Expert Says Blaming Videogames for Violence is Racist

[Valkyrie101]

I have seen video games blamed for cases of violence involving blacks, actually. No, I don't think it's the case.

You have? Got a link or three to share?

No, I don't happen to have a link to the story and I don't remember the name, but I clearly remember a case where Manhunt was blamed when a black teenager murdered his friend with a hammer. It was quite a few years ago.

 

[Jamous]

You hear that, Fox? You're racist!

Seriously though, how does that make any logical sense? He says himself 95 percent of boys have played violent videogames, and I'm pretty sure that would be regardless of color of skin or country of origin, so someone explain to me how this makes sense in his mind....

BLUF:
It's racist because the topic is only brought up if the killer is white. If the killer were, say, black or Arabic, very few people would jump all over the "video games did it" boat.

It's also racist in that they hold the same roots in prejudice. If you only see, for example, a handful of black people in your life and they're all bona-fide idiots or criminals, you might be inclined to think all black people are bona-fide idiots or criminals, which is racist behaviour, pure and simple.
Likewise, if all you ever see of video games is the News telling you that some idiot who went on a shooting spree played Modern Warfare 2 you might be inclined to think two things : All video games are Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 2 causes people to go on a shooting spree.

What he's saying with that 95% statistic is pointing out how ludicrous the connection is. Ninety-five per cent of males are not murderers. The reason so many murderers play video games is because of a completely unrelated role correlation. You may as well say "Shooting Sprees are caused by boys wearing sneakers" (To use his example). Yes, boys who go on shooting sprees tend to wear sneakers, but so does every other young male. Sneakers constitute the primary type of footwear in the modern world. The facts are unrelated. As a matter of fact, you might look at a chart and see something like most of the people who wear sneakers/play video games do not, in fact, go on shooting sprees. Of course, sneakers are not a relatively new media, so they don't get examined like this.

Read the article before you say it's illogical.

Very well said;
Any who don't understand why it's seen as racist need look no further.
Although I have to say that this -is- a nice change as opposed to seeing everyone freak out about the shootings. For example, the way Australia is now trying to push for more videogame bans following the Norway attack. They seem to be ignoring the fact that this man would probably have killed with or without the 'training' that MW2 provided. He wrote a 1500 hate essay against Islam and multiculturalism in favour of one European Christian Supernation for fuck's sake. That in itself seems a far bigger problem than the fact that he had access to videogames like, oh I don't know, almost everyone else who -doesn't- go on killing sprees?

 

[Treblaine]

Jesus, people here are really fucking dense at time. His point wasn't that gamers are a race or that white people are being discriminated against, he's saying that nobody is surprised or blames video games when this sort of thing happens at a minority-dominated school. What he means is that people think "No way a good white boy would do something like that on his own, something else has to be at fault!" instead of admitting that their badly raised children growing up in a hostile environment can break just as easily as everybody else's. That's the racism at work here.

You probably put it best.

 

[grigjd3]

Granted, the bringing up of video games for the cause of major shootings is ridiculous, but I think labeling this as racist is going a bit too far. There are, in fact, white neighborhoods where shootings happen and no-one brings up video games. I mean, think about this a minute. There are roughly ten-thousand gun murders (just gun related) a year in the US (this number may have gone down a bit lately) and we don't hear ten-thousand different articles a year blaming video games for violence because of some specific case.

The only way this would support the idea that blaming video games is racist is if one believes that all ten-thousand murders a year without such a hooplah happen only to non-whites. Now if you really believe that all murder in the US is only happening between non-whites, that would be rather racist - your belief, that is.

The facts do not support the accusation. On the other hand, I wonder if this guy really thought through what he was saying before he said it. Perhaps if he took a little more time to think about it, he would have thought better. Maybe a more reasonable statement would be that the accusations of video games causing violence only seem to come up when there are major headlines about murder sprees. Perhaps the difference isn't about race at all but is rather about how much media attention it buys someone. That is to say, if you get donations for your cause (in this case against violent video games), you'll get more donations when you make a lot of noise about something people are aware of than something they aren't. I would guess the people making the accusations aren't being purely reactionary but rather actively attempting to profit off of others' deaths.

 

[Valkyrie101]

I have seen video games blamed for cases of violence involving blacks, actually. No, I don't think it's the case.

You have? Got a link or three to share?

No, I don't happen to have a link to the story and I don't remember the name, but I clearly remember a case where Manhunt was blamed when a black teenager murdered his friend with a hammer. It was quite a few years ago.

EDIT: There could possibly be a vague link, though. But I don't see video games blamed for many murders these days, race aside.

 

[sleeky01]

I have seen video games blamed for cases of violence involving blacks, actually. No, I don't think it's the case.

You have? Got a link or three to share?

No, I don't happen to have a link to the story and I don't remember the name, but I clearly remember a case where Manhunt was blamed when a black teenager murdered his friend with a hammer. It was quite a few years ago.

You must be thinking of this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/3934277.stm

However I feel the need to point out that even his mother described her own son as "inherently evil".

 

[Valkyrie101]

I have seen video games blamed for cases of violence involving blacks, actually. No, I don't think it's the case.

You have? Got a link or three to share?

No, I don't happen to have a link to the story and I don't remember the name, but I clearly remember a case where Manhunt was blamed when a black teenager murdered his friend with a hammer. It was quite a few years ago.

You must be thinking of this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/3934277.stm

However I feel the need to point out that even his mother described her own son as "inherently evil".

