Afghanistan Closes Videogame Stores

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the UK Guardian's report that authorities in Afghanistan have closed hundreds of shops where children played video games. Authorities claimed they were "reacting to complaints from parents that their children spent time and money in the shops instead of going to their schools", and also cited alleged gambling and alcohol drinking in the stores as "corrupting the morals" of young people. The story links this move to increasingly conservative elements in Afghanistan's post-Taliban government, mentioning that cable television was also recently banned by an Afghan supreme court judge.

Comments

Re:Uh-oh

[trompete]

It just goes to show that the conservativist attitude was not just that of the Taliban but of some of the residents too. We should take note of that when we "liberate" people.

How uncivilized

[lightspawn]

In Soviet America, government just tries to make it illegal to sell the hardcore stuff to kids instead of shutting down the whole industry.

Unconstitutional? Sure, the courts will stike down the law, but in the meantime we turn parents into voters because we let them know how much we care. It's like using taxpayers money to fight religious battles. Sure, it seems pointless, but if most of your potential voters are christians who will appreciate your devotion to the almighty while anybody who opposes you is obviously in league with lucifer, and it doesn't cost you anything, why not?

I'm sorry. This is half off-topic (hence no karma bonus) but I just needed to vent. Shouldn't there be any consequences to passing laws that are struck down as unconstitutional?

Another point of view...

[ae0nflx]

Is this really such a bad thing? It may be from our reference point, but it may not be so much from theirs. It is likely that in a soceity that has recently endured so much that the social services such as education are not as in place as they should be. It may be quite easy for kids to just blow off school and play video games. Therefore they may have to temporarily shut down parlors.

Also, we all that has gone on in recent history, we should give the Afghan society some time to grow. It must be really darn hard for so much to be introduced into a culture in so short a period. They've got to slow down a bit so that the masses can change along with everything else.

They need to deal with this...

[gamgee5273]

This is something the Afghanis need to work out for themselves - we can't attack them for it and we can't make them embrace our social mores. They aren't used to having a country that is open to expression - they need to learn how to deal with it. Some of the hardliners will react - the Afghanis must decide what to do for themselves.

Perhaps they want a more hardline government than we would like them to have. Time will tell. Their elections are scheduled for June of 2004. Let's see what happens then before we condemn them now.

They have a right to ban games...

[HardcoreGamer]

... especially if they are an integral part of a destructive subculture that is detrimental to society at large.

I like games and I'm all for letting kids and adults play age-appropriate games and engage in age-appropriate social activity.

Is it really such a bad thing to remove children from an environment that encourages them to participate in vice -- drinking and gambling -- instead of going to school as the article mentions?

We're talking about a country that has seen its culture and heritage destroyed, and remains essentally lawless as a result of over two deades of brutal war and occupation. There is no infrastructure of any kind to speak of -- governmental, social, utility or otherwise -- and heavily-armed private militias still control the majority of the country and are still the predominant opportunity to earn an income and obtain food, clothing and shelter.

Would you really want a bunch of uneducated, underage alcoholic gamblers traumatized by war -- who have daily witnessed how cheap life is, have easy access to guns, and view the world through the latest first-person shooter -- running wild in the streets?

The other thing I'll say about this ban is that it's not for us to dictate to another culture the kinds of entertainments and pastimes they should engage in.

And before anyone gets too up in arms about this ban and starts making disparaging comments about anyone's faith or culture, I'll remind everyone that we have a LOT of efforts in America to ban minors from buying or playing video games, and none of it has to do with anything as serious as kids skipping school to get drunk and bet on the games they play.

Here's a recent post I submitted that was rejected:

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Washington state law that bans selling violent games to minors under 17 , and would fine retailers $500 for each game sold to minors that depicts violence against law-enforcement officials. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said the law (slated to take effect July 27) is too all-encompassing and too targeted, and seems to violate free-speech rights since games' complex plots, original musical scores and detailed art deserve the same free speech protection as other types of media.

And that's only the latest example. Here are a few of many more:
Violent Video Game Restriction Struck Down
Congress To Consider Age Limits On Violent Games
Indianapolis Bans Violent Video Games

The point is that in Afghanistan the games seem to be concretely linked to a subculture and environment that is detrimental to society at large and the efforts to rebuild civil society. Unless and until they can figure out a way to put games in a more appropriate social setting and context, banning them seems like a logical step.