My 15 minutes of fame!

[.Griff.]

Driving home I was listening to the local BBC radio station (Radio WM) where a local councillor and self appointed expert on all matters was ranting on about the dangers of "violent" video games.

He was very self assured and quoted Medal of Honor, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto amongst other games as dangerous and encouraging people to be violent in real life. The best bit for me was the when he said "of course I've never actually played one of these games myself..... but I have seen my young son play them and I was appalled at the violence".

Being a fan of first person shooters and having no irrational tendencies to shoot people in real life I sent a quick text to the studio and they called me back inviting me to speak on the air which I did. I explained that I'd played these types of games for years, talked about the media blaming "violent" video games week in week out and generally put across the point that good parenting and a good upbringing were a lot more important than simply banning video games.

Then I was asked if I had any questions for the councillor.. It went something as follows.

Me - "Councillor why do you speak with such authority on this issue when openly admit you've never played a video game in your life? How can you therefore perceive the effect playing such a game has on a person?"

Councillor - Lots of skirting around the issue, talked about reports in other countries, but never really answered my question..

Me - "You mentioned before that you were shocked at the level of violence in the games your young son plays.. I think you made references to "blood" on the screen and "moving in to finish people off" and you quoted three examples of these games earlier all of which have an 18 year old age restriction on them. Why was your "young son" playing 18 rated games in the first place and who purchased the games for him? Surely as such a responsible parent you know what he's playing? After all you must have watched enough to warrant making such informed opinions on these games. Isn't it true that parents are all to quick to blame the games but are hypocritical in the fact they're bought the games and given them to under-age children in the first place?"

At this point the Councillor was a bit lost for words and then bizarrely blamed the parents for letting their children play these games. I was about to point out the hypocrisy of his answer but the host intervened and steered the subject in another direction.

It was only a few minutes but it was worth it! 

[Niall]

Ace Shame they didn't force him to answer the last question. I was actually wondering right at the start of the post why if he thinks they are violent and the cause of the problem, was he allowing his kid to play them at all? Clearly just jumping on the bandwagon to get the holier than thou brigade to vote for them.

[Simon]

Well done, Griff!  At least with BBC local radio you do get a chance to put your point across. 

[esh]

I'm really glad you stood up for this. Not enough people do. Most of the violence I've seen from games like BF3 has been comical at worst, anyway. As time goes on, I become more and more convinced that some people just have a greater tendency towards violence than others, for biological reasons we probably don't fully understand. If games weren't around, it'd be films. Then books. Then uh, umm.. other people. Possibly. New forms of media *always* get this sort of treatment; you just have to have a brief look at history to check that.

Nice job anyway, Griff.

[pctech]

If you have violent tendencies then a game will not make them better or worse.

The same can be said of films. remember the James Bulger case where the solicitor defending the two sick animals tried to say that watching Child's Play made them do it.

Sorry, that defence is a cop out, they knew very well what they were doing as did the likes of Fred West, Myra Hindley, Ian Huntley and so on.

[zimmerframe]

Great article Griff . 

I've been a fan of FPS's for many years.  I have also played with a number of clans and enjoy the tactical team play and on-line banter that these games have.

[cavillas]

Disgusting games they create nothing but violence, murder, robbery and hatred in society.  They cause people to make friends on the sly and group together with a vocabulary that is known only to them.    Very much like certain Muslim countries.  I mean in the days before computer games we had NO violence, murder, robbery and hatred in society.  Apple have a lot to answer for, didn't have these problems with Intel stuff

[Simon]

You're on a roll today, Alf. 

[Technical Ben]

I do agree that being surrounded by violence can have a tendency to encourage it. I mean, look at things like crowd/gang violence. Can you honestly say being surrounded by a culture of "violence as a solution to problems" does not effect people? However, the age old saying is "guns don't kill people, people kill people". I also agree that people tend not to imitate what they see in the game. However, I don't think it's wrong to suggest not playing violent games, just as you can suggest not owning a gun. Both are safer to those who would see each one as dangerous. Although, a game is not dangerous unless you do have a tendency to imitate it. Sadly though many young people do. Plus some adults think they can solve most problems with violence (probably cos that's what everyone in the media/games/etc does). I suppose violent games are like alcohol. Not everyone is an alcoholic, but for those who are, it's best to avoid it all together. For everyone else, having less alcohol is always a good bit of advice.
Good you caught him out on his own hypocrisy though!