Yes, Leblanc, that's the one. Although I think in that case he genuinely did mimic the game - but that was just the catalyst and inspiration, not the root cause.

 

[sapphireofthesea]

Racism? Really? We're going there?

That is stupid.

I think this was using the (favored reaction based on race) definition of racism. And he did make it clear that it wasn't a definded situation but had aspects of it, which I can see the point of.
Though that said it is likely more a result of 'racially' tensious (if it is a word) areas, like the inner city he pointed out, tend to already be considered chaotic areas; While it is the quiet peaceful, suburb areas which tend to be the glearing wart on the perfect face and thus appear to be the bigger tragidy and the one needing the most explination. These areas normally have a strong white background so I can see the idea, but I think it is more the opposite, that the racial areas already have something to blame it on (racial tensions/degridation) while the suburb typw thing has nothing readily available.

*Disclaimer: Anything to the scale of what he described is an equal tragidy (regardless of location) and my statements on racial location were based heavily on stereotype for the purpose of universal understanding, as I am aware there is much variation in locations and situations.

 

[Treblaine]

I have seen video games blamed for cases of violence involving blacks, actually. No, I don't think it's the case.

You have? Got a link or three to share?

No, I don't happen to have a link to the story and I don't remember the name, but I clearly remember a case where Manhunt was blamed when a black teenager murdered his friend with a hammer. It was quite a few years ago.

You must be thinking of this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/3934277.stm

However I feel the need to point out that even his mother described her own son as "inherently evil".

Hmm, interesting it's a BBC article of a crime that happened in the UK, while Forbes is an American magazine that talked mainly about Columbine Massacre and shootings in "inner city schools".

It's also pretty much the only example against this trend.

I also think people have got this a bit backwards, it's not that the media is necessarily being too harsh on crimes committed in minority populations, just that they are TOO EASY on white psychopaths. That's just as bad and I suppose the difference is semantic, justice - being an application of fairness - is a very relative thing.

So if a "typical white guy" commits a terrible crime like a shooting spree, the media search for an alien factor rather than consider it might be something more essential to him actually being a typical or "within normal variant" life. Like dysfunctional upbringing, detached or missing parental figures, poor recognition of mental disorders (particularly societal attitudes), or others unwillingness to intervene when warning signs are gleaned.

Taking a step back, the UK likes to think that it doesn't have race ghettos with the patterns of violence and poverty that America has. No one can ignore the poverty traps in America that are mostly drawn along racial lines, or how this breeds generations of violence.

But what if Warren Leblanc killed not because of corruption of some thing he read or played, but that his very lifestyle, environment and society more influential? What if UK has actually effectively got ghettos like America? Of poverty, cycles of violence and racial tensions. That is an uncomfortable thought, and I can see why many would like to avoid facing that, it is much more comforting to say that it is games and parents can forbid their kids from playing games and may delude themselves that they can easily be banned.

But the idea that large parts of society are dysfunctional - that the schools they go to and the streets they walk and the neighbourhoods they live in can twist a teenager's mind enough to commit brutal calculated murder. That's something people don't want to hear.

I don't think any normal mentally-healthy 17 year old could play ANY game and suddenly develop the irresistible urge to murder a 14 year old neighbour. And that should be obvious.

 

[Tdc2182]

He actually makes a good point on it.

OT: I wish people would just get their heads out of their asses and clean the shit from their ears in order to listen to people who know way more about these types of things than they ever will.

It kinda reminds of the Hypochondriac vs. Professional Doctor sort of scenario.

No he doesn't. He doesn't make one bit of sense.

He's using the same technique Glenn Beck uses. If letter A has anything to do with letter B, it must mean letter A is a Communist.

These people jumping on the video game bandwagon are stupid guys, not racist.

And by calling them racist, we're becoming more like them. Don't sink to that level of stupid.

 

[Tdc2182]

Okay, so, yeah, blaming everything on videogames is dumb, but so is making unfounded accusations of racism.

'Unfounded' implies no evidence or reasoning. If I called you a racist right now, that would be an unfounded accusation.

His accusation is pretty founded actually. Did you read the article?

It's just as much founded evidence as blaming kids video games for violence.

That is to say, barely any.

 

[Metalrocks]

Jesus, people here are really fucking dense at time. His point wasn't that gamers are a race or that white people are being discriminated against, he's saying that nobody is surprised or blames video games when this sort of thing happens at a minority-dominated school. What he means is that people think "No way a good white boy would do something like that on his own, something else has to be at fault!" instead of admitting that their badly raised children growing up in a hostile environment can break just as easily as everybody else's. That's the racism at work here.

would say it more or less in this way.

@topic
finally an article which is not blaming all the time games for any violent behaviour. this guy made more sense then any other so called expert.

 

[KirbyKrackle]

He actually makes a good point on it.

OT: I wish people would just get their heads out of their asses and clean the shit from their ears in order to listen to people who know way more about these types of things than they ever will.

It kinda reminds of the Hypochondriac vs. Professional Doctor sort of scenario.

No he doesn't. He doesn't make one bit of sense.

He's using the same technique Glenn Beck uses. If letter A has anything to do with letter B, it must mean letter A is a Communist.

These people jumping on the video game bandwagon are stupid guys, not racist.

And by calling them racist, we're becoming more like them. Don't sink to that level of stupid.

Sorry, how is it not racist to ignore inner-city shootings as if it's something to be expected because minorities are involved while freaking out about how the white guy must, simply must, have been corrupted by evil video games because good, nice, middle class white people just don't do that sort of thing? Also, since when does stupidity preclude racism? They go pretty much