If The School Shooting Today Is Blamed or Linked To FPS Games.....

[IHatedSega]

Kotaku just had a snippet about Fox News linking the shooting to various things including video games.

The Game Overthinker did a video that touched on a similar story years back. I think its a very good point he brings up. Go to 8:57 to 15:56 about it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0mP1kEMF5E

[buzz_n64]

People will always look for reasons as to why people do what they do. Video games seem to be the easiest scapegoat reason for the media and parents to attack. Instead of fighting it now, I've learned to accept the ignorance of people.

[IHatedSega]

Well, we need to stop the easy scapegoating. Maybe the reason why theyve been such easy targets is because kids and young teens. Im 23 and I want to say I love video gaming without getting weird looks.

[dgdgagdae]

It was a horrible, evil tragedy. How about we leave it at that and not try to get all defensive.

[kedawa]

Not a fan of the pre-emptive counter knee-jerk maneuver?

[IHatedSega]

It was a horrible, evil tragedy. How about we leave it at that and not try to get all defensive.
Cause the media is already becoming offensive. I dont say we be defensive, I say we stand up for ourselves, we cant let them use this to paint us in a bad light. The parts of the video I pointed out I thin everyone should watch.

[dgdgagdae]

Cause the media is already becoming offensive. I dont say we be defensive, I say we stand up for ourselves, we cant let them use this to paint us in a bad light. The parts of the video I pointed out I thin everyone should watch.

How do you propose "we" even do that?

Just like it's wrong for anyone else to latch onto something like this to blame whatever their agenda feels like blaming, it's equally wrong for you to do the same in some lame attempt to justify your hobby. I like video games, you like video games, and we're not killers. I get it. 20 kids were shot to death today, leave it the fuck alone.

[IHatedSega]

How do you propose "we" even do that?

Just like it's wrong for anyone else to latch onto something like this to blame whatever their agenda feels like blaming, it's equally wrong for you to do the same in some lame attempt to justify your hobby. I like video games, you like video games, and we're not killers. I get it. 20 kids were shot to death today, leave it the fuck alone.

The media isnt leaving it alone, and people are gonna ask us things. We need to be able to come off as rational people and make sure people dont see us as anything else. You can say Im wrong on this, fine, Im prepared to look bad by saying "hey if people on nationally syndicated news shows say the things we loved caused someone to go out and kill people, we need to make sure those people's claims arent based on reality and make everyone who watches their show understand that." Im saying we shouldnt be grouped together with a mass murderer, and make people see the real issues are his supposed mental health issues that went improperly treated and lax gun laws that allowed him to get a gun to commit his crime.

[kedawa]

Has anyone even made that argument, though?
I see it less and less all the time, and it gets shot down pretty fast whenever someone does bring it up.

[IHatedSega]

Has anyone even made that argument, though?
I see it less and less all the time, and it gets shot down pretty fast whenever someone does bring it up.

http://kotaku.com/5968683/mob-blames-mass-effect-for-school-shooting-is-embarrassingly-wrong/gallery/1


That poor guy up there.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Video games are to blame for Connecticut school shooting, claims Jack Thompson
http://www.examiner.com/article/video-games-to-blame-for-connecticut-school-shooting-claims-jack-thompson

[Press_Start]

Reminds me of a Weather Channel report blaming video games as the #1 cause killing hurricane survivors during the aftermath from CO2 poisoning from running their gasoline generators inside their homes. It's not like they used it for electricity, heat, air condition, preserving food, cooking, boiling water, etc n' you know.....surviving.

[homerhomer]

Horrible tragedy. It seems like it happening more and more. I live in Portland Oregon and someone just lost it in a mall and killed 3 people two days ago.

While I wouldn't say video games are a direct cause, I would like to see everything on the table. Like; mental health care, gun control, all media (including games) , and so on. I don't think it as easy as blaming video games or banning guns but more of a social / society issue.

It just a horrible thing to happen.

[Compute]

This is worse than the dorks that instantly post about how guns don't kill people as soon as these things happen. Relax. . If "we" want to prove that "we" are rational, we need to act rational. Video games aren't going anywhere. In the end, money speaks louder than any pundit.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

turns out the shooter ate a bag of oreos before he went on his little spree...time to sell your shares in nabisco boys, shits about to hit the fan


fox is gonna have a field day.

[dgdgagdae]

Who's to say that gaming didn't somehow contribute? I know nothing of this psycho's background. For all we know, he was only doing what Waluigi told him to do. Anyone trying to find a rational reason why someone kills his mother, takes her guns, and shoots up an elementary school is just wasting his time. I just hope some crazed lunatic doesn't see all the media attention this fucknut is getting and decide on a copycat crime.

