Originally posted by Nulani
[b]Which only makes the cartoon worse.Once a little girl was beaten to death. The kids who did it thought she’d stand up again like nothing had happened, like they had seen on TV. What they had seen was Tom and Jerry. [/b]
Yeesh.
Thats horrible. Those parents needed to teach them the difference between Reality and Fantasy.
They can’t do that because FPS games are protected under the 1st Amendment, just as Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny are, which guarantees freedom of expression. It is stupid and pointless for that legislator to pursue this any further.
Originally posted by Gizamaluke
Yeesh.
Thats horrible. Those parents needed to teach them the difference between Reality and Fantasy.
Giza, you just found the solution for all the problems that lead to bill which motivated this thread!
What is so stupid and pointless about wanting to protect young kids from things they shouldn’t be exposed to? Just because the rest of us here are “all growed up” and (some of us) may have a good grip on reality doesn’t mean others will. I hate to play the single opposition here, but I’d like to point out that just because you don’t agree with something doesn’t make it stupid and pointless.
Maybe the whole thing can’t be done, and it’ll be rejected, but anyone should see the morale behind it, if they want to.
I don’t think you or your ideas are stupid, Eva, but remember that your suggestions, if applied, would kinda overprotect children. They would grow in a world of flowers and hearts, and wouldn’t be prepared to face the violence of the real world later on. When people see blood, even if only in a screen, in a regular basis, they tend to be less sensitive (in a negative way) to it when they see someone bleeding IRL.
Originally posted by ahkeeyuu
They can’t do that because FPS games are protected under the 1st Amendment, just as Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny are, which guarantees freedom of expression. It is stupid and pointless for that legislator to pursue this any further.
The games could theoretically fit under obscenity laws. Personally, I hate obscenity laws. I see no protection of liberty afforded through obscenity laws that libel, slander, and clear and present danger laws provide. Unfortunately, the mentality prevailing through the nation regarding government is that it is the great village parent meant to protect moral decency and provide for the livelihood of all its citizens.
Only because parents are too stupid to be parents.
The irony about all this is that video games already have a rating system, and its purpose is the same thing, but that doesn’t work, why will this? What it really all comes back to, as has been stated before many times and we all know it, is responsible parenting.
I have no stance either way on this ban itself.
Originally posted by ahkeeyuu
Only because parents are too stupid to be parents.
Or legislators, for that matter.
Originally posted by Ren
I don’t think you or your ideas are stupid, Eva, but remember that your suggestions, if applied, would kinda overprotect children. They would grow in a world of flowers and hearts, and wouldn’t be prepared to face the violence of the real world later on. When people see blood, even if only in a screen, in a regular basis, they tend to be less sensitive (in a negative way) to it when they see someone bleeding IRL.
I was talking to Ahkeeyu, dude 
And nah, not really. Ensuring that children only play games for limited for their mentality would not baby them in any way. Video games are not reality, and people going around killing each other for fun and then coming back to life to do the same thing over and over again in some town or city is not life, and not exposing kids to this will not desensitize them.
I’ve had my share of bloody video games and I still get the cold sweats when someone injures themselves. That may be just me, but video game blood does not prepare youths for blood say, in an ER, or real life crisis situation.
Following the game ratings also does not mean that the kids will be raised in a world of flower of hearts, since there are plenty of other sources that violence can come through in.
Originally posted by Evangelion
Following the game ratings also does not mean that the kids will be raised in a world of flower of hearts, since there are plenty of other sources that violence can come through in.
If they’re going to be exposed anyway, then why make a big deal over FPS bans?
Originally posted by ahkeeyuu
If they’re going to be exposed anyway, then why make a big deal over FPS bans?
because that’s making things worse than the already are. Just because some kids may need help in the psychological aspect of video games does not mean you should say, “Aw fuck it, it doesn’t matter, they’ll wind up messed in the head <i>anyway</i>”
IMO the fault lies in three factors
1:The retailers that sell M rated games to a minor
2:Parents who do not teach the kid that a game is just a game and not reality and they should spend time with the kid enjoing the game as well
3:Kids who let themselves be influenced by the games
i have a problem with number 3. Kids usually are stupid and or lack judgement therefore are easy to influence.
Adult games are getting more and more over the line. Back in the day of Doom, it was a guy going against demons. Now, it’s a criminal going on a mass murder spree for no apparant reason. I agree that the stores should check to see that they’re selling the game to a reasonable adult.
However, a ban is not the answer. Bans just stifle creativity and make the market more appealing to kids, due to the nature of going after whatever is considered wrong by society.
Originally posted by Evangelion
The ban can easily be skirted by parents who trust their children enough to actually rent more mature stuff FOR them (or whoever).
A ban on video games would convince many parents that their children shouldn’t own them. If non-adults are banned from buying first-person shooters, they could easily be banned from buying other genres with mature themes - RPG’s, for instance.
I’m very glad that I was able to play these games when I was younger. I can’t in good conscience support a law that bans children from playing the same games.
Xwing1056
Whether or not the games trains our children to be mass murderers is agruable - going so far as to say that it “trains” them, I think, is ludacris, however giving children a stronger knowledge of weapons and military tactics is a given, since they are employed through the game. However is this really a bad thing?
Lets look at Europe for a sec - in Europe, the drinking laws are far more lax than they are here in the states. As such, there are less drinking related accidents, since most people have a higher level of respect for the drink, and drink for the taste, not the drunken aftereffects. They are often responsible enough to know when to stop due to years of drinking. As opposed to here in the states, where drinking is condemned to the point of being an outright no-no for almost all people, not just children. If we apply this to video games, I think the same end would come about, people would have a greater respect for the game and it’s overall content, and not just the alcohol or the violence.
This is another example of people avoiding the blame for their fucked up kids. Kids don’t want to kill because of games. They want to to kill people because of a fucked up psychological development you can blame on their environment and culture.
I will put my views simply:
There is no law, no ratings system, or filter that will beat a caring parent who keeps an eye on what thier kid does and takes the time to teach the child that it’s fantasy, and performing this stuff in real life is a VERY BAD THING.
It comes down to a very small minority of gamers who already have issues, and the parents who don’t want to realize that they overlooked these issues and don’t want to blame themselves or be seen as bad parents: “My little Johnny was the perfect little boy until Doom/GTA/AD&D came along!”
Yeah fucking right. I’m reminded of the parents who send thier kids to Tranquility Bay because they forgot that they were fucking kids themselves, and decided that since thier kids were going through normal teenage phases that they could ahve helped guide them through, they thought that “love” was having a child obedient to thier every fucking whim.
Ahem. I’m digressing. Anyways, I see this as mostly a failure in the part of the parents. I can’t blame it all on the parents, but it’s thier damn job to rear thier children to productive, decent adults, who know that the world isn’t going to be nice to them and who will make the best of it anyway. (Don’t get me into over-sheltering children.)
Goddamned victim society. Why can’t someone stand up and take some fucking responsiblity instead of pointing fingers like the pieces of shit they are?
I’m not being fooled.
Originally posted by PanamaJack
Obviously you can’t really emulate the violence in cartoons (we’re not going to go around dropping pianos on people’s heads).
I believe Merlin would say differently.
As for me, I know very well that young children are easily manipulated. But I can’t in good conscience support a ban of this nature. The law doesn’t work, in that it automatically assumes that every FPS is violent in nature, something that just isn’t true. (Heck, DISNEY of all companies made their own FPS based on the Atlantis movie, one with no death at all.)