Columnist Links Games to Acceptance of Torture

[Ben Jamin]

"Today the data linking violence in the media to violence in society are superior to those linking cancer and tobacco,"

I'm pretty sure we've established that smoking increases your risk of lung cancer but
with the amount of gamers out there today i've only heard of the occasional violent bloodbath

 

[Aardvark Soup]

Completely ridiculous. Especially since torcher is less accepted now than far before video games even existed. I'm curious if she would still have this opinion after seeing the torcher scene from Metal Gear Solid 3...

 

[Iron Mal]

"Today the data linking violence in the media to violence in society are superior to those linking cancer and tobacco," she wrote.

I find it funny how whenever it comes to someone trying to support a casual link between media and aggressive tendancies they often try to make a connection to smoking (well...some studies said smoking wasn't bad for you...and look how that turned out, do you really want to take the same chance with these 'computer games'?).

Mankind has always had a bit of an anger problem and felt the need to mercilessly go upside each others head (for whatever reason), violence and aggression both predate all forms of media so it is more than likely that there is another, greater influence behind this (I must admit that I couldn't help but laugh when I once read a letter in the Metro saying that 'games and movies are the cause of all violence in the world, as we all know, before we had them people were always pleasent and nice to each other').

 

[sorry user name taken.]

I don't recall "Press X to torture" being a feature in GTA. Must be hidden somewhere in the DLC.

Anywho, this woman is a right *****! WoW encourages torture?! WTF?! And the coliseum?!?! WE AREN'T THROWING PEOPLE TO LIONS!

I never thought I'd miss Jack Thompson - at least he had the comment decently to make his foaming-mouth rants sound as crazy as they where.

agreed

As always videogames are used as a scapegoat for real world problems.

and yes


i haven't got much to say for people who say these things because it'll just piss me off more than i already am lol

"Today the data linking violence in the media to violence in society are superior to those linking cancer and tobacco,"

I'm pretty sure we've established that smoking increases your risk of lung cancer but
with the amount of gamers out there today i've only heard of the occasional violent bloodbath

most of it wasn't even related to games lol or if it was the person before wasn't in a stable state of mind any way...games don't create monsters society does

 

[szaleniec1000]

In her column, Henley suggests that one of the reasons Americans are tolerant of torture is the influx of violence they're exposed to in their entertainment media, which she believes "drastically decrease" people's sensitivity to real-world violence. Violent themes feature prominently in television, movies and of course videogames, and Henley claims that fact is incontrovertibly linked to our casual attitude toward violent behavior. "Today the data linking violence in the media to violence in society are superior to those linking cancer and tobacco," she wrote.

A correlation between fictional violence and real violence doesn't necessarily imply that fictional violence causes real violence. It could just as easily indicate that directly or indirectly experiencing real violence inspires people to create media depicting violence, or that both have a common cause. In short, epic statistics fail.

Henley is critical of the desensitizing effects of modern media in general but it's clear that videogames are her bugbear of choice. She quotes Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a noted game critic [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/90185], who said, "We have raised a generation of barbarians who have learned to associate violence with pleasure, like the Romans cheering and snacking as the Christians were slaughtered in the Coliseum," and adds, "The line between fact and fiction is fine. If we want to stand as a leading nation in moral conduct, we must first explore why we are inundating ourselves with so many images of violence."

This is a strange sentiment to be expressed by a military officer. If he's right, wouldn't it make his job a lot easier when it comes to training recruits?

 

[Ben Jamin]

"Today the data linking violence in the media to violence in society are superior to those linking cancer and tobacco,"

I'm pretty sure we've established that smoking increases your risk of lung cancer but
with the amount of gamers out there today i've only heard of the occasional violent bloodbath

most of it wasn't even related to games lol or if it was the person before wasn't in a stable state of mind any way...games don't create monsters society does

Was kind of joking but i agree with Games don't create monsters Society does.

 

[JohnSmith]

She glossed over the fact that church goers were the most accepting of torture and she doesn't site her references for the link between video games and violence.

 

[munx13]

Of course. This is so right. Thats why century's ago there was no torture. OH WAIT...

 

[Ionami]

These people need to die in a fire.

Because that's really gonna convince them that we're not violent, blood-thirsty degenerates.

 

[Skeleon]

Hmmm, maybe there oughta be a game about Guantanamo...

Anyway, I like seeing an Ork squeezed into a bloody pulp by a Dreadnaught like the next guy, but that doesn't influence my behaviour in real life!
Watching some pixelated bloody mess is completely different to seeing or performing real violence.
This is, once again, just an attempt at scapegoating something that isn't as widely spread as, say, television.

 

[KDR_11k]

I don't think games should be blamed, more TV shows that show the good guys beating information out of the bad guys and saving the day that way, showing it as an accurate tool for information gathering that always aids the heroes.

 

[Zephirius]

"We have raised a generation of barbarians who have learned to associate violence with pleasure, like the Romans cheering and snacking as the Christians were slaughtered in the Coliseum,"

I find it quite funny how this guy calls basically the most advanced classical civilization "barbarians". The Dark Ages came after that, and we all know how sophisticated and civilized those times were.

But to give him some credit, his last name is hilarious.

 

[Ilosia]

As I posted some time ago in a different forum

"The real problem is that genetic mutations that normally would have died out are now being allowed their own newspaper columns."

Remind me though, wasn't Rome the only non-barbarian state in that particular time? And surely Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Grossman should realize that the army trains people to associate violence and pleasure, which is why waterboarding might exist?

I mean, it's a long shot, but it might just explain it.

Perhaps he just points two of his fingers at people at makes "Bang" noises.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

These people need to die in a fire.

Because that's really gonna convince them that we're not violent, blood-thirsty degenerates.

Of course! Don't worry, the irony wasn't lost on me when I posted that...

 

[j0z]

I am one of those "dangerous" people in that article that loves playing violent zideo games, and yes, I support torturing the most violent of terroists that could harm us. Its people like that columists that needs to be tortured!

 

[Irridium]

did she bother researching the way these people lived? If she did the research in a city, thats where most violence happens, mainly because its the only way for a lot of people to survive. People who have never even played a video game. I grew up in Chicago, and I had it pretty well, but most people I know grew up in the bad parts, the parts where the only way to survive is to resort to violence.

People really need to get their fucking facts straight.

 

[Rajin Cajun]

Yeah Americans supporting torture is because of video games and not shows like 24 which glorify torture. Yep must be it not Fox itself making shows that encourage torture and make it into an American Saving Mechanism.