Slashdot Mirror
Suit Blames Videogames for Homicides
An anonymous reader writes "Family members of three victims of a shooting by a 14-year-old have filed a $600 million lawsuit against the makers of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. From the article: 'The $600 million lawsuit names several companies and Cody Posey, who it alleges played the game ''obsessively'' for several months before he shot his father, stepmother and stepsister in July 2004 ... The plaintiffs accuse the corporate defendants -- Sony Corporation of America, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and its subsidiary, Rockstar Games -- of a civil conspiracy, saying they should have foreseen their entertainment would spawn such copycat violence.'" It may or may not be a coincidence that Jack Thompson is the plaintiff's attorney.
Oh please... When it comes to video games and movies, I am one of the most violent, sick and twisted individuals you will ever meet. I love to torture, maim and kill. When it comes to real life, I am one of the most kind, caring people you will ever meet. It would be impossible for me to shoot or stab or bomb another human being and even attempting to do so would make me sick to my stomach. Violence in video games and movies does NOT desensitize you to violence in the real world.
...and if you don't believe me, I'll bitch-slap you until you do.
But seriously folks. It really does. My wife is a school teacher who has been studying these things (actually brain development in kids). Studies are showing a dramatic difference in kids behavior after viewing violent video games vs non-violent activity (reading a book etc). That went counter to what I always believed but it appears pretty conclusive. Our children's brains are simply being wired differently (from ours- if your an old guy like me) based upon their experiences.
Does that make the game manufacturers accountable? No to me. Responsibility belongs to the individual who carries out the action and in children to the parents (to some degree).
Slashdotters are eventually going to have to face this reality. There is more proof of effect caused by video games in children than there is in global warming and it is time we stop believing in the science that supports the things we like and not in the science that doesn't.
You sir, are beyond retarded.
.22 is pretty pathetic, in terms of recoil, though it can be an effective weapon due to penetrating power and accuracy.
A
Talk about your fact-free cherry-picked quote.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.