Next-Gen is reporting that Dr. Phil is blaming violent games for Virginia Tech, just like our good pal BatJack Thompson.
The problem? As a deluge of information about Cho Seung-Hui emerges - nothing seems to indicate that he was a gamer, played video games or even owned as much as a GameBoy. Course, it's entirely possible that information hasn't been released simply because real professionals like the FBI don't consider it to be relevant ... unlike media whores like Phil and Thompson.
Instead, we see the trend most rational people would expect - Seung-Hui was a loner and felt estranged from society. He wrote angrily about the "rich kids" and "debauchery". His stories were so violent that his teacher reported him to nearly agency she could call.
No, the real debates here seem to be about campus security and gun control. Cho used two handguns, both obtained legally [Reuters]. If the facts come out that the only similarity between him and events like Columbine and Red Lake are a violent disposition and social disconnection - what does that say about these theories that games "brainwash" kids and "train" them to be killers?
It says that the theories have no real backbone - no real predictive factor or ... as many juries have decided ... no real evidence to support their claims. So for a change, maybe not fearmongering at a time like this would be the sensible thing for guys like Phil and Thompson.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Dr. Phil Joins BatJack In CrazyVille
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2 comments:
Easy availability of guns + mentally and emotionally disturbed individual = problems.
Until America wakes up and realises that clinging to their "right" to bear arms (which were created for the purpose of killing people, let's not kid ourselves), is outdated and dangerous, these shootings will only continue. If you limit access to guns, it will be harder for mentally disturbed people to get to them.
I thought it interesting that Limbaugh tried to tie a defense for video game to a defense for guns. I think gun control is going to come under fire here, not games, even though some of the fearmongers will try to press their case regardless.
I certainly don't expect Batjack to accept reality here.
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