[IHatedSega]

I guess this was a better video to post


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoht0Xy5nQs

[Collector_Gaming]

Who's to say that gaming didn't somehow contribute? I know nothing of this psycho's background. For all we know, he was only doing what Waluigi told him to do. Anyone trying to find a rational reason why someone kills his mother, takes her guns, and shoots up an elementary school is just wasting his time. I just hope some crazed lunatic doesn't see all the media attention this fucknut is getting and decide on a copycat crime.

very true. If theres one thing still uncertain about the human body. Its the mind why do we think the way do. Why do we act out what we do. ect ect ect.

[dgdgagdae]

I guess this was a better video to post]

One minute in, I decided it wasn't.

How about you find a way to contact one of the parents of a child who was murdered, and tell them that no matter what they hear, video games aren't at fault. See how much of a shit they give. You don't need to turn this into your personal soapbox, have some respect.

[Embalming Your Nipples]

Video games are to blame for Connecticut school shooting, claims Jack Thompson
http://www.examiner.com/article/video-games-to-blame-for-connecticut-school-shooting-claims-jack-thompson

I'm more surprised that people still care what that nut bag has to say.


To be honest, I am not worried about whatever impact on video games this will have, and more concearned with liberals trying to take away my right to bear arms. It is that much closer to a reality ever time some crazy sick fuck does something like this. But Even Obama told the press to "STFU" yesterday about it when asked.

I am reminded of this quote every time something horrible like this happens and people try to post the blame on something besides the individual themselves. ie(Guns,video games,porn,society-ect.)


Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws - Plato

[InsaneDavid]

How do you propose "we" even do that?

Just like it's wrong for anyone else to latch onto something like this to blame whatever their agenda feels like blaming, it's equally wrong for you to do the same in some lame attempt to justify your hobby. I like video games, you like video games, and we're not killers. I get it. 20 kids were shot to death today, leave it the fuck alone.

It's posts like these that make me wish our forum system had a "rep" feature, so I could add to yours.

[Aussie2B]

How about we, you know, focus on the REAL victims here instead of gamers instantly painting themselves out as victims of these tragedies because video games get blamed? Who gives a flying flip if somebody blames video games? I guarantee it will not affect your ability to play games in the slightest.

[IHatedSega]

Im sick of the association of violent loners and video game players. The media has been trying to make that a stereotype of ours for a while, and games like most FPS, GTA and all those kids screaming slurs at one another on XBOX Live is making it hard for us to be taken seriously. How many powerful people in Washington likes video games? President Obama has flat out said were all under achievers. This apathy Im seeing from people here is making me sad. We shouldnt be bullied by the media and just take it, theyre our problem in this.

I put the dude up there on ignore who said I should go up to a parent about my soap box, **** you, like Im really suffering more than them.

Im getting off of here for awhile. Im sorry if Im not the best of communicators, but I dont want to be lumped together with a mass murderer. Do you?

[Embalming Your Nipples]

Im sick of the association of violent loners and video game players. The media has been trying to make that a stereotype of ours for a while, and games like most FPS, GTA and all those kids screaming slurs at one another on XBOX Live is making it hard for us to be taken seriously. How many powerful people in Washington likes video games? President Obama has flat out said were all under achievers. This apathy Im seeing from people here is making me sad. We shouldnt be bullied by the media and just take it, theyre our problem in this.

I put the dude up there on ignore who said I should go up to a parent about my soap box, **** you, like Im really suffering more than them.

Im getting off of here for awhile. Im sorry if Im not the best of communicators, but I dont want to be lumped together with a mass murderer. Do you?


I feel you aren't getting the message that some people were trying to impart to you. What was being said was "Not now, it's not the time to give a shit about it, so shut to fuck up."

[danawhitaker]

How about we, you know, focus on the REAL victims here instead of gamers instantly painting themselves out as victims of these tragedies because video games get blamed? Who gives a flying flip if somebody blames video games? I guarantee it will not affect your ability to play games in the slightest.

Here's the problem. I don't disagree with you that we should be focusing on the real victims. I'm doing my best to do that. My daughter's 7 years old, around the same age as many of the students who died yesterday. It's very easy for me to put myself in the place of those families, and to empathize.

But here's the other side of the equation. I was watching television with my grandmother this morning, when some guy on CNN starts spouting off about how Adam Lanza was a known gamer, and spent a lot of time playing violent games. My grandmother turns and looks at me, and says, "You know, *you* spend a lot of time playing video games. And you let your daughter play games. How can you let her do that? What's wrong with you?" You're fortunate to not have people in your life who will willingly throw that in your face anytime something like this happens and they hear someone on TV blame this stuff. And good luck trying to rationalize with someone who's never played a video game in their life and who believes everything that comes out of the mouth of an "expert" on CNN.

