Ex-Tory Leader Attacks Games

[Wildrow12]

Wait, I'm confused...why are you all in an uproar?

From my viewpoint he doesn't appear to be attacking video-games at all, rather he's attacking parental attitudes towards games, such as parents buying GTA for their children that quite clearly should be playing them...

Why all the knee-jerk abuse towards someone that hasn't even insulted gaming?

"We are driving children to lose their childhood, and some video games are incredibly violent, like Grand Theft Auto. They are meant to be 18 but nobody cares what it says on the label."

Right there.

The problem isn't games. It's the distribution of games.

I completely agree. I dont think anything he said was particularly out of line. I also don't see him citing "Grand Theft Auto" as being evidence of him being misinformed, its pretty much the most popular game that is inappropriate so it stands to reason that it makes for the most widely understood example. I'm pretty sure the grand theft auto series has outsold say, Madworld, so while it may not be as violent per se, its still a more recognizable example.

But hey, spin your stories how ever you want man. I mean the more of a knee jerk reaction you can get out of the readers the more comments this thread will get, and the more comments the more noticeable it becomes. I totally get it.

Glad to see I'm not the only one.

It's a good thing the Atkinsons and Thompsons of the world don't read forums like this or else they might have actual ammunition for their claims.

 

[Taerdin]

Wait, I'm confused...why are you all in an uproar?

From my viewpoint he doesn't appear to be attacking video-games at all, rather he's attacking parental attitudes towards games, such as parents buying GTA for their children that quite clearly should be playing them...

Why all the knee-jerk abuse towards someone that hasn't even insulted gaming?

It's because of the way the story was framed by the OP, or at least I see it that way. He made a point of making it seem like he was singling out gaming in some way, and basically spun the story in such a way as to cause an uproar.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Iain Duncan Smith, a prominent member of the Conservative party, has attacked videogames this week.

Oh, I beg to differ.

"Washed up has-been, desperate for attention" is possibly more accurate.

Let's take a look why.

First of all, having been thrashed by Tony Blair while having the support of M. Thatcher.
Secondly, lying on his offical CV - Attending Durnsford College of Management is not achieved by nipping there for a weekend course.
Thirdly, he was kicked out after a vote of NO CONFIDENCE by his own party.

So, what's a washed out has-been to do? Emulate Keith Vaz? Well, given that his novel, The Devil's Tune was never released in paperback due to it being terrible... Terrible, terrible, terrible.(Daily Telegraph), you really have to wonder if he's not desperate to see his name in headlines again.

Given his other allusions on single parent families (let's see...no-one good has ever come from a single parent family?), 24hour drinking (works well in some countries that don't have supermarkets undermining them, and that has pubs left that can survive without), and his feelings on Iraq (he has publicly stated that we ought to move out of Afghanistan and into Iraq permanently - Your Catholicism against those dirty Muslims?), I can perhaps see why he'd like to revert things back to your new job of Chairman of the Social Justice Policy Group, because I understand he was kicked out of your job as Leader.

Here's a tip...don't pick on subjects you can't even understand.

 

[Rhade]

His generation will die out soon enough.

The party we all have needs to be epic when they're gone, I mean really. We need to not be able what happened for a week, then get past the massive hangover to realize the earth isn't theirs anymore.

Then we can actually enact execution laws against people like Atkinson...

 

[mobsterlobster]

WHAT? A politician is blaming a form of entertainment/art/media for societies ills? Wow that's new, I'll be sure to keep up with the meaningful and constructive developments Mr Smith no doubt has in the pipeline. After all, the alternative is he's simply rattling the cages of middle England to ensure their votes before dividing his time between scamming expenses and blaming the general air of craptitude in the country on the previous administration. Politicians have done that thousands of times in the past, so when you think about it, the odds of it happening AGAIN are slim to none, surely...

I stayed up until 3am last night watching 24. And I'd do it again!

So as addictive as video games are, so are other forms of media. At least to me they are anyway. It's not just 24 I've stayed up late with.

EDIT: Just realized I quoted the wrong person here. God knows how I did that. Apologies. I really did stay up too late last night.

 

[johnman]

The British goverment is always to slow and cowardly to do anything that might offend somebody somewhere. What would the prisoners do in jail without their ps3's?