[Athena]

Games very very rarely encourage violence in the real world, unless you've got someone who has problems serious enough to warrant actual psychiatric health care beforehand getting their hands on something like Manhunt which ably demonstrates how to kill someone with a plastic bag. However as a broad rule, games are at most only a catalyst, not a source of real world violence, in every case of documented "Video game violence" there's usually a much more real, and much closer to home reason where things began.

As for the adults who think violence is the solution, considering the way the UK is going, it's fast gaining credibility as the only solution when peaceful protest is met with kettling, police brutality, and politicians spinning things to such a ridiculous extent that the message of the protest and the message the politicians put out to the media about the protest might as well be night and day.

Again, if/when things boil over in this country, the media will look for scapegoats, when in reality they should be looking at their own doorstep. Way of the world.

[Technical Ben]

That's the thing though. If it's a catalyst would you want to use it?
Like football. How many footballers are violent? Yet, would you want to go to a football match when you know there is a risk (say when there is heightened aggression leading to the game)? Now a lot of these violent games are online and social. Guess which group is one of the loudest? 

That and just watch any kid whose watched Power Rangers. They suddenly get the idea the punching people is cool. They did not have that idea before hand. It's not really the "violence" as we get that on the BBC news. It's the "violence is the solution" message in the entertainment.

[talos]

At this point the Councillor was a bit lost for words and then bizarrely blamed the parents for letting their children play these games. I was about to point out the hypocrisy of his answer but the host intervened and steered the subject in another direction.

Thats our good old BBC being non biased again (I dont think)

[talos]

These are the same idiots who banned Tom & Jerry for inciting and gloryfying violence

[zappaDPJ]

To say that a computer game, book, film, work of art, piece of music, doesn't have some kind of effect on the consumer is not realistic. Of course they do, that's why they are created. It's also why in some cases we have age related advisories. However these things are not created to encourage people to be violent, they are created to entertain or provoke thought. The vast majority of people, young and old, are able to distinguish between what's entertainment and real life and those that can't are going to have problems regardless of what they view or play on a computer.

That counsellor is typical of the clueless, idiot politician who is looking to place blame elsewhere for his own failure to deliver. Well done Griff for serving him up a piece of reality

[Technical Ben]

I agree Zappa. But some games are created to encourage violence. Some songs are (or at least made by media execs to sound that way because it's "cool" with the "hip" kids).
I did not mean to say all games, or games of a genre. But that there are games out there pushing violence. These will have an effect. However, the solution is not "get rid of games" but to educate people.
Just like we cannot get rid of sticks and stones. But kids get a clip around the ear if they hit anyone, or put a rock through a window. We can keep the rocks out of the kids hands. 

[.Griff.]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17540452

A 15-year-old boy who murdered his mother with a hammer and set her body on fire in Nottinghamshire has been detained for a minimum of 16 years....................... The court heard he had been particularly interested in a Coronation Street storyline involving the character John Stape. In the soap, Stape had murdered a woman with a hammer and then left her body in the wreckage of a tram crash.

I wonder if the councillor is now wanting to ban Coro?!?

[Simon]

More than likely. 

[pctech]

Argument for putting it on in the early hours of the morning?

Yes please and let's put something intelligent on in the evenings.

[Rik]

Bring back The Ascent of Man.

[cavillas]

Bring back The Ascent of Man.

They can't because it would misrepresent what is actually happening now.

[Technical Ben]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17540452

I wonder if the councillor is now wanting to ban Coro?!?

Please,please,please please!
(Never watched it, but if they can ban all telly while their at it, who knows, might make an improvement!)

[pctech]

Some interesting documentaries occasionally so wouldn't go that far Ben but def ban soaps and 'reality' TV.

[.Griff.]

Please,please,please please!
(Never watched it, but if they can ban all telly while their at it, who knows, might make an improvement!)

Nothing wrong with a bit of Nat Geo, History HD, Discovery Channel and sports but as far as "entertainment" channels go I wouldn't miss them if they disappeared off the air.

[pctech]

I really do miss Discovery that we had on cable when I was a kid.

Used to be an avid watcher of Beyond 2000, anyone remember that?

[Technical Ben]

Some interesting documentaries occasionally so wouldn't go that far Ben but def ban soaps and 'reality' TV.

Well, there is always plan B, catchup TV