I'm sure I'm not the only gamer in this position today. And while of course that's massively overshadowed by the actual shooting (as it should be), it's still frustrating because it's directly in my face all the time. Turning off the person on TV spouting the garbage doesn't solve the issue. The person criticizing me is sitting in the room with me and won't drop it. And she's not the only family member who will do that. I'm sure my daughter's great aunt, despite the fact that her kids all played video games, will have a field day with the fact I bought a Wii U for my daughter for Christmas. Christmas will turn into a lecture about how I need to limit her access to games because they're dangerous and a bad influence, and look what happens to people who play them. And so suddenly, what is my main hobby and great form of stress relief for me and something that my daughter and I bond over becomes constantly under attack for at least the next few weeks. I got yelled at a bit ago because my daughter was playing Cut the Rope on her iPod Touch. Seriously. I can't make this stuff up. So yes, it affects my ability to play and enjoy games. It affects my daughter, who doesn't understand suddenly why someone's yelling at her and telling her that she's doing something bad (when she's not).

[InsaneDavid]

I put the dude up there on ignore who said I should go up to a parent about my soap box, **** you, like Im really suffering more than them.

You continue to impress me with your immaturity.

[kedawa]

Here's the problem. I don't disagree with you that we should be focusing on the real victims. I'm doing my best to do that. My daughter's 7 years old, around the same age as many of the students who died yesterday. It's very easy for me to put myself in the place of those families, and to empathize.

But here's the other side of the equation. I was watching television with my grandmother this morning, when some guy on CNN starts spouting off about how Adam Lanza was a known gamer, and spent a lot of time playing violent games. My grandmother turns and looks at me, and says, "You know, *you* spend a lot of time playing video games. And you let your daughter play games. How can you let her do that? What's wrong with you?" You're fortunate to not have people in your life who will willingly throw that in your face anytime something like this happens and they hear someone on TV blame this stuff. And good luck trying to rationalize with someone who's never played a video game in their life and who believes everything that comes out of the mouth of an "expert" on CNN.

I'm sure I'm not the only gamer in this position today. And while of course that's massively overshadowed by the actual shooting (as it should be), it's still frustrating because it's directly in my face all the time. Turning off the person on TV spouting the garbage doesn't solve the issue. The person criticizing me is sitting in the room with me and won't drop it. And she's not the only family member who will do that. I'm sure my daughter's great aunt, despite the fact that her kids all played video games, will have a field day with the fact I bought a Wii U for my daughter for Christmas. Christmas will turn into a lecture about how I need to limit her access to games because they're dangerous and a bad influence, and look what happens to people who play them. And so suddenly, what is my main hobby and great form of stress relief for me and something that my daughter and I bond over becomes constantly under attack for at least the next few weeks. I got yelled at a bit ago because my daughter was playing Cut the Rope on her iPod Touch. Seriously. I can't make this stuff up. So yes, it affects my ability to play and enjoy games. It affects my daughter, who doesn't understand suddenly why someone's yelling at her and telling her that she's doing something bad (when she's not).

The real problem is that you tolerate it. Tell them to fuck off. Associate with smarter people.

[danawhitaker]

The real problem is that you tolerate it. Tell them to fuck off. Associate with smarter people.

Telling my family to "f off" is your solution? My grandmother is 97 years old. I help take care of her. I think a better solution is for the media as a whole to stop jumping to conclusions about the cause(s) of these events. I do mean that across the board - they'll take anything they can and throw it under the microscope - games, gun laws, the media itself, access to mental health resources, etc. Autism is getting thrown under the bus in this case because a family member of the shooter claimed he was autistic. No one seems to want to point the finger at the person who committed the crime and be willing to say, "This guy was a jerk" - like they're almost afraid of offending his family or friends by saying he was a bad person who did a bad thing.

One of the things we deal with, when it comes to the issue of game violence, is a generation gap. People like my grandmother, or my daughter's great aunt, are from a generation to whom gaming is almost foreign. They aren't stupid, but it's simply something that they don't "get" and as such, when the media throws it under the bus, it's easy for people to latch on and scapegoat it. Of course, one of the problems is that the people throwing it under the bus in the media seem to come from the same generation. My only hope (after the hope that we can find a way to stop this senseless garbage from happening) is that the whole concept of blaming the game culture dies off as the older generation that perpetrates those beliefs shifts out of power.

Just a little while ago I saw a guy claiming on CNN that the shooter must have learned how to reload one of the weapons from playing video games. Wut? Yeah, and I can go drive a race car because I'm awesome at Gran Turismo. I can also go start a band because I'm good at Guitar Hero. I had no idea. Clicking the reload button in a game has to be a lot different from actually reloading a weapon.

[kedawa]

Passing judgement on something you know little to nothing about seems pretty stupid to me.
Why let people lecture you about stuff they are completely ignorant of?
Why let them lecture you about anything at all?
You're clearly an adult and deserve to be shown respect by your family, especially by family members who are dependent upon you.

