Germany has been looking at ways to combat truancy in its schools, believing that skipping school can lead to crime. Officials have decided that one cause of truancy could be videogame demos, and following on from this train of logic, it is possible that retailers may be asked to switch off demos during school hours.
The newspaper Welt am Sonntag quoted Udo Nagel (left), state interior minister of Hamburg, as saying the idea was among 22 recommendations on fighting juvenile delinquency prepared ahead of a meeting of state interior ministers this week.
“Truancy can be the beginning of a criminal career and that’s why we have to intervene,” said Nagel. “Not every truant becomes criminal, but criminals skipped school at one time or another.”
I love the idea that because criminals have skipped school in the past, that truancy can now be cited as the beginning of a life of crime. That’s beautiful logic right there. Apparently stores are a popular hangout for German kids who can’t afford their own games like the parasites they are, but I don’t think turning the demos off will make them any less likely to skive off school — they’ll just find somewhere else to go.
I think, rather than banning demos during school hours, retailers should ban the dirty, dirty children. That way, we keep the kids miserable while not impacting the lives of people who work at night, or the terminally unemployable. All stores should refuse to serve children during school hours, and also be granted special rights to smack them.
I’m only half joking.
