Big shock -- Bully: Scholarship Edition is released today for the Wii and Xbox 360 and right on cue, here come the parade of prehistoric scaremongers who want to see it banned under that age-old veil of protecting the children. Oh save the children, because it's not like they invented bullying in the first place!
Various groups representing a collective four million teachers worldwide have united to try and stop retailers selling Rockstar's controversial game in which schoolboy Jimmy Hopkins tackles bullies in a way that actually works, instead of telling ineffective teachers who have no power to stop kids being the nasty little shits they actually are.
Emily Noble, head of the Canadian Teacher's Federation, thinks that retailers should be responsible, because of how damaging to an otherwise peaceful schoolyard utopia games can be. "What it does is it encourages kids to target other kids, to be a bully with other kids," warbled Noble, who seems to believe that children are angels. "This doesn't help us as teachers in the work that we're doing at school. It also targets teachers at the school as well."
It amuses me that people who work with children the most seem to have it in their heads that kids are innocent little flowers until outside influences corrupt them. Having both a working memory and a young sister in school, I am more than aware of what cruel, spiteful, amoral little shits children can be. The idea that they need a game to encourage bullying, a practice as old as mankind itself, is not only wrong, but completely and utterly laughable.
At least Michael Hoechsmann, the professor who recently labeled violent games as "barbaric," has displayed a modicum of intelligence. "As tempting as it may seem, I'm not so certain that banning this will somehow result in a more peaceful and more loving school population," he added, and quite rightly too.
Children are evil. This game is influenced by kids, not the other way around. Get over it.
Contest:
11:48 AM on 03.04.2008
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Which entirely nulls the possibility of influence going around full-circle, right?
Besides the game is influenced by the school yard and bullying is already a reality...
Because kids need an influence to be fuckheads, right?
But really with a 15 rating theres bound to be a good amount off copy cat injuries inspired by this games content but what action game can't you say that about these days.
Anyway my point being this complaint is along way off the needless witchhunt thats been following the gaming industry round these days
From what I remember the game was about trying to stop bullying. Like having you ally with nerds and shit to stop bully's.
Whatever, it just looks like they are going to smear the game anyways and tell everyone not to buy it, which will probably have the opposite effect.
Seriously, this sounds like a same case with Mass Effect, only less side-action titties and more little shit kiddies.
Putting words in my mouth don't exactly help the situation, Jim.
Did I ever say there was a need? It's just astonishing how you can dismiss the entire possibility because one thing might affect another thing.
Wow guys, bitchfest isn't till next month. How about we agree to disagree? Kids are all hopped up on child-grade evilnergy.
Also Jake the Snake started going ape-shit after a few pops and some cookies. Can I blame sugar on being the root of all adolescent evil?
I do dismiss the possibility, because I don't believe any bully is going to get ideas from this videogame. Hell, from what I know, kids have evolved far beyond the stink bombs and marbles that are shown in Bully.
You only have to hear the reports of them kicking grown men to death simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time to know that Bully isn't going to make children more dangerous.
I don't believe that it's impossible (at least to the point where it makes kids more rowdy/give them ideas), but I believe it's pretty unlikely.
Just as a clarification, I was merely pointing out the logical flaw in your last statement. :)
As far as im concerned your not a real person until you hit puberty.
Well, the point I was trying to make was that people try and paint children as these wallflowers of innocence, like they'd never DREAM of hurting another child without an influence, when that's not true. Bully draws inspiration from something that was already there, it doesn't invent the problem, it mirrors it.
The idea that complaining to a teacher will do anything but make the teasing and bullying worse is ludicrous.
Video games are fun, but only if you worship Satan.
She was teaching before video games were measured in single bits, and the most worst you did was avoid the Noid, yet there were still little shits back then.
Before there was TV, there were little shits.
Go back much further, and that violence you see in the media was occurring every day all around children.
Blaming violence and mental changes on video games is just ignoring the real forces causing the real problems. Ignore that schools have no mental health support, cops and administrators brush warnings under the rug, administrators ignore the bullying, and then they blame video games when a kid shoots up a school.
Can this country get anymore fucked?
re...search? Isn't that where you make shit up as you go along? Wait no that's just what they did. Nevermind...
Your Canadian?! Teachers are not known to be cutting edge.
Parents need to put the Parent back in PARENTING. You know how you don't buy your kids cigarettes, porn and alcohol? Yeah put M rated games on your list.
Fact: Most Ontario Teacher's children are in private school.
Once again, the public fail to educate themselves and blindly give Rockstar the blame. If anything I applaud Rockstar for creating Bully, to highlight the issue of bullying in a positive fun light, which occurs not just in schools but in other walks of life too.
This feels like the dark ages, if you aren't sick from the plague you must be a witch and the root of evil.
I agree some parents (lots) blow chunks at being a parent.
When I was growing up my mom wouldn't let me play certain gory games or watch certain movies (with bewbs) and I turned out FUCKIN FINEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeAieieneojnekljbnkmbGNWEOIGHSEOYI GhgfhdjhLFMNASD :FUIO:SHDGO JKSDNGFLJKASDNf;sdgihasdf; gljshg a'sdhg
This is a re-make/re-release Why complain when the game has been out since before last Christmas?! and look how quickly all these people forgot about it....guess they were too busy watching Mass Effect porn
It just goes to show that people are indeed stupid.
They didn't have games to influence them, they where just like that, kids are horrible little shits and a game isn't gonna do anything, neither to influence them or get them to stop.
Bullies only understand one thing and that's the very thing they use, violence, as soon as I started hitting back they moved on.