8yr old 'Grand Theft Auto IV' Player Shoots 90yr old Woman in the Head

Because you could post stories of that nature does not mean that they have not been immersed in a cultural poison which emulates - in some cases are mirrors of - that exact same circumstance. How, after all, could you possibly know simply because a reporter omits such information?

We're talking about an 8 year old here. What evidence of this do you have, other than your own wishful thinking in defense of a presupposition of yours?

Have you gone and asked a class of 8 year olds what would happen if someone was shot? Do you wish to defend the unbelievably stupid and obtuse position that these kids would - in unison - declare that they wouldn't think such an act would likely result in that person's death?

Really? Is that your position?

No, it is not the same. It is - and has been - the contention of Conservatives such as myself that traditional moral values can (and are, in our own children) be instilled in children of that age, so that they not only would NEVER pick up a gun and screw around with it EVEN IF THEY SOMEHOW GOT ACCESS TO ONE, and more importantly, would understand the implications of doing so.

Our evidence of this, as exemplified by statistics, is that THIS SH!T DOESN'T HAPPEN WITH ANY STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE in Conservative households!

But please! Show me the numbers that counter my claim. I'll wait as long as you need - even though I'll be waiting until enough time passes so that you feel like you can address me again without me remembering that you did not answer my challenge.

 

That's just it. You don't actually know anything else about this child's life other than he had a 90 year old babysitter, access to a gun, and was playing a violent video game prior to the shooting. You have a very incomplete picture, one that prevents you from making any kind of educated assessments at all, let alone that the video game is to blame.

My point wasn't that it should be tolerated, my point was that you can't even definitively show that the video games had anything more than a coincidental role in this.

It was an example of the same logic you used in your drunk driving analogy. If I misunderstood yours, than we are even, as you obviously misunderstood mine.

 

And what other factors could possibly add to - or, more importantly, make moot, those critical factors??

The #$)#*4 kid had both access to a gun AND was allowed to play a horribly violent video game! Just WTF else do you need in order to condemn both the circumstance AND acknowledge the harm that such an environment would wreak on a child that age???

I have no doubt at all that this inability to discern due to "incomplete pictures" is what makes liberals as stupid and unwise as they clearly are.

Why would I have to blame only one aspect of the true picture of blame here? More specifically, why it is a valid criticism to whine that because I've blamed the presence and availability of the video game, I must mean that there are no other variables?

And my point is that the presence of said video game, combined with the access to the gun and this child's access to play the game itself, is all a Conservative needs to drive the point home.

And all a liberal will ever have is the 'prove it' mentality while suffering with the same societal ills for which Conservatives have answers, and liberals do not.

Um...no, I understood yours just fine. If an 8 year old even reads Romeo and Juliet (which I would contend is BS from the start), your analogy to ban it because people wish to ban violent video games is stupid on its face.

 

So what is your suggestion? Ban violent video games?

 

The potential for that environment to be harmful based on the extremely limited knowledge you even have of the situation does not equal causation and you know it. What was his family life like? What was the neighborhood like? What kinds of people was this kid around during his daily life? Does he have any mental conditions?

To which the flipside is, what? The ability for righties to jump to whatever conclusion sounds good and matches their political bias is what makes them wise?

Yes, condemn the people who want to have more information. We all know information is the devil.

Because, first of all, you don't know of any other variables, and secondly, you didn't mention any.

Conservatives don't have answers, conservatives have fantastical "if only" situations.

I didn't say anything about the age of the person reading it. But, it's the same exact logic. Shakespearian stories contain adult themes of violence, murder, and suicide. How are those innocuous but a violent video game is the bane of society?

 

How about, instead of calling for banning video games, folks call for better parenting?

Hmmmm???????

How about that?

 

Are trying to state that this 8 year old had motive and intent to kill his grandmother? Had he got his hands on a knife he would have tried to stab her to death or a bat beat her to death (both are used in that game to kill people).

 

Video games are not inherently tools of violence any more than guns are...

 

Next you will want to ban heavy metal music because it makes people go crazy and kill others. You sound like my elderly grandma 30 years ago. Why not fault the parents for allowing their child to play a game rated mature. Personal responsibilities you know.

 

What do you suggest? There are already laws against children buying these kind of games. A child can NOT get access to such a game unless an adult provides that access.

You know , I love to shop at Best Buy and I long ago stopped being amazed at the parents who are in there buying their kids these type of games without even knowing what is in them, or what the ratings mean. Personally, I don't let my kids even see me playing these type games, hell I don't even shop for them when my kids are around, but we can't make that law, can we?

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Exactly, its like these people don't even understand that a child can NOT get their hands on this game, unless an adult LETS them.

When my sons were 16 I did allow them to play mature games, but I had to be there when they purchased them, until they turned 17.

 

And his lack of understanding of the concept of death and the seriousness of it places fault squarely on the shoulders of the parents, not video games...

 

Bingo, video games, movies, music, books, whatever. My 8 year old understand what death is, but she doesn't comprehend a difference between a real killing and what takes place in a movie or whatever. Heck , she loves horse movies, sometimes she watches one where the horse dies, and she cries because she doesn't understand that the horse didn't really die it's just a movie.

 

Exactly...

Kids don't really understand death...

Basically, something like this boils down to parenting, or lack thereof...

To try & blame it on video games is ridiculous...

