Games removed from stores (temporarily) in Norway after disaster last Friday

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by WriterDude, Jul 29, 2011.

  1. J.P.Clyde

    J.P.Clyde Prince of Melancholy Contributor

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    I disagree, video games and religion are not the same thing.

    Crusades, based on religious indifference. That was violence created upon religion.

    Let's take some of the most notorious massacres in history.

    -Massacre of Thessaloniki - 7,000, April 390

    Well they certainly didn't have video games in 390, is that to far back. Fine how about...

    -Massacre of Praga- 20,000 [raped, murdered, tortured], 1794

    Still no video games, still think that's to far back fine.....

    -Adana Massacre- 15,000–30,000- May 1909

    Still no video games, btw this massacre was between direct clash of religious views

    A lot of these massacres especially when you look through it are during times of frustration where people do not have recourse.
     
  2. Daydream

    Daydream Contributor Contributor

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    Yeh agreed. I don't see how games are suddenly getting blamed for acts of violence around the world. Like I said there always has to be a scapegoat. Violence is just a part of our nature. Everyone has an urge for it, it just depends how strong your morals and self control are. We talked about this stuff in anthropology. Very interesting. At the end, most of the class came to the conclusion that games definitely aren't the cause of violence. What we also decided, was that games do desensitize us. Also it's natural for humans to need to fullfil their need for violence in some way. Hence why violent games are so popular. It's in our nature!
     
  3. Fullmetal Xeno

    Fullmetal Xeno Protector of Literature Contributor

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    Oh like WoW is gonna make people slice other people in half. That's only if the person was crazy already. But im kinda worried, after this terrorist attack and the problem at the streets of London really scares me. Most of the police don't have guns and England took the guns away. Im not trying to freak anybody out here, but with everything going on it could happen to the United States anyday. Im praying it doesn't happen over here. But just a heads up.
     
  4. NikkiNoodle

    NikkiNoodle Active Member

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    The crusades used religion as the excuse for what was in reality, a power grab by the Pope and excuse to keep the Muslim's from invading further unto Byzantium. The Pope even went so far as to promise remission and immediate entry into heaven for people who went.

    Eugenics (the idea that some people are not worthy of life and pollute the human gene pool and as such should be sterilized and/or done away with) was the cause of over 70,000 murders in Germany before the Holocaust even began, not to mention the millions of murders and atrocities that happened afterward.

    I think the point is that there can be attributing factors, things that aid decisions but the ultimate responsibility lies in the personal decision. If I want to kill someone I will. I might get a good idea from a movie. People are creative. Blame video games, blame music, blame the news or religion...I may say whatever I want about WHY I did it. Still, the responsibility is mine. No amount of blame shifting can change responsibility for my acts, despite what methods I use to achieve them. Is it possible that something could help push me in one direction or other...sure. But it isn't the driving factor. I'm the one behind the wheel.
     
  5. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    Not that Eugenics didn't already exist. It was proposed by Charles Darwin's son if I remember correctly.
     
  6. art

    art Contributor Contributor

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    I would never normally do this..pedantry is a very dismal game...but what you're describing there is dysgenics...eugenics is the study (promotion of) of 'good' genes. Know the difference and amaze and confound the pub bore!

    Fair to say the Nazis did both.
     
  7. NikkiNoodle

    NikkiNoodle Active Member

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    Thanks for pointing that out Art :) I suppose it's possible to argue that you are improving the human gene pool by removing the "un-desirables," but that's besides the point of the OP. Nasty business, either way.
     
  8. art

    art Contributor Contributor

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    Sums it up pretty well! Of course, we are all to some extent instinctive/unconscious eugenicists...attracted to those with facial symmetry, healthy looking bodies, etc etc
     
  9. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    ^ Who also select on other factors, like intelligence and emotional and physical strength.
     
  10. NikkiNoodle

    NikkiNoodle Active Member

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    Yep. I think the problem happens when we get the idea we can do the selecting and deciding for other people.
     
  11. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

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    I think that just as this forum has mods, and just as mainstream publishers won't publish hard core porn or violence, even as youtube removes violent clips... so the manufacturers should take a more responsible approach to their product. In my opinion, they can't be bothered to develop exciting games which are not violent, and then because gamers become hardened to violent content, they continually ratchet up the violence.

    As we've said before, this may not harm well-adjusted individuals, but it does affect certain people adversely. I'm sure, and studies indicate, there are a whole load of other factors like hours spent playing, amount of real social interaction etc.

    In the past there were really violent children's stories. I have an original edition of Strewwelpeter which belonged to my grandfather when he was a child--graphic pictures of children with their thumbs cut off by the scissorman among other things. Another old book he left me has a gory picture of the head of Fallada (the Goose girl's horse) hung up over the bridge, talking to her.

    The difference was, with these and other images, e.g. religious images, the struggle between right and wrong was presented in all its harsh reality, but right--or at any rate, hope--prevailed. The violence was not a simple entertainment in itself.
     
  12. Jessica_312

    Jessica_312 New Member

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    Totally agree. A video game doesn't make any one think, "Gee, I'd really like to commit mass murder today". Being a CRAZY M-fer makes a person think, "Gee, I'd really like to commit mass murder today." Also as you said, shooting guns in a game is NOTHING like shooting a real gun. Not even close, and I have no idea how that would even qualify as "practice".
     
