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Noel Gallagher blames violent games for UK knife crime

6:24 AM on 07.05.2008, Jim Sterling 75 comments

Noel Gallagher blames violent games for UK knife crime photo
     United Kingdom

As the United Kingdom becomes more of a cesspool, Oasis' Noel Gallagher has rolled up his sleeves and done his bit to help, by blaming violent videogames. His comments come after lamenting that "scumbags are taking over our streets."

"People say it's through violent video games and I guess that's got something to do with it.

If kids are sitting up all night smoking super skunk [cannabis] and they come so desensitised to crime because they're playing these video games, it's really, really scary."

A creator of good music Noel might be, but a social commentator he is not. As usual, for all this talk of videogames and that oh-so useful buzz term "desensitize," not once does someone talk about the parents. Nobody ever dares talk about the precious, untouchable parents. In Britain, the parents of a group of boys who attacked a goth couple by stamping on their heads allegedly smirked in the dock, finding it amusing as their own children were found guilty of murder. Parents refuse to accept responsibility for unruly kids, and nobody seems to dare hold them accountable for the actions of their loathsome spawn. 

As an even better musician, Jarvis Cocker, once sung; "the parents are the problem, giving birth to maggots without the sense to become flies." The problem that we now face in the UK is a mass of uneducated scum opening their legs and squirting out more uneducated scum. As chavs and pikies get old enough to grow their own disgusting miniature versions of themselves, they spread like a disease. The new parents of this country are retarded, worthless, thoroughly unaccountable sacks of sh*t wrapped in human skin who should be sterilized. That's the problem. Not videogames. 

[Thanks, Rorschach!]


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exodus1925's Avatar
exodus1925 at 07/05/2008 06:47
Yeah, because council estate kids can afford computer games to become 'desensitised' to violence... what a tit.
GeneralWong's Avatar
GeneralWong at 07/05/2008 06:53
Mass Genocide? Id be more then happy to take to arms and do some Ethnic cleansing. Me and my mate were saying that its only going to get worse in England until someone decides to step up and makes some revolutionary plans on how to stop cretins giving birth to sacks of shit.

My plan would be to insert a bear trap inside the vagina of any scum bag slag born which would surely deter anyone going anywhere near her privates. If she doesn't like it then stick a grenade in her and sow the bitch up.
Fanatism's Avatar
Fanatism at 07/05/2008 07:01
From own experience, it's not like EVERYONE of them is stupid cunts, several is really intelligent in their own way. It's mostly that their family situation and such has ruined their trust for society.

Doesn't make them much less fuckheads though. Most of them.
Rifter01's Avatar
Rifter01 at 07/05/2008 07:02
Yea, like oasis music doesn't influence cannabis smoking..

"Where were you while we were getting highhhhh.." [Champange Supernova]
garrfunkel's Avatar
garrfunkel at 07/05/2008 07:08
For some reason I expected more from Noel. In hindsight I dont really know why.
Lime's Avatar
Lime at 07/05/2008 07:18
It's a sad state of affairs for society, huh?
Tamz's Avatar
Tamz at 07/05/2008 07:35
Jim, you hit the nail on the head.
SnakeDude4Life's Avatar
SnakeDude4Life at 07/05/2008 07:39
I blame all that rock and roll music for Noel Gallagher's ignorance and egotism.

Also, cocks.
CALkulon's Avatar
CALkulon at 07/05/2008 07:43
I hated Oasis before, now the rage has hit a new level I didn't even realise existed.

Go fuck yourself Noel.
munkimatt's Avatar
munkimatt at 07/05/2008 07:46
I'm surprised that anyone listens to word that comes out of this mans mouth, especially after a comment he came out with a few years back in which he stated that he wished two members of a rival band died of AIDS.
Detry's Avatar
Detry at 07/05/2008 07:50
Dude, Jim.

Stop holding back.

Tell us how you really feel.
Timmeh's Avatar
Timmeh at 07/05/2008 07:57
Hehe, I quite regularly tell my friends that the people who live on the estates surrounding me should be chemically neutered. Mandatory sterilisation is about the only thing that you can do with these degenerates, you can't educate them.