You may not want to hold them accountable for their unfounded prejudice, but the fact is that if it weren't for attitudes like theirs, the sensationalist scapegoating media would find no audience.

[Embalming Your Nipples]

The only thing I understand is that 28 families are watching the Christmas tree with gifts for their sons and daughters under them and I don't ever want to be these poor folks. This is awfull. The fact that anyone gives a shit about their "video game rights" right now is trully awfull. The fact that anyone gives a shit about their "Gun rights" right now, is trully awefull. The fact is that most peolple know the old stand up comic line of "It's too soon"

Holy fuck, why is this a discussion?

[RCM]

Concerned gamers realize the game industry won the SCOTUS thing last year, right? Games are considered a protected form of speech just like books, film, and music. The likelihood any type of new, threatening legislation will be introduced as a result of this tragedy is low. I'd be more concerned if I were a law abiding gun owner at this point.

Regarding the OP kind of being "awfull," why can't we be concerned with our rights while at the same time being sorry about the senseless loss of life? The murders absolutely suck, but the world goes on and the people remaining have to continue living and looking after their interests. Nothing "awfull" about that.

[danawhitaker]

Regarding the OP kind of being "awfull," why can't we be concerned with our rights while at the same time being sorry about the senseless loss of life?

I think many people, and I'd include myself in this, eventually have to shut something off emotionally exactly because of the thought of all those families facing Christmas without their children, spouses, etc. Like I said in one of my other posts, I have a seven year old first grader. Tonight I watched Emilie Parker's father speak to the media about his daughter on CNN. It was positively gut-wrenching. I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened, but I watched that with a much different perspective. It's too easy for me now to think of how awful it would be to face Christmas morning with no excited child bolting down to the tree to see what Santa brought. So yes, my brain shuts off that part and I start thinking about other things because it simply hits too close to home.

To quote Hermione, "Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have." I can feel deeply about one thing and also feel and think about other things simultaneously. And just because I happen to be discussing the one doesn't mean that emotion is stronger than the other. Believe me when I say gut-wrenching horror is much, MUCH higher on my emotional totem pole right now, especially when my daughter asks questions like, "Why would someone shoot a teacher?" or "What if someone like that man comes to my school and shoots my teacher?"

It's not that I'm worried or concerned from a legal perspective about losing any rights as a gamer. It's simply my desire not to be labeled in a certain way because of my hobby. And every brainless statement from some "expert" on CNN about it just perpetuates those stereotypes.

[Zthun]

Telling my family to "f off" is your solution? My grandmother is 97 years old. I help take care of her. I think a better solution is for the media as a whole to stop jumping to conclusions about the cause(s) of these events. I do mean that across the board - they'll take anything they can and throw it under the microscope - games, gun laws, the media itself, access to mental health resources, etc. Autism is getting thrown under the bus in this case because a family member of the shooter claimed he was autistic. No one seems to want to point the finger at the person who committed the crime and be willing to say, "This guy was a jerk" - like they're almost afraid of offending his family or friends by saying he was a bad person who did a bad thing.


Yeah, you are supposed to tell your family to 'f' off. Your grandmother is dependent on you to take care of her, something you are not obligated to do. She is not a minor - she is still an adult, and disrespecting you and your children is unacceptable. I understand that you won't be able to do this because of the emotional attachment, but you really need to put her in her place and tell her that your hobby is yours and if you want to expose your children to video games, that's your decision as a parent. 97 or 22, doesn't matter. They're your kids, and you're the one responsible for raising them. Not grandma. The media will never stop doing this. They will post what sells - not what people want to hear, and what sells in controversy. You can't expect the entire world to change because of personal problems.



One of the things we deal with, when it comes to the issue of game violence, is a generation gap. People like my grandmother, or my daughter's great aunt, are from a generation to whom gaming is almost foreign. They aren't stupid, but it's simply something that they don't "get" and as such, when the media throws it under the bus, it's easy for people to latch on and scapegoat it. Of course, one of the problems is that the people throwing it under the bus in the media seem to come from the same generation. My only hope (after the hope that we can find a way to stop this senseless garbage from happening) is that the whole concept of blaming the game culture dies off as the older generation that perpetrates those beliefs shifts out of power.

Just a little while ago I saw a guy claiming on CNN that the shooter must have learned how to reload one of the weapons from playing video games. Wut? Yeah, and I can go drive a race car because I'm awesome at Gran Turismo. I can also go start a band because I'm good at Guitar Hero. I had no idea. Clicking the reload button in a game has to be a lot different from actually reloading a weapon.

This entire thread is nothing but one big bout of insecurity. Honestly, people can blame whatever they want. I'm never going to stop playing games, and if people have a problem with that, including any members of my family, then those people can go 'f' themselves. I am who I am, and nobody is going to stop me from being a gamer. If you have any bout of self-respect, you wouldn't care who the media blames. People that don't accept you for being you aren't worth associating with. If tomorrow, all of my friends told me that they couldn't be my friend anymore because I play games, then I would dump my entire social circle and find another one that accepted me. Again, hardest thing to do - but you're better off and happier in the long run.

