, or films: the
first time you feel a thrill of excitement. It's something new and
exciting, but you are gradually numbed to the effects so you need more
violence in new and more exciting ways. Otherwise you don't get that thrill
like the first time because you;ve becomed desensitized to the whole thing.
It becomes like a drug. It affects different people in different ways. Some
people don't seem changed by it; others eventually snap and act on it in
order to get that thrill.
You can't truthfully say that violent video games had nothing to do with
this problem. Again, it certainly wasn't the _whole_ cause, but it did have
an influence in all of this.
Joe
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