Oh good God not again!
Spencer Haplins trailer for his new documentary on the effects of violence in video games looks to be a fully one sided video game bashing romp. Featuring all your favourite anti video game celebrities.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIu3JM…Although the contents of the trailer alarms me with its sheer single mindedness, the truly abhorrent thing is what some of these game bashers are saying and how it echoes through history.
Almost as chilling as when the american forces headed for Iraq threatened to "Win the hearts and minds of the people", echoing back to the humanitarian nightmare that was the viet nahm war, is Lieberman's quote: "If you don't self-regulate, we'll regulate for you" on censorship of content within videogames.
I will admit to being part of the zombie like demographic of people who play (and even enjoy) violent video games. However, my parents had always been very clear to me while raising me that hurting people and killing people was thoroughly wrong. I have never felt the desire to harm another human being and (apart from being a clumsy bastard) I never have. I enjoy shooting and fighting games (and other violent genres) for the competition and sport of playing against friends in what can be considered the ultimate contest of life and death, without the horrible consequence of actually harming a person.
Another spurious claim is that the terrorists of september 11th used a flight simulator to learn to pilot the planes they used to commit their atrocities. I'm not saying they didn't use a flight simulator, but they certainly trained using some of the many planes that the taliban own. Aside from that flight simulators have also been used by pilots and trainee pilots in order to learn to fly without risking lives. I would also bet that many a disaster has been averted due to a pilot having already been through the simulated experience and having learned the correct procedures to correct the problem.
So Right ho Senator Lieberman and senator Haplins, see you at hegel platz. You bring your stooges Jack Thompson and the angry stupid parent society, and i'll bring all my violent games and will live it up Nazi style! I'll bring all my books that have violent conduct too... oh and newspapers contain violence, we had better take the Koreans lead on this and censor the news too.
anyway happy new year everyone. See you on the 8th