And another thing...regardless of what is blamed in the long run, video games or not, the real problem here is that some nut job that didn't belong in society went into a school and blasted up a bunch of kids. This guy was not innocent, not right in the head, and was the ultimate bastard douchebag regardless of what is blamed or scapegoated.

[buzz_n64]

Damn it! I just had this conversation with my parents, AGAIN! Same thing when the Batman shooting happened. As soon as they said "You know all those video..." I knew what they were going to say. I used logic and reasoning, but to no avail. I even wrote a 7 page paper on video game bans and violence which I had them read over a year ago, and they still come at me with this stuff. They're just set in their ways, like religion or politics.

[Greg2600]

It's not video games. It's upbringing, and Nancy Lanza was raised with guns and apparently felt no different about them than I would my lawn mower or electric shaver. Now, for most people that is fine, but how wise is it to think that way with a "troubled son?" Not very. Unfortunately 26 people paid the price for her carelessness.

[Zthun]

It's not video games. It's upbringing, and Nancy Lanza was raised with guns and apparently felt no different about them than I would my lawn mower or electric shaver. Now, for most people that is fine, but how wise is it to think that way with a "troubled son?" Not very. Unfortunately 26 people paid the price for her carelessness.

It's not her fault for exercising her 2nd Amendment right. The true at fault here was the guy who did it.

[Embalming Your Nipples]

It's not video games. It's upbringing, and Nancy Lanza was raised with guns and apparently felt no different about them than I would my lawn mower or electric shaver. Now, for most people that is fine, but how wise is it to think that way with a "troubled son?" Not very. Unfortunately 26 people paid the price for her carelessness.

This is an ignorant statement. It is quite obvious Mrs. Lanza had no idea how "troubled" her son was as she was the first to go. I can't imagine her knowing her boy was a psychopath and not locking them up in a gun cabinet. Point of fact, she didn't. Many people are loaners or quiet and don't shoot 20 little kids 10-15 times each. Or anyone for that matter. Also for the record the killer could have just as easily walked into the school with a sharp butcher knife and killed people before he was apprehended. Should she of also kept her knife block in a safe?

Where does it end?

[The 1 2 P]

The true at fault here was the guy who did it.

15 times out of 10 that statement is always correct. The problem is that the media seems to constantly fail at getting that memo.

[Greg2600]

It's not her fault for exercising her 2nd Amendment right. The true at fault here was the guy who did it.


This is an ignorant statement. It is quite obvious Mrs. Lanza had no idea how "troubled" her son was as she was the first to go. I can't imagine her knowing her boy was a psychopath and not locking them up in a gun cabinet. Point of fact, she didn't. Many people are loaners or quiet and don't shoot 20 little kids 10-15 times each. Or anyone for that matter. Also for the record the killer could have just as easily walked into the school with a sharp butcher knife and killed people before he was apprehended. Should she of also kept her knife block in a safe?

Where does it end?

She admitted to friends he was burning himself with a lighter. 2nd Amendment also requires responsibility. Do responsible gun owners leave their guns unlocked so their children say can get them? Don't give me the knife argument. That guy ain't killing 26 people with a knife. The teachers or police would have stopped him.

The fault is not entirely with the guy, since he was apparently mentally disabled and/or disturbed. This kid was a mess for years. More will come out. Did she ever have him see psychiatrists? I'm not saying the woman had a nasty pit bull, and is responsible for it biting someone on the street. I'm not blaming her for the rampage, but the fact is this guy was out of almost all society, interacting almost solely with her. She took him from school, refused to let his father around the kids because she was bitter at him. Even her other son never saw him. I'm sorry, but if this kid really was in a mental state where he could not determine right from wrong, it was on her for just hiding him in his room and not seeking professional care.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57559442/the-brief-enigmatic-life-of-mass-murderer-adam-lanza/

[Embalming Your Nipples]

She admitted to friends he was burning himself with a lighter. 2nd Amendment also requires responsibility. Do responsible gun owners leave their guns unlocked so their children say can get them? Don't give me the knife argument. That guy ain't killing 26 people with a knife. The teachers or police would have stopped him.

The fault is not entirely with the guy, since he was apparently mentally disabled and/or disturbed. This kid was a mess for years. More will come out. Did she ever have him see psychiatrists? I'm not saying the woman had a nasty pit bull, and is responsible for it biting someone on the street. I'm not blaming her for the rampage, but the fact is this guy was out of almost all society, interacting almost solely with her. She took him from school, refused to let his father around the kids because she was bitter at him. Even her other son never saw him. I'm sorry, but if this kid really was in a mental state where he could not determine right from wrong, it was on her for just hiding him in his room and not seeking professional care.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57559442/the-brief-enigmatic-life-of-mass-murderer-adam-lanza/

No posibly he would have only killed 6 or 7 with a knife. Are you fucking serious? would you really like me to defend my argument of how the mother wasn't responsible? Would you like me to tell you how to "Make" weapons? Do you REALLY think she was responsible as to why those children are dead?