Glad to see someone shares my opinion :P
Brandon Undead's Avatar
Brandon Undead at 07/05/2008 08:01
Noel has proven time and time again that he is an ignorant tit.
SnakeDude4Life's Avatar
SnakeDude4Life at 07/05/2008 08:29
Noel Gallagher Doesn't Care About Gamers.
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 07/05/2008 08:31
People still listen to Oasis, let alone care what their lead singer thinks? Hmm. You learn something new every day.
Nogarda's Avatar
Nogarda at 07/05/2008 08:53
Well least we know his opinion of his brother Liam now XD. I think hes just bitter cause he always gets player 2 XD.
RJG's Avatar
RJG at 07/05/2008 09:00
How Noel, remember when your own musical genre was blamed for all you problems of the day?

All those kids listening to those fast beats with their bodies twisting and cavorting and TOUCHING while they danced? Disgraceful!

Go back to pretending you're a Beatle, mate.
Gameboi's Avatar
Gameboi at 07/05/2008 09:01
If memory serves me correctly, Noel wasn't exactly a nice guy back in the 90s. Didn't he have a temper problem that made the papers more than once?
nicolastheadept's Avatar
nicolastheadept at 07/05/2008 09:31
Wonderwall inspired me to murder an old woman
catsithx's Avatar
catsithx at 07/05/2008 09:40
Yeah yeah he's looking for his 5 more mintues of fame that he despertly wants.
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 07/05/2008 09:51
Nobody ever blames the parents. Ever. If someone were to write a book chastising the parents of the world for the apparently crappy job most of them have been doing, I would purchase 12 copies and eat five of them.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 09:55
It seems like Jim has some serious issues. That's some extreme hatred for the less fortunate members of our society. If he feels equipped to talk about the social impact of video gaming, perhaps he could also take some time to understand what society is and how it works. It might help shape his frankly disgusting attitude if he was able to understand how it is that people end up in poverty, living in areas abandoned by the government, with no chance for education, employment, or a chance to pull themselves up. A good place to start might be Googling the word 'socioeconomics'.

Jim sounds like nothing short of a Nazi. I've been reading videogame journalism for twenty years, and I'm disturbed and saddened to see this ignorant sub-tabloid horsesh*t being peddled in the name of playing video games.
peeetah's Avatar
peeetah at 07/05/2008 10:00
Dick.
twesterm's Avatar
twesterm at 07/05/2008 10:03
Noel Gallagher who?
F Whipple's Avatar
F Whipple at 07/05/2008 10:03
I think he might have a point. I've been known to smoke super skunk, play violent video games, and go on killing sprees and have baby punching parties.
Druid 01's Avatar
Druid 01 at 07/05/2008 10:15
good thing oasis sucks anyway. now to find me some super skunk
Projectexodus's Avatar
Projectexodus at 07/05/2008 10:16
@Finsbury

Your argument would have substance in it if the crime in question was motivated by money. But when the crime is plain and simply motivated by causing suffering to other human beings, then I can agree with Jim's "Nazi attitude".

Just now I read about a murder case in the UK where a 17 year old boy was tied to a tree, then forced to drink fluid before they set him in flames. Try to defend that one, will you?
Alexradl's Avatar
Alexradl at 07/05/2008 10:20
Oh Noel, you silly silly man.
Some Jerk's Avatar
Some Jerk at 07/05/2008 10:33
Oasis sucks. Noel is just mad that he's seeing his popularity fade away into nothingness as a hack who's contribution to society is a bunch of albums where he and his brother play-pretend The Beatles, only if the Beatles were deaf kids stuffed in a sack and beaten with bricks before recording. He's jealous that videogames are still relevant and that he's not, end of story.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 10:34
@Projectexodus

I'm not defending the behaviour of individuals, rather criticising Jims use of de-humanising language:

"a mass of uneducated scum opening their legs and squirting out more uneducated scum. As chavs and pikies get old enough to grow their own disgusting miniature versions of themselves, they spread like a disease. The new parents of this country are retarded, worthless, thoroughly unaccountable sacks of sh*t wrapped in human skin who should be sterilized."

That's not funny or useful. It's deranged. And anybody with any sense of history can see the Nazi language being used. Jim appears to foster a contempt that has long since left any logic or reason behind, and ploughed headlong into paranoid fear. Just saying. If you're that messed up when it comes to hating on people who live in impoverished urban areas, perhaps it's best to keep your bizarre ideas under wraps.

Dudes getting killed is terrible, obviously, but criticising Noel's lack of understanding on videogames and then drawing wide parallels with sensationalist news stories to fit a personal agenda that has even less to do with videogames than Noel's original comments just makes him seem a bit screwy. Certainly wouldn't call it 'reporting'. I guess this is what happens when you blog though.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 10:38
anyway. I'm totally obsessed with seeking out irresponsible social commentary. I do play videogames as well.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 10:39
hang on, that should be NOT totally obsessed. Oh dear. Freudian slip?
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 07/05/2008 10:54
"It seems like Jim has some serious issues. That's some extreme hatred for the less fortunate members of our society."