 

Except for the fact that the large majority of children who play videogames never have any long, lasting effects on their psychological health after playing violent games at eight years old. When I was five, I was playing Grand Theft Auto and I was chainsawing hookers and driving a tank through the city blowing up anything that moves. Not once have I ever thought about grabbing my dad's gun and shooting ole' gran gran in the back of the head. Video Games have never been designed to change or warp people's mentality and morality, only meant to entertain. Again, no studies have shown that Video games have a outstanding affect on kids in major numbers.

Perhaps the real crime here is that the child was able to get to a loaded, and ready firearm? Why are the Conservatives not upset with the family that they did not teach their son or grandson in this case the dangers of a firearm? Video-games used correct are outlets to entertainment. Firearms when used correctly can kill people. Which just so happens, is what happened in this case.

Like guns? Not everyone is getting killed by their children or in movie theaters, or in shopping malls, or in schools.

Whatever happened to all this "personal responsibility the Right preaches to the left when it comes to manners like welfare, and social programs. Does that get thrown out the window when it comes to their favorite toys killing someone?

 

I agree and would add a complaint of failure to secure their firearm.

 

There is AMPLE evidence to suggest that these types of games and movies are not good for children who's brains are not fully developed. Any parent who lets their child play such games or watch such movies is a terrible and or lazy parent.

To compound that laziness by denying that these games have adverse effects on children is pathetic.

BAD PARENTING to let kids play these type games. plain and simple.

 

Granted neither of us were there and we are doing a lot of guessing, but I can't imagine a sitter seeing a kid playing with a real firearm and not stopping it from happening. I think likely it happened really quickly, or the sitter thought it was a toy gun. So in this one case I assume it was horrible parenting and that the parent deserves to be in prison and to lose custody permanently of the child. Overall though America seems to be becoming more and more violent; and perhaps it does have something to do with the games and television shows. Growing up in the 60's we played outside and none of us had a television set. We had one kid in our clique that had a TV and every now and then we saw something on it - usually on a Sunday we all gathered to see Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom followed by Disney. We played outside daily. TV shows now are about gansta culture, rape, murder, etc.

 

Do you really think that works? White America has been calling for better parenting within poor black communities and yet crime is as bad as ever, including black males committing 50% of the murders and 55% of the assaults in America. We call for blacks to stay married, but a married black woman with a child is as rare as a blue diamond. So "calling for better parenting" clearly falls on deaf ears 99% of the time. And while I am typically against bigger government and more intrusion in our lives; I think everyone in America must agree that violence (and in particular gun violence) is one of the top 3 issues threatening this great country.

 

Let's break this out into two things - this kid whacking granny was the fault of a very bad parent that feloniously left a loaded firearm for an 8 year old to play with. The bigger problem of gun violence in America *MAY* have something to do with the violence on TV and in the movies, and the violence in video games; which overall may be desensitizing people to the value of human life. Those 3 blacks that whacked the young white Aussie is a perfect example of a group of bad thug children that consider killing to be something you do for fun (versus going to the park to play street hockey or stickball).

 

Of course violence is an issue...

But censoring video games, or movies, or whatever, is not gonna fix it...

Could violence in media affect some people?

Sure...

But, it's not the root cause, and trying to censor it won't have any real positive effect on the situation...

There have been violent movies forever...

There is a ratings system in place to help parents try & keep children from seeing them...

Violent video games have been on the shelves for probably 2 decades...

There is a ratings system to help parents decide what their child can & cannot play...

Violent/drug-related/other negative content music has been recorded forever...

There have been explicit content labels on music forever, to help parents identify what their child should & shoudn't be listening to...

See the common denominator there?

Parents...

It's not the vast amount of violence in media that's causing the problem...

It's the vast amount of (*)(*)(*)(*)ty parenting that is the root of the problem...

 

its like to talking to a rock around here sometimes

I mean at what point do we put blame where it belongs

 

I agree with you.
I didn't mean to imply the sitter saw the kid playing with the gun. I was just implying that too many people let the TV or video games do the "sitting" and probably didn't care what the kid was playing.... as much as the fact that he was staying busy and not bothering her.
Yes, I'm guessing.

In either case, from what I read in a report today is that the gun was the 90 yr old woman's and she left it out and available.
I too doubt she knew the kid got his hands on it.

People are blaming the parents for letting the kid get ahold of a gun.... but it seems they had nothing to do with it.
Their failure may only lie in not keeping games like this out of his reach. But we don't know the facts yet.
Maybe it was an older brother's game... or older cousin... and he just happened to play it without anyone else noticing.

Poor parenting maybe.... poor sitting, definitely.

 

When it's the other team's fault...lol

 

Provide mentioned evidence, because from my research on the matter there has been zero to zelch on case studies showing violent video games cause violent behavior in anyone.

But no one has yet to prove mentioned adverse effects video games have on people. In fact, there's many people (including myself) who can cite video games for being a great release for stress, depression, and even some moments anxiety.

Or you know, bad parenting led to the kid being in reach of the gun.

You might as well just say. "Don't blame the gun, just blame bad parenting, then blame video games, because we don't want you ever to fault guns."

 

Do you have any idea how many kids play Grand Theft Auto? What the sales numbers are for Modern Warfare or Battlefront? The kind of numbers games like this ship? Also, going from the research, the answer to your second question is a hearty "no". And when it was taken to court, it lost hands down.