  13. Heather

    Heather New Member

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    I know many people claim playing video games are harmless, but I watched Jo Frost’s Extreme Parental Guide the other day, and she was at this place where they were doing studies of children playing video games.

    They had half the boys playing CoD, and the other half playing Fifa (violent versus non-violent game). After an hour, they brought each of them into an office, where the guy would purposely knock over a box of pens over the floor. The studies found that those playing CoD didn’t really react, and rarely offered to help pick them up, whereas the boys playing Fife were much more likely to jump up and help pick the pens up. I’m not saying this is conclusive that games create mass-murderers, but I just thought it was an interesting study – the conclusion on the show was that violent games made the children de-sensitised, but not necessarily more violent.

    That being said, smoking leads to cancer, rom-coms lead to soppy teenage girls waiting for Mr Right, driving causes 100s of accidents and deaths a year – lots of things are legal which are not necessarily completely safe and without risks. So no, I don’t think you should ban violent video games, and I don’t know how much they can be blamed for causing/creating serial killers.
     
  14. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    You have to admit though, that there is a massive difference between desensitization and nurturing violent urges.
     
  15. Heather

    Heather New Member

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    Oh yea, I was just mentioning a study which was on this show, which did show there is a link between behaviour patterns and playing violent games. I'm not even going to pretend to know enough about it to make comments on how far they cause murderers to be created - I think it's something which you'd have to know a lot about/do research into and look at others findings to make an actual judgment, rather than sitting going "yes they can be blamed" or "no they don't cause anything".

    And regardless of whether they do cause more violent bahaviour, I don't think that's a reason to ban them, for above said reasons.
     
  16. Blue_Lotus

    Blue_Lotus New Member

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    LOL that is why I protect my 2nd, 4th amendment rights with all my heart.
    someone gets stupid enough to break into my place I have a 12 guage 00 surprise for em....:p
     
  17. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    Can we all keep religion out of this discussion from now on please? I may have been rash before and unintentionally angered someone else, so let us just stick to relevant facts about video games. Religion right now is a bit of a touchy subject in the world, and we don't need that here. This isn't the place anyway.
     
  18. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    No it couldn't really happen here any day short of some kind of regime coming in and just ignoring the law and setting up a police state (which I don't see happening). Through the legal process, gun rights have gained ground and not lost in recent years, culminating with the recognition by the U.S. Supreme Court that the 2nd amendment confers an individual right. Gun control advocates will continue to try to chip away at freedoms, but the reality is that an outright ban is virtually impossible at this point.
     
  19. Blue_Lotus

    Blue_Lotus New Member

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    True, My appoligies.
    But vid games, music, movies etc are not casing people to be more violent, we as humans have simply fallen victim to our own higher than thou thinking.

    We allow people who should NEVER have kids to breed... Mentaly ill people should not be allowed to reproduce, sorry but thats just the way it is. I don't mean depressed I mean sick twised people who could care less who they hurt and how.

    99% of the depressed people would rather hurt them selves, long before they would hurt anyone else.

    But whn you take a guy who has schizophrenia force feed him meds and then turn him lose on the streets (because you can't hold them if they are taking their meds and not posing a risk to others at that moment) you are begging for crap like this to happen!

    The only thing movies, videos, games etc have done it teach kids that sex is OK long before they are acctualy ready for it, but even then parents hold a lot of that bag for not having taught their kids better from day one.

    I play WoW daily, along with a few other violent games, I have one where I comand an army A really big one and I am one of the worst war lords on the server, I will blow up your town for any slight no questions asked. But it's a game, nothing more... anyone who knows me will tell ya I'd give the shirt off my back to a stranger if I thought it would help.
    So banning games etc because we as a species fail to allow nature to take it's course is just stupid. >_>
     
  20. NikkiNoodle

    NikkiNoodle Active Member

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    I was just thinking, and I suppose it's possible for things like violent video games, violent music, disturbing images etc...to be merely inflammatory. I know lots of people who listen to the angriest music they can find while working out. Maybe those kinds of things are just a spark to an already dangerous chemical.
     
  21. Blue_Lotus

    Blue_Lotus New Member

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    Yeah wel when I'm upset I tend to PLay I aint your B*t(h... but I don't go out knocking over liquor stores...

    People, societey in general really need to start blaming the person who did the deed rather then looking for the next easiest scapegoat.

    And I really really dislike someone pushing their own ApplePie agendas on the back of an even such as this.

    Guns have never killed someone, stupid people using guns in stupid ways have however...
    Just like gin has never killed someone, the moran who got skunk drunk on gin day in and day out and died of liver failure however... well you can see where I am going.

    every time something happens Governments jump up and down like mechanical monkeys and makes yet another useless law for something that is not needed... when the time/money could have been spent on something worthwhile, like building a school.

    The TSA is a wonderful example of stupid things done in recation to an event.

    When was the last time we heard of the TSA preventing something from happening?

    if your still thinking; you get my point. Reactionary policies are just useless. Proactive ones on the other hand are not. (well not usualy at least.)
     

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