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 living the dream since March 16, 2006
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Please donate games ya'll. I have a buddy in Iraq right now, and he's turned back to WoW. Poor guy.
Too bad we can't donate to bring them back. i'd do that in a heartbeat.
The new BBCode only works for us pacifists.:P
What would be neato, is if our troops were friends with their foes on XBL or on WoW. Osama's actually a night elf rogue on dandy fop server. I'll check my collection for anything collecting dust and let my friends know about it. One served in Iraq for a year in 2003, and yeah, he really could have used a distraction when he wasn't on duty.
Totally awesome! Hugs for Cheapy!
that is frickin sweet, I'll send them over my extra copy of beyond good and evil.
I wish people would give me games for doing my job.
No shit.
Jim, you don't give freedom to the freedomless. COD4 just doesn't count, no matter how much freedom you dish out.
@Jim
I'm surprised you haven't gotten games for doing your job--you're certainly in the right business for it.
@h3lios
I'm inclined to agree with you.
Freedom isn't free
It costs folks like you and me
And if we don't all chip in
We'll never pay that bill
Freedom isn't free
Now there's a have to hook'in fee
And if you don't throw in your buck 'o five
Who will?
How are we helping the troops by giving them our games? Will they be using them as armor?
I don't know, GoldBond, why don't you email Shane Neuhaus and ask him? I'm sure he could give you a much better answer than I.
Shane's post didn't say "Don't be a Dick! Help the troops in Iraq." So, again I ask, how are we helping the troops?
You're helping them by providing them with some sort of mental distraction and entertainment while they're not out working. As a gamer, I'm sure you've had a shitty day at work or school and wanted to go home and relax and play a game. Well, plenty of troops are gamers too, but their day was likely much worse and they have no real way to get games. Best case scenario you're helping them mentally by providing a release and distraction; worse case scenario you're helping them acquire goods that would otherwise be very difficult.
There are more kinds of help than body armor.
Well, I get free games to DO my job. Sometimes.
I dunno, it's not like I don't recognize it's a tough job, but it's a JOB -- one they chose. They are there because that's what they signed up for. I think it's cool you wanna give them something, but I don't think it's dickish not to, and I think there's a lot of undue worship that gets given to the military.
That's kind of what I was getting at. I don't really feel bad for troops because they can't play Bioshock or Halo 3. They signed up for it, and me not giving up unwanted games (which all went towards Rock Band anyway) doesn't make me a dick.
Can't wait till I have kids and I don't have the money or the time to play games. I expect all of you to send me the latest XBox 720 games.
First of all, I don't think anyone who doesn't donate is a dick. It was early, I was sitting in a boring secured transactions class, and I whipped up a post. I believe that a lot more thought is going into analyzing my post title than went into creating it.
My intent was simply to grab some attention and point out a decent cause. If, for whatever reason, people don't support the cause, don't help. I, personally, have no connection to the military and I think war is typically the result of a failure in negotiation and the political process. That said, I do think troops oversea are doing a particularly difficult job in a conflict that many Americans don't believe in--have we learned nothing from First Blood?
I don't think that giving away games to troops is any different from donating things to teachers or any other overworked and underpaid profession. Yes, it is a job, but it's an immensely difficult job that has universal social value--what's the harm in helping or even pointing out a cause?
Sending games to troops doesn't mean you support the war or a you're a warmonger or you hate the world--it means you're willing to help those that may need it. People join the military for a variety reasons and I'm sure that many troops don't want to be in Iraq just as much as we want them to come home. If there was a videogame-related charity for teachers or garbage men or any other group, I'd be more than happy to contribute. I just don't believe this one is less worthy than others because you don't like war.
I forgot that Jim is British and he hates Americans. Most people in the army get about $800 a month for their job.
Oh wait, were you kidding, Jim? I thought you get free games for working at Destructoid.
It's not that I "don't like war." It's not a pacifism thing, it's an accountability thing. If you sign up for a job that has a possibility of seeing you sent to a foreign country to do unpleasant things, I don't think you deserve sympathy for -- wow -- being sent to a foreign country to do unpleasant things.