That's a typically out-of-touch assessment of some of society's scumbags. Although a lot of chavs and the like have poor backgrounds, not all of them do. Citing "bad luck" as a reason for the types of horrific crime that happens in London is a cop-out, and goes even further to take accountability away from criminals. It's that kind of attitude that has seen political correctness give criminals a ridiculous amount of "human" rights.

"If he feels equipped to talk about the social impact of video gaming, perhaps he could also take some time to understand what society is and how it works."

I feel more than adequately equipped to discuss my country's society, thank you very much. I'll tell you a little about my background in a moment.

"It might help shape his frankly disgusting attitude if he was able to understand how it is that people end up in poverty, living in areas abandoned by the government, with no chance for education, employment, or a chance to pull themselves up. A good place to start might be Googling the word 'socioeconomics'."

Don't need to -- I've lived it. Your points would hold water if I was the privileged and rich middle classer that you seem to think I am, but sadly I'm not. I live in South East London and work as a cab firm operator, I grew up in a single-parent family in some of the poorest areas of the nation, including various places in London and the Midlands. I've been homeless, and spent a lot of my childhood so poor I couldn't eat.

I didn't want to be like the filth that grew up around me though. I taught myself how to be a civilized and productive. I worked hard to the point where I now have two jobs and do what I can to provide for my family. And all around me I see people who refuse to do it. It disgusts me, and I'm sorry if you think I should be more sympathetic to people who had as many disadvantages as I had.

"Jim sounds like nothing short of a Nazi."

Achtung, baby!

"I've been reading videogame journalism for twenty years, and I'm disturbed and saddened to see this ignorant sub-tabloid horsesh*t being peddled in the name of playing video games."

I am not ignorant, sir. I live on a street where a 15 year old girl had her face burnt off by a 19 yr old girl who thought her boyfriend had been kissed. That's not "sensationalism," that is what happened on my doorstep. Further down the road someone was recently stabbed, and just across town a kid had his throat slit. Before the pub across from where I work was closed, we used to sit and watch vicious head-stamping fights go on every week.

Don't assume that I'm some ignorant writer in an ivory tower who doesn't understand reality. I've seen it with my own two eyes. You can say what you like, I'm not about to have my own life experiences challenged by some guy.
njsykora's Avatar
njsykora at 07/05/2008 10:56
If I may finish off that song lyric you quoted Jim.

'So pamper to your pampered little princess, of such enormous size.'

No reason, I just wanted to say I know the song.
Cowboy TTop's Avatar
Cowboy TTop at 07/05/2008 10:56
Not point it bothering with the opinion of this chap, who also shamelessly uses drinks, while selling loads of music.

This will be his view til he gets his Rock Band/Guitar Hero royalties, or gets more music into those games. An irony indeed.
dr3nd4r's Avatar
dr3nd4r at 07/05/2008 10:57
I blame Noel Gallacher for make shitty useless music and disrespect de very soul of rock music

also cocks

also Oasis is a gay band
grrza's Avatar
grrza at 07/05/2008 10:57
That caption is wrong because do not, in fact, rock at all.
ohhai's Avatar
ohhai at 07/05/2008 10:58
Absolutely spot on Jim, I couldnt agree more.
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 07/05/2008 11:00
Yep, I grew up relatively poor myself until my mother remarried. We were on WIC/food stamps for awhile. Lived in some not-so-great areas of town. I also have a few friends who went to less-than-great schools. They're also some of the most intelligent people I know.

That's because they actually picked up books of their own accord, because they wanted to learn, because they desired to have better but knew they couldn't wait for it to just be handed to them. If ALL poor people ended up completely destitute their whole lives, comprised ALL of the criminal element, one might have an argument.

But the truth is, if you WANT to do better, have better, and be better, you can. There ARE the opportunities. You simply have to want to work for them, and have a desire to be a decent person. Fewer and fewer do.

