Advice in the midst of the ever increasingly anti-gaming community continued from Quisling

To those that I love yet do not know irl necessarily, I give you this Cblog from the heart.

So this morning in class surrounded by my fellow avid conservative liberal arts students willing and ready to learn, we were discussing the act of violence within our community and the global lack of justice that seems to occur (welcome to the world). I found myself worried that all may be lost after a tragic statement was made. A well-respected and intelligent professor of mine had the nerve to make the statement, "That's why I believe that video games create violence" in response to a previously made statement about mental disorders and desensitization. This came, as I said, from a well-respected man...but who lacks a TV in his house let alone a console or even the experience of the sociology of gaming. This is what happens when you gain your opinion from the media and never read Destructoid. *bow/sigh* Granted, video games are often violent in nature, sometimes have sexual content, do offer paraphernalia (e.g. drugs) to player characters, but really...must all of us with common sense suffer? Has this same issue not been debated amongst us enough over and over again? I'm sick and tired of hearing people use video games as a scapegoat to put the blame on more prevalent problems. They see the symptoms of escapism and acts of violence at universities across America, then blame the video game industry for all of the world's problems. Once again, I remind you of Foxtoid, books that 'cause violence to your mind, and angry reviews at Amazon.com due to a terrible televised review of Mass Effect simulating a "sex scene" that no doubt was less graphic than network television. :-)

I found this quote from a CNet Article "The video game industry goes political (and it's about time)" from January this year.

"First, these clowns claim that video games promote violence. Wrong. No study has ever corroborated that claim. Next, the idiots say that video games are stunting the growth of our children. Have they ever played Brain Age? Finally, the fools tell us that obesity can be directly traced to video game playing, and parents have used them as a crutch to get away from little Johnny every now and then. First off, if you want to blame anything for obesity, call up fast food restaurants. Secondly, if parents want to use video games as a crutch, why should all video game players suffer? Hell, my parents tied a bone around my throat and told me to play with the dog. Was that a better crutch?"

Furthermore, after getting advice from a married student on campus with experience as a parent and even a youth minister, my anger subsided. With my wrath fading, I am willing to forgive claims that video games cause violence; because I know that some people have difficulty with angrer which create violent tendencies in their lives. I know these are often just symptoms of deeper problems though. We all have our weaknesses. Also, I believe for myself that not neglecting time with people I care about, watching my overall health, and spending some time out in the sun once in awhile are necessities for me. In essence, I would rather those that find fault in the gaming community and industry choose to sit down at a console and play for an hour than make blanket statements in which all of us, millions of gamers, are all spawns of Satan himself out to bomb the next embassy or historical site in America. If you are the government and reading this, excuse me...but you're being ridiculous. If you are FoxNews and reading this, get some more material to cover instead of planning 30 minutes before your broadcast that you will do a segment on how gaming breeds the youth for Osama Bin Laden.

For the gamers, keep on keepin' on and have fun gaming!

--Trip

Intro Thread
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13506_1-9851663-17.html?tag=head