Thailand is certainly doing a great job of emulating we in the West with its ridiculous hysteria over Grand Theft Auto IV and other violent videogames. Since the murder of a local cabbie which has been linked to Grand Theft Auto IV, however flimsily, Thai officials have banned the game and issued a warning over the ten most dangerous videogames of all time.
Jesada Chandraprasert, who writes at Technology Thailand for Cnet Asia, has poked fun at the ridiculous scaremongering currently going on over videogames in his country:
I know, you must be thinking “same poopoo, different country”. I couldn’t agree more! People tend to find different things to blame for things that go wrong in their lives. This country is no exception… anyone who walks past a newsstand can tell you what you see on the front page of the Thai Rath [daily newspaper] is much more graphical than the worst of these games and movies.
Since [the Thai Ministry of Health is] bothering to make a list [of games to avoid], don’t forget to include Temple Fair favorites like Whack a Mole that promotes animal cruelty, bumper cars for encouraging bad driving habits, shooting the water gun into the clown’s mouth which teaches you to use guns, and a plethora of other “violent” carnival games.
We feel you, matey. We really do. Ban this sick funfair filth!
