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Trump's Meeting With The Video Game Industry To Talk Gun Violence Could Get Ugly (washingtonpost.com)
Anonymous readers share a report: President Trump is set to pit the video game industry against some of its harshest critics at a White House meeting on Thursday that's designed to explore the link between violent games [Editor's note: the Washington Post article may be paywalled], guns and tragedies such as last month's shooting in Parkland, Fla. Following the attack at Marjory Stoneman High School, which left 17 students dead, Trump has said violent games are "shaping young people's thoughts." The president has proposed that "we have to do something about maybe what they're seeing and how they're seeing it." Trump has invited video game executives like Robert Altman, the CEO of ZeniMax, the parent company for games such as Fallout; Strauss Zelnick, the chief executive of Take Two Interactive, which is known for Grand Theft Auto, and Michael Gallagher, the leader of the Entertainment Software Association, a Washington-focused lobbying organization for the industry.
Three people familiar with the White House's planning, but not authorized to speak on the record, confirmed those invitees. A spokeswoman for the White House declined to share a full list of participants on Wednesday. ESA confirmed its attendance this week, but the others did not respond to questions. Opposite of them are expected to be some of the video-game industry's toughest critics, including Brent Bozell, the founder of the Parents Television Council, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Missouri, the three people said. After another shooting -- the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. -- they each called on government to focus its attention on violent media rather than just pursuing new gun restrictions.
Three people familiar with the White House's planning, but not authorized to speak on the record, confirmed those invitees. A spokeswoman for the White House declined to share a full list of participants on Wednesday. ESA confirmed its attendance this week, but the others did not respond to questions. Opposite of them are expected to be some of the video-game industry's toughest critics, including Brent Bozell, the founder of the Parents Television Council, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Missouri, the three people said. After another shooting -- the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. -- they each called on government to focus its attention on violent media rather than just pursuing new gun restrictions.
I don't think it's a bad thing that someone is talking about morals and video games.
It's apparently completely acceptable to a sizable chunk of society for kids to play video games where they kill people. What if someone made a video game that allowed you to simulate raping people? Imagine if you could buy an artificial vagina or human head that integrates with your gaming console so that you could rape it. Perhaps this will happen in a few years. This sort of thing is fundamentally bad.
Society is advancing in morals in some respects but declining in morals in others. For example, women have decided that it is time for men to rediscover respect for women - that can't be anything but good. I'm pretty sure Trump is not the right person to champion a moral issue. Whether allegations against him are true or false, he doesn't have any moral street cred with most of the country.
I think firearms will always be necessary and dangerous. If we don't cull the deer population, they will cull us on the roads. Some people legitimately need firearms for self-defense. Therefore, people should be allowed to have the freedom to possess firearms, and the second amendment is a good thing. The NRA, insomuch as it is an organization that teaches people how to use firearms safely and accurately, is a good thing. I challenge anyone who thinks otherwise to go see a Rifle Shooting merit badge class at a Boy Scout camp. Teaching these kids respect for firearms saves lives. Do people need magazines that allow them to shoot 15 rounds without reloading? Nope. Does any serious marksman use bump stocks? Nope. Bump stocks are an attempt to turn a rifle into a toy. To its credit, the NRA isn't defending bump stocks. I don't think semi-autos should be banned, but high capacity magazines turn these things into indiscriminate tools for butchering crowds of people. I hope we end up with a reasonable compromise that saves lives and allows sportsmen to continue to be sportsmen.
This is all just a classic misdirection technique. That campaign to call those kids who got shot up Crisis Actors in a False Flag operation was the same thing. The point is to steer the debate away from gun control and put the pro-gun control side on the defensive. Get them arguing about absurd things like violence in video games and conspiracy theories. Worked too. Even the left wing press picked up these stories and ran with them.
The funny thing is IIRC these techniques were invented by the Soviets. To be fair though it was Karl Rove that popularized their use in the Republican party.
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Thousands of game journalists have been proclaiming for years there is a link between sexism in games, and sexism in real life. They also constantly whined there were too many violent shooters and so on.
So why would you not expect any non-gamer to read what the game journalists wrote and take it to heart? Trump would seem to be well-aligned with what the press has been saying for years, that games are affecting behavior.
A little late to back out now fellows now that someone you hate has finally listened. Who did you think would listen to you, the game developers that actually have to make money from what they sell?
Tell me something. If you truly believe that there's somehow a link between make-believe warfare and those who actually go out and murder people in real life, what the hell kind of impact does actual warfare on society have?
The US sustains one of the largest Military armies in the world. We often represent ourselves as the Global Police force, engaging in conflicts that have little or no justification. The Military Industrial Complex was forewarned by a standing president in 1961 which prevented fucking nothing. And now hundreds of billions are tied to sustaining pointless warmongering today.
Before Trump targets the fantasy that is video games, perhaps he should take a look at the impact of real world violence created by our own government.
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2018-02-14)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2017-11-05)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2017-10-02)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2017-05-17)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2015-12-03)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2015-10-01)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2015-06-17)
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (2014-05-27)
I could continue, but I think most people get the point.
Enigma