Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

Well, they are at it again. Both MSNBC and (nice stire today at Penny Arcade) The Washington Post have started the drumbeat that video game violence is responsible for the sniper attacks in the DC area.

You know, I will hark back for a moment to some of my post Columbine rants, but I really wonder what these people are thinking. It seems that they are desparate to make this connection every chance they get. I remember when I was in school, the media hysteria around Dungeons and Dragons. Because 2 people commited suicide who were roleplayers. In 1994 31,142 people commited suicide. Given that there were 260 million people in the US and approximately 4 million RPG players, I would have to say that is a group ahead of the curve.

Now we are talking about video games. In 1997 there were 18,208 murders in the United States. That year Quake II sold 3 million copies. You do the math.

The way we are treating our children in response to this media hype is beyond rediculous in my book. First, we are taking the 'geeks' and treating them as a threat, rather than something to be cherished. It's the geeks that grow up to be the engineers, writers, and scientists of our culture. Now we are treating ever kid who is a little withdrawn and likes to play with his computer or fatasize as a threat to the community. Seems to me this is only exacerbating the problem, or to quote a clip I heard from the upcoming Showtime special, 'Once you label a child 'At Risk' you have just created an 'At Risk' child.

People love to fear the unknown. The media loves to play on the publics fear, and now they have set their sights on Quake. Well f'in A. Let's focus our attention on beating down the smart and slightly socially inept in our high schools and while the president decides to kick the ass of anyone he doesn't particularly like. I think what humanity really needs in the twenty first century is a return the the Mongol/Ottoman alpha-male cultural domination. The world is just too pussified