The guy who shot them was responsible.


Good Lord, what a sad day for America.

[Greg2600]

You can feel what you want, but if I had a child like that, I would be 110% sure he couldn't get at firearms. Mainly to protect himself. That's just my opinion. I also don't believe anyone NEEDS an AR-15/M16 type rifle. Again, my opinion. My father had a few guns while we were growing up. Never let me near them, never even see them. I learned early on, they were his, I was not to touch them. He was clear on why he had them (personal protection), and they stayed where they were for years, until he eventually sold them all when we needed the money.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html

By the way, this is a fairly moving/eye opening essay by a mother with a child that has a severe mental illness, how difficult sometimes help is to get, and also the dangers. So yes, it's quite possible she simply lost control of him, which I don't blame her for at all. You're right, he could have built a bomb, he was very smart. I couldn't have blamed her for that. But to make it that easy for him to get guns and all that ammo, that's just plain careless. Would it have prevented the massacre? Maybe not.

Look, I don't have the answer. Sometimes mental illness is just not well enough understood to help all people. Sometimes the help is not there, due to shitty healthcare. Sometimes it is, but the parents are somewhat in denial and unwilling. But either we must do something, whether that involves greater security, less guns, and/or more mental health awareness and responsibility, I don't know the right mix. But something substantive needs to be done. It may well mean the NRA has to give some up, that the privacy advocates have to give something up, etc. But either that has to happen, or we just need to stop giving a crap at all and not even report these massacres. At the least, why can there not be rules that prohibit mentally ill people from getting near legal guns?

[kedawa]

More than one person can be responsible.. Nobody is letting the shooter off the hook.
That being said, there was nothing stopping him from just walking into a gun shop and arming himself.
Mommy isn't the only source of weapons.

[Nature Boy]

I've been following the story here and there, and the first I heard about video games being blamed was this thread right here, so maybe some people are just following the wrong news sources? (e.g. anything that cites Jack Thompson as an expert in anything probably isn't worth visiting).

I can only imagine what it must be like for the families of those killed on Friday, and my heart, for what it's worth, goes out to them. Nobody should have to go through anything like that, but unfortunately some of us always do. Life, as they say, isn't fair.

[Hawksmoor]

Given that 20 children and 6 adults were killed, does it really matter if games are vilified by disreputable media sources? Who gives a shit if some talking head on Fox News wants to scapegoat gaming? That's trivial compared to the loss of life. As a nation we should be focused on trying to prevent this from happening again, even if it's no guarantee. Granted, there is no way to totally prevent this sort of thing, but that's not adequate justification for inaction. We have to try. Unfortunately, there is nothing approaching consensus and no collective will that will lead to any substantive reforms; just regurgitation of stale arguments with the end result being the perpetuation of the status quo.

In a week or two no one will be talking about the massacre in Newtown and we'll have all moved on, except for those left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives; that is until the next inevitable mass shooting.

[Hawksmoor]

More than one person can be responsible.. Nobody is letting the shooter off the hook.
That being said, there was nothing stopping him from just walking into a gun shop and arming himself.
Mommy isn't the only source of weapons.

We have an extremely exaggerated sense of self in America. This hyper-individualism that seeks to lay responsibility solely on one person. Adam Lanza is just the latest example of how pathetic the mental health infrastructure is in this country. People who are obviously mentally ill go without treatment because "it's their problem" and "why should my taxes go to help some (insert pejorative here)?"

Saying that 100% of the blame lies with Adam Lanza does ZILCH to advance us towards a potential solution. Maybe, just maybe, had someone in Adam Lanza's life taken the initiative and tried to get him some help the 26 people he killed might be alive today. Had one teacher, friend, relative, doctor, or acquaintance cared enough to attempt to intervene, things may have turned out differently.

At some point we need to realize that we're in this together. We're not just 300+ million individuals living in 300+ million vacuums. The actions of one of us can affect all of us.

[Greg2600]

More than one person can be responsible.. Nobody is letting the shooter off the hook.
That being said, there was nothing stopping him from just walking into a gun shop and arming himself.
Mommy isn't the only source of weapons.

You can't do that in most states surrounding his home. CT, NY, NJ, MA, RI, have strict laws against that. Plus he wasn't old enough to buy one on his own. As Hawksmoor said, the mental health care is a joke, total joke. Plus you can't overlap those records with background checks (in states that require them at all). As I said, his mother was a doomsday prepper, who in the last few years had him at the gun range because as we all know, the Walking Dead is non-fiction. Stockpiling arms, food, supplies, etc. The son had a mental illness, I think she was just mental.

