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Games and Music, the New Book Burning

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the someone-needs-to-reread-fahrenheit-451 dept.

It seems that a Newport News, VA pastor finally got around to reading Fahrenheit 451 and has decided that it was a good idea. Despite several studies claiming the contrary, Rev. Richard Patrick is blaming violent video games and music for crimes that he say has affected 90% of his congregation in one way or another.

9 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. read the interview by stoolpigeon · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's worth clicking through to this interview which is linked in tfa. It's not as bad as they are making it out to be, in my opinion. He talks a lot about reasons for the problems and doesn't talk about video games that I could tell. The closest was this question and answer:
     
      Q: How significant a problem do you believe violent video games and violent rap music is?

    A: It has a tremendous influence on young people and violence. That's basically all they see. Most of them try to emulate what they see, when in reality, the people they see don't even live in those communities. Some of the rappers they see on TV portraying crime don't live in the urban areas - they live in the suburbs somewhere. It's all a facade.
     
    It sounds to me like he is responding to the rap music part of the question and never deals directly with the video game part. But ultimately that doesn't even matter. If people want to voluntarily burn their own property - more power to them. Where I live we call that freedom of speach.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    1. Re:read the interview by g0bshiTe · · Score: 5, Informative

      I live in Va, on the south side of the river. What the post and tfa fail to mention is that the area where his congregation are is a heavy drug crime related area.
      search Wickham Ave

      Some more interesting data, the average income in this area is less than half the states average income. Income and home value tables

      With numbers like these the problem is not video games or violent music, the true problem is socio-economical.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    2. Re:read the interview by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What's funny to me is that we in the west look at conservative mullahs in the middle east shutting down rock music and dancing, and we have a good laugh at how backwards they are. Then conservatives in the west turn around and try to ban comic books, or dungeons and dragons, or marijuana, or violent video games.

      It's all the same thing, some conservative nitwit gets scared of something new, and they try to ban it instead of understanding it. It's a real shame we keep falling for it.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:read the interview by fool4jesus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It would be great if you knew what you were talking about. I spend a lot of effort trying to interact with my kids. I spend a lot of time talking to them, and listening to them. However, they spend a lot more time talking to their friends and being on-line. It's easy to do nothing and then point the blame at the parents when things go wrong. The reality is that most parents are trying hard to do the right thing, but time and peer pressure make it very difficult. Finally, I find it interesting that some of the same people who support "it takes a village to raise a child" scream like crazy when somebody so much as suggests that the community even HELP raise kids.

    4. Re:read the interview by gcalvin · · Score: 5, Funny

      What's funny to me is that we in the west look at conservative mullahs in the middle east shutting down rock music and dancing, and we have a good laugh at how backwards they are. Then conservatives in the west turn around and try to ban comic books, or dungeons and dragons, or marijuana, or violent video games... ...and we have a good laugh at them too.
  2. He is not the government... by pigiron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and has every right in the world to burn whatever he wants that is his in order to make a point.

  3. someone needs to read the original article by everphilski · · Score: 5, Informative

    The original article is pretty tame. Nowhere does "Rev. Richard Patrick is blaming violent video games and music for crimes that he say has affected 90% of his congregation in one way or another". Rather he answers the question "Have you been affected personally by the violence", in which he responds, "Not only has it affected me, but, I would say, 90 percent of the congregation has been affected in some way by violence or crime."

    The closest he comes to bringing games to violence is when he answeres the question "How significant a problem do you believe violent video games and violent rap music is" with "It has a tremendous influence on young people and violence. That's basically all they see. Most of them try to emulate what they see, when in reality, the people they see don't even live in those communities. Some of the rappers they see on TV portraying crime don't live in the urban areas -- they live in the suburbs somewhere. It's all a facade."

    Where I think, to a point, he's straight on. Note, he never says "games cause violence". Rather he says the same thing most parents will tell you about kids, and most computer scientists will tell you about comptuers - garbage in, garbage out. What you surround yourself with is what you become familiar with. And the sad part is, like he says, it's all a facade.

    Please, RTFA before blowing it out of proportions.

    1. Re:someone needs to read the original article by LWATCDR · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually this guy does seem to be trying to make a difference. I don't think that Gangster rap or video games cause violence but as I have tried to say time and time again if books and art can influence people they why not music and video games?
      Anyone want to claim that the Turner Diaries or Mein Komf never influenced anybody to act in a less than pleasant way?
      Who hasn't heard someone say that this or that book has changed their life?
      There is nothing wrong with saying "I don't think kids should play violent video games"
      Just as there is nothing wrong saying that "I don't think people should eat meat".
      This is only a problem when people try and make them illegal.
      There is a huge difference between dislike and censorship. I don't want my kids reading the Turner diaries but I don't want them outlawed.

      Saying that music and video games can not effect people is the same as saying that no form of art can effect anybody for good or evil.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  4. All you need to know by Oddster · · Score: 5, Informative
    To disprove anybody who thinks there's even a positive correlation between violent video games, music, movies, etc and the violent crime rate in this country, simply ask them about the White House crime statistics, or even go to the horses mouth and ask the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

    The rise of exceptionally violent and explicit media, starting in the early to mid 90's, is actually inversely related to the violent crime rates. That's right - as media has gotten more violent, actual violent crime has provably gone down.

    Anybody trying to claim that violent media is responsible for any objective worsening of American society doesn't have a single iota of evidence in their favor.