And that's not even taking into account the amount of absolutely hooligans who come from very privileged backgrounds. So less whining about "socioeconomics", plz.
Lord_Palmerston's Avatar
Lord_Palmerston at 07/05/2008 11:01
Who's this Noel asshole?
The this Sterling fellow's jib? I like the cut of it.
I can understand some outrage at the dehumanizing language used, but being impoverished and having social ills as a part of your life is no reason for rampant irresponsibility and ignorance. I'm a hell of a nice guy and think socioeconomics doesn't change the fact that some people should be sterilized.
Anus Mcphanus's Avatar
Anus Mcphanus at 07/05/2008 11:23
I'm not so sure that Noel truly believes what he's saying. To me it sounds like Noel was asked whether he thought violent video games and drugs had something to do with the rise in knife crime and he simply shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah I guess so."

That being said it isn't exactly uncommon for one of the Gallagher brothers to make a short sighted comment only to retract it later when he starts to look like a prick. You only have to see his comments about Jay-Z at Glastonbury as proof.
munkimatt's Avatar
munkimatt at 07/05/2008 11:26
Jim, your area sounds lovely! Makes my hometown seems rather pleasant. Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Once described as the arsehole of the universe by a national newspaper. Cheers guys.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 11:27
@Jim Sterling

Hello Jim. I wasn't questioning how tough you've had it, and certainly don't want to enter into a pissing contest about who lives in the roughest area. I'm sorry you had it so hard, but that's a huge amount of anger and hatred you've got, and you're tarring a fairly broad area of society with your rage.

Your ignorance is only that you seem unaware that the language you are using is targeting a specific demographic and de-humanizing / reviling its members using incredibly violent language, simply because of their social status ( ie "uneducated scum"). I find it hard to believe that you aren't aware what the words 'chav' and 'pikie' mean within the media, yet you're trying to now say that you're only hating on murderers. And their parents (and their parents? Where does the chain begin?). How is "The problem that we now face in the UK is a mass of uneducated scum opening their legs and squirting out more uneducated scum" anything but a twisted personal agenda? You can't seriously be saying that you have a 'right' to spout this kind of hatred on a video games website because you had it rough as a kid?

And, I'd like to point out to our American cousins that the UK and London are not actually bursting with monstrous sub-human savages. Just like everywhere else in the world, it's just people, not matter how fucked up they may get. Hopefully, through a careful plan of media demonization, daytime TV humiliation, and vigilante justice, we can somehow make everything okay again.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 11:35
I mean, I guess you do totally have a 'right' to do so, but, come on Jim. You totally went over the line there.
finsbury's Avatar
finsbury at 07/05/2008 11:37
I'll stop saying totally. And go. Try and keep it together, Jim.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 07/05/2008 11:40
Finsbury: I'm not about to debate whether or not I am an angry, hateful misanthrope. I am those things and I fully admit it. However, I only speak ill of what I see and experience, and what I have seen and experienced is some of the ugliest stuff that British society has to offer.

The fact of the matter is, there ARE a lot of "uneducated scumbags" out there, and I am not about to feel sorry for them as if they are victims. They are not. They are people who could all better themselves and refuse to, actively wallowing in their own stupidity, destroying things because they can't create.

And I never said I am only hating on murderers. I am hating on kids who slash tires for no reason, who burn down people's property and who no longer settle for a simple kicking nowadays, but stamp on people's heads. Again, this is not based on stuff I've seen on the news, this is based on stuff I have seen with my own eyes.

Am I wrong for not viewing them as people? In my opinion, to be human is to strive above the animal, but I have seen these people out on the street and they're just ... feral. They're worse than animals. Their violence is born out of pure sadism and senselessness. These aren't just naughty scamps who have gotten into some scrapes. These are psychopathic sadists who take pleasure in causing pain and suffering.

I have no intention of trying to "understand" those so-called people. I don't have any respect or sympathy for sadists and social cancers who contribute nothing and destroy everything they touch. Sorry if that makes me a "Nazi," but I'm never going to feel I owe the people who stomp on each other's heads any form of understanding.
Attro's Avatar
Attro at 07/05/2008 11:45
Everyone stopped giving a shit what anyone in Oasis thinks about 12 years ago. I'm pretty sure the only place to hear Oasis anymore is over the PA at the local supermarket. (I guess the BBC calls this the "Silver Clef music awards in London" which seems a little odd but they also call trucks 'lorries' so wtf do I know.) I must say though, it is nice to hear a little Wonderwall while I'm comparing prices on canned peaches.
Sam Spectre's Avatar
Sam Spectre at 07/05/2008 11:49
Ya I didn't read the comments but marijuana does NOT make you more violent, more like less violent. Noel obviously doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about and frankly, I don't know why we should even bother listening to him. He's in a shitty band and his opinion matters no more than anyone else in the UK.

So really, STFU Noel Gallagher.
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