I don't think that much is needed above common sense here. Ban semi-auto assault weapons and high capacity clips. Close the ridiculous gun show loophole, increase the waiting period, and background checks to include mental health. I don't think that's unreasonable. On the other side, they say no regulation and arm the teachers.

[kedawa]

Might as well arm the kids too. Give them a little brown-brown while we're at it.

[Hawksmoor]

Might as well arm the kids too. Give them a little brown-brown while we're at it.

Baby's first gun!

http://ennorath.typepad.com/arwens_blog/images/2007/05/30/baby_gun.jpg

[Zthun]

We have an extremely exaggerated sense of self in America. This hyper-individualism that seeks to lay responsibility solely on one person. Adam Lanza is just the latest example of how pathetic the mental health infrastructure is in this country. People who are obviously mentally ill go without treatment because "it's their problem" and "why should my taxes go to help some (insert pejorative here)?"


Actually, the health infrastructure is pathetic because it's really fucking expensive. It all boils down to money. Who's going to pay for this, and what is the priority for this measure.

[Hawksmoor]

Actually, the health infrastructure is pathetic because it's really fucking expensive. It all boils down to money. Who's going to pay for this, and what is the priority for this measure.

Expense is big problem, no doubt. That said, so is recognition of illness and subsequent intervention. The warning signs were there with Adam Lanza. Unfortunately, no one that had an opportunity to do anything about it took the initiative to intervene.

[Aussie2B]

Unfortunately, it's quite typical that even if others recognize a problem, they hit a brick wall in trying to get any kind of help for the person, especially if said person is adamant about not wanting help (and, big surprise, crazy people often don't think they're crazy). America is all about personal liberties and not stepping on anyone's toes, so forcing people, no matter how much they need it, into taking drugs or staying in a treatment program is frowned upon. That is, until if and when they commit a crime, which hopefully won't be as horrible as this, but even then, locking away our mentally ill in prison is a pretty piss-poor solution.

But, yeah, at the end of the day, it really is all about money. I think most Americans fail to understand just how much the state of mental healthcare in this country has changed in a relatively short amount of time. It hasn't always been like this. If you just go back a handful of decades, America was completely opposite on mental healthcare. We were actually quite proactive and aggressive on treating mental illness, perhaps even to the point of being a bit overbearing. I mean, even people with addictions to alcohol and gambling and such were getting treatment in mental hospitals. My grandfather was a psychiatrist, went to 8 years of medical school like any other doctor, and spent his whole career life working in mental hospitals, often living on the grounds of them in one of the doctors' homes. In the US, for him, that was from the '50s to roughly around 1990. It's just sad and pathetic that so many of the hospitals he worked at or knew of are now no longer in existence, with nothing taking their place either. America now has a culture of pill-popping, and that's basically become the approach of mental healthcare. Why spend the money on intensive care, well-trained doctors, and sending someone off to one of the scant few remaining hospitals when a prescription can just be written and we keep our fingers crossed that the family members can deal with these mentally ill people, convince them to stay on their drugs, and hope that the drugs will be enough and won't cause strange side effects?

It really is a sad, sad situation.

[kedawa]

A guy I used to be friends with slowly went crazy, having paranoid delusions about space lizards and people conspiring against him. He couldn't be reasoned with, he wouldn't see a psychiatrist, and he just became an intolerable basket case and scared off everyone in his life. His family and some of his closer friends tried to get help for him because there was a very real possibility that he could harm someone, including himself.
The most they could do was get someone to make a record of their concerns.
This fall, he went out west and jumped in front of a train.
The mental health resources were all there, but it ultimately makes no difference.

Having to deal with people doing crazy shit sometimes is the price we pay for having the freedom to live our own private lives, and I can live with that. More kids drown in swimming pools than get shot dead my maniacs, after all, and and nobody seems to feel that it's too high a price to pay for the luxury of having a pool.

[Greg2600]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/18/fear-being-committed-may-have-caused-connecticut-madman-to-snap/#ixzz2FROKtAFe

If this is true, kind of hard to blame video games. At least I think.

[Emperor Megas]

More kids drown in swimming pools than get shot dead my maniacs, after all, and and nobody seems to feel that it's too high a price to pay for the luxury of having a pool.You must never watch HGTV. NO ONE wants a fucking pool. It's the number one deal breaker for house hunters with children.

[kedawa]

In that case, if I ever win the lottery, I'm buying everyone in my neighbourhood a pool.

[Rob2600]

More kids drown in swimming pools than get shot dead my maniacs, after all

Interesting. Can you provide a source to back that up?

[kedawa]

Just google the stats. Hundreds of kids drown in swimming pools every year in the U.S.

[skaar]

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Hawksmoor is making sense to me.

