Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Its video games, not parents...of course.

Well, this is just insane.
Violent games bill goes to House

Hogue said the bill would generally apply to vendors, but could also have an impact on "perpetrators trying to influence a minor." In both cases, prosecutors would have to prove the defendants "knowingly and intentionally" provided the material.


So, if a parent were to give, say, GTA3 to their kid, they could be charged?
Interesting.
This is, of course, just another attempt to shift blame from parents to, well, anyone else.
I grew up with violent TV shows.
I grew up with violent movies.
I grew up with violent toys.
I grew up with violent games.
I turned out fine.
Why?
Because my parents, who each worked full-time, made sure I knew right from wrong.
Because my parents, if they saw me taking an unhealthy interest in violence, would have done something.
Because my parents spent time with me and talked with me.
And our relationship was far from perfect.
But, of course, that was in an era of responsibility.
An era when kids ran and played and even, if you can believe it, biked without a helmet and
four pounds of padding.
Yes.
Much has changed in my 36 years.

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2 comments:

Luke said...

I'm always amazed by this. What happened to parenting? Don't people take any responsibility for their kids upbringing anymore?

I grew up with violent movies, toys and games too. We all did. And yet, somehow we are not raving lunatics or murderers.

My theory is that children become violent not because they watch violent TV. It is because mom and dad wash their hands, and think that the public school, cable TV and Playstation will do the parenting for them. They get messed up, but not because of the movies they watch and games they play. It's because they are being neglected, and left without strong moral guidance, understanding and love.

But alas, "GTA made him do it" is much easier to say than "I suck as a parent"

moleboy said...

THats exactly what it is.
My favorite part is where parents suddenly step in all up in arms on some topic or another (usually sex-ed, but it happens elsewhere too).
"You can't teach my kid like that"
when, in fact, the schools HAVE to teach the kids these troublesome things because the parents aren't willing to.
I think this all started when families switched over to NEEDING two incomes.
When having a parent at home 24/7 just vanished.
When it went from women just wanting to work to needing to work.
It got worse from there.
(btw, I don't blame women for this at all. Economics and society changed. Women in the workplace was just the most visible effect of this part of history).
It got worse with the idea of 'having everything'.
As women started becoming real professionals, the feminist movement and media started pushing the idea that they should all have high-powered, massively successful jobs, have fantastic relationships, and be amazing mothers.
This simply isn't something realistic to achieve.
Its not something men usually achieved either. There are simply so many hours in the day. You can't have it all.
Men who were big-time lawyers probably didn't have great home-lives. Why should the modern woman be any different?
My parents did well at their jobs. But they knew family came first.
If your job is your priority, maybe you don't get to be a parent (male or female).
There's a great scene from a Tom Robbins book where some activist goes "Women will never be free from opression until they can have children without having to have sex, carry the child to term, or raise it!!"
People have to make choices. If you want to be a good parent, you have to make sacrifices. I think thats a good thing. But regardless, its just a fact.