I just see a lot of people moaning about the "plight" of "the troops" and it makes me sick. If this was the age of conscription, they'd have a point, but this isn't the age of conscription. They made the decision, they knew the risks. While I don't revel in what they have to do, I certainly do not see it as a "plight." That's just bleeding-heart bullshit.
If a lion tamer gets savaged by a lion, it was his decision to walk into a cage with a gigantic killer cat. Same logic applies.
Oh, and garbage men are way overpaid. The only thing I'm giving to them is what I toss in the dumpster. They smell bad. Boo hoo.
@ Sterling:
Totally agree with the logic bit but here's stuff from another perspective...
Sometimes people don't have a choice but to sign up. The reasons are endless. Not everyone can say no and not everyone can resist pressure. Guess that's what seperates a games blogger and a soldier.
The reason why "plight" applies is perhaps if you ever thought about it, someone decides to forsake a civilian life to go out and (apparently) protect the "liberty" and "freedom" we all (apparently) have.
The pressure of what? The Go Army ads? Playing America's Army? Walking past the military kiosk in the mall and the guy inside won't leave you the fuck alone?
And please, enough of this freedom crap. Anyone that thinks this war is about giving freedom to the freedomless needs to do some reading, or they just believe killing a "freedomless" civilian is giving them freedom.
@GoldBond:
Agree with you totally. But that's how a few idiots i know see it. The brainwashing is pathetic.
The difference here is that a lion tamer doesn't perform a social service. While a lion tamer may entertain a few thousand people a weekend at a fair, the societal impact of military service, in the aggregate, is far more significant.
I completely understand your logic, but I think this is a significantly different scenario. While a lion tamer assumes a risk in his career, he does it for his own personal gain and whatever harm befalls him is his own plight. Military men and women also assume a risk when they enlist, but, for many, the decision to enlist is not a decision made for personal gain or "thrills." Instead, the choice to enlist often times comes from an inner sense of "duty," whether you agree with that mindset or not is irrelevant, to serve their country. Because military men and women assume this risk for a societal benefit (rather than personal gain or thrill seeking), I don't think it's unreasonable to have a desire to help.
I, again, return to the "teachers" example because they are another group that is poorly reimbursed for performing a job that is an essential public service. Yes, teachers know that they are entering a field that does not pay particularly well, but many of them do it because it's societal necessity and they feel a sense of "duty" to community. It's this same social benefit that rallies individuals to donate millions each year to primary school teachers in the United States.
Again, I don't think you or anyone else is a dick for not donating. I chose my words poorly, but helping those in need is nearly always a noble cause--whether it be their "fault" or not--particularly when the assistance is something as insignificant as donating a few old games. All things aside: Jim, you're still one of my favorites.
@ GoldBond
Have you heard of the US Stop-Loss policy? Many troops who enlisted and don't support this war effort or desire to stay in service have had their enlistment contracts involuntarily extended through stop-loss. These people aren't brainwashed and aren't in a war they want to be a part of.
Furthermore, please don't make this a discussion about "freedom" and whether or not the war and occupation are justified. That's not at the core, or even the periphery, of what we are actually discussing here.
H3lios: You talk as if they've been conscripted. They haven't. I'll feel sorry for any soldier who didn't want to be in the army can give me some miraculous reason why they didn't. I don't think "Daddy told me to do it," is a good enough excuse, though.
HarrassmentPanda: Whether or not it's a service is irrelevant. Joining the army might be a more "noble" pursuit than lion taming, but the logic remains the same -- you know the risks when you make the decision, and if you don't then you're stupid. Just because one career may be more "worthy" than the other, that doesn't mean you're naive if you think you won't run the risk of getting into trouble.
It's not a plight. It's really not that I don't appreciate their sense of duty (I don't understand it, but I appreciate it), but I don't feel sorry for them doing the job they agreed to do.
@Jim
I think it's fair to give more honor to military personnel. I mean, I could never do it, put my life on the line, all that stuff. The fact that someone can actually willingly choose to do something that will very likely end with him either getting painfully wounded or killed, well, I have to respect that. As either a coward or a pacifist (I haven't decided yet), I'm not currently capable of making that choice.
That said, I understand your point.