[Rob2600]

Just google the stats. Hundreds of kids drown in swimming pools every year in the U.S.

Telling someone to Google something doesn't qualify as proof.

[kedawa]

Telling someone to Google something doesn't qualify as proof.

Am I supposed to care?
Remain lazy and ignorant if you want to.

[Rob2600]

Am I supposed to care?
Remain lazy and ignorant if you want to.

You're the one who posted a statistic without citing a source or providing any proof, yet I'm the lazy and ignorant one? ROFL I pity you.

[Hep038]

You're the one who posted a statistic without citing a source or providing any proof, yet I'm the lazy and ignorant one? ROFL I pity you.

Here you go jackhole:



"In 2004, of all children 1-4 years old who died, 26% died from drowning (CDC 2006). Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years (CDC 2005)

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"

"In 2005, 63 preschoolers were killed by firearms
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"

[Gameguy]

http://i45.tinypic.com/2i6nz91.jpg

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12186.html


http://i46.tinypic.com/2ah6vyg.png

http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html


Honestly it's pretty close to tied just going by the same age range. The exact amount changes every year anyway.

[kedawa]

Well there ya go.

[JSoup]

You're the one who posted a statistic without citing a source or providing any proof, yet I'm the lazy and ignorant one?

You catch on quick.

[Greg2600]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime/index.html

True stat is violent crime has come down across America for 5 straight years now. So again, violent entertainment causing violence? I think not.

[kedawa]

The evidence continues to pile up against the idea that games contribute to violent behaviour, but the fools just won't let it go.

[Zthun]

The evidence continues to pile up against the idea that games contribute to violent behaviour, but the fools just won't let it go.

Because people want a scapegoat. They want some form of closure, regardless of how irrational it is.

[JSoup]

So, on shoots and blaming video games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwAo8lcAC4

[Guyra]

Thanks for the video link, well worth the watch!

[Rob2600]

Honestly it's pretty close to tied just going by the same age range.

Thank you, your post was actually useful. Much appreciated.

[kedawa]

Now take those numbers, and make an educated guess about what proportion of drownings took place in pools(most of them), and what proportion of shootings were intentional shootings(very few of them), and you see where I was going with that whole tangent.
It's pointless to start crying "never again!" for these incidents and abridging everyone's freedom, because they're just so exceedingly rare compared to other preventable causes of premature death, and the proposed remedies are a crap shoot at best.
The weak link in this particular case was the mother's poor judgment. She was so concerned about her son's mental state that she was trying to have him committed, and yet she still kept an arsenal of weapons in their home, when even a single handgun would have been enough for him to do what he did.

[Embalming Your Nipples]

Well, you folks DO realize, that your outrage over being able to play video games that your want is matched 500% by the folks who would like to continue to bear arms correct? I mean, fuck how many drunk driving fatalities have there been in the last 50 years? Should we ban cars? What about fertilizer? I see that isn't banned yet. Do you realize what out government is doing to it's people? All I see on yahoo is what the president is going to being doing about gun controll. Why is that being force fed to us and not anything else on the opposite side of the constitution? You know, the part where it say's " we are allowed to bear arms"

Maybe if that teacher who threw herself at the assailant (and died) had a Glock in her blouse this wouldn't have happened.

Grow to fuck up America. See your rights and responsibilities being slowly stripped from you and when the government play's it's cards it's all about what more freedoms should be taken away "so this doesn't happen again" Seriously? It always happens again for fuck sakes, doesn't matter wheather guns or video games are actually the cause. then it will be "Well he wasn'y nurtured as a child" Or he was "depressed" so let's concentrate on what was used to kill his victims and what he watched and played on tv.

[JSoup]

Well, you folks DO realize, that your outrage over being able to play video games that your want is matched 500% by the folks who would like to continue to bear arms correct? I mean, fuck how many drunk driving fatalities have there been in the last 50 years? Should we ban cars? What about fertilizer? I see that isn't banned yet. Do you realize what out government is doing to it's people? All I see on yahoo is what the president is going to being doing about gun controll. Why is that being force fed to us and not anything else on the opposite side of the constitution? You know, the part where it say's " we are allowed to bear arms"

Maybe if that teacher who threw herself at the assailant (and died) had a Glock in her blouse this wouldn't have happened.

Grow to fuck up America. See your rights and responsibilities being slowly stripped from you and when the government play's it's cards it's all about what more freedoms should be taken away "so this doesn't happen again" Seriously? It always happens again for fuck sakes, doesn't matter wheather guns or video games are actually the cause. then it will be "Well he wasn'y nurtured as a child" Or he was "depressed" so let's concentrate on what was used to kill his victims and what he watched and played on tv.

I fucking hate liberals.

Fertilizer?

[Embalming Your Nipples]

Fertilizer?

Look up Timothy Mcveigh