 

[gmer412]

He is right, no one cares what is on the label. If parents were educated better on the ESRB, then the ones who don't mind their child playing those games would let them, and the ones who don't want their child playing M 17+ would not let them.

Geez, seems to be that the US (for now) is going to be the last bastion of freedom of expression in the western world

Canada?

We are pretty awesome. I honestly think we are the best off aside from maybe Sweden and a few others.

Oh, snap, we are 4th on the U.N.'s best places to live, but really we are 2nd, since in Norway you have to deal with a mostly alcoholic and jobless population, and Australia has no freedom(along with Ireland, but they were below us(seriously? An anti-blasphemy law? What is this, the 7th century? Stop electing children into government everyone)).

1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Ireland

How recent is this list? I think after Iceland's massive economic crash it might be somewhat different. Also, the US is pretty much in a stale mate right now. The party in power Can't Do Anything. The other party has essentially crushed them although they have 18 fewer seats. God I hate the democrats right now.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

its conservatives, they are horribe ppl who dream of going back to the fantasy 50s of leave it to beaver

Especially when they can get rid of all those dirty foreigners in our country.

[small]NOT my opinion[/small]

 

[Alphavillain]

Ian Duncan Smith was rubbish, even for a Tory. He was a Tory leader in Opposition, which is a bit like a Brazilian footballer who's never won a World Cup.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Wow. Look at the chain reaction. First australia now the UK....

OH NO! MICHEAL ATKINSON MUST BE QUARANTINED NOW! WITH FLAMER THROWERS IF NECESSARY!*ahem* now that I'm done with that, it isn't a surprise that people do that kind of stuff over new forms of entertainment, its happened to every form of media besides literature, all you need to do is just keep a straight face and ignore the nay sayers, there is NO turning back, too much revenue and too many jobs

Even literature had it's problems...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning

 

[Doug]

What is more worrying however, is that Mr. Duncan Smith is very likely to be a part of the next UK government, and while it seems unlikely that games will be at the top of his list of 'problems', the next few years might be an interesting time for British gamers.

BWHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA....

Oh, you're serious? Seriously Ian Duncan Smith has about as much impact on politics since he lost one of the elections as John Mayor has had since he was voted out too.

 

[Desert Tiger]

Was gonna vote conservative, but if stuff like this keeps up that'll change very quickly.

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

THIS JUST IN: Dumbass politicians know fuck-all about video games.

 

[Doug]

Wait, I'm confused...why are you all in an uproar?

From my viewpoint he doesn't appear to be attacking video-games at all, rather he's attacking parental attitudes towards games, such as parents buying GTA for their children that quite clearly should be playing them...

Why all the knee-jerk abuse towards someone that hasn't even insulted gaming?

Indeedie - and its from Ian Duncan Smith, the drying wallpaper of the Tory party. Its hardly the Tory party crying out "WE HATE GAMES!"

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Iain Duncan Smith is not exactly the most respected man in Britain. Even the tories are trying to disown him, last I heard

It's things like his 'single parent familes r bad' statements which tip people off to the fact that he's an out of touch remnant of the last generation. Back when the tories were up front about treading on poor people, rather than hiding it behind a jackbooted smile.

 

[gmer412]

Also, the US is pretty much in a stale mate right now. The party in power Can't Do Anything. The other party has essentially crushed them although they have 18 fewer seats. God I hate the democrats right now.

Problem: pretending the democrats and republicans are in the least bit different when it comes to smashing your liberties.

I dunno. I think my liberties are pretty secure right now, because no one can do anything.

 

[A Username Not In Use]

Fairs fair he's right about the price of alcohol and consumption, in my local pub it is cheaper to get drunk than it is to stay sober which is a real bastard for me as I don't drink, but this proberbly more the exception than the rule.

TO be honest this sounds like a typical pre-election Tory rant about a return to the good old days without reaising that there has never been a golden age in this country.

 

[Doug]

Iain Duncan Smith is not exactly the most respected man in Britain. Even the tories are trying to disown him, last I heard

It's things like his 'single parent familes r bad' statements which tip people off to the fact that he's an out of touch remnant of the last generation. Back when the tories were up front about treading on poor people, rather than hiding it behind a jackbooted smile.

Meh, all the political parties are shit; well, maybe not the Lib Dems, but they'll never get voted in, so we'll never know. All I know is I'm sick of god damn labour, its spin, its bullshit, its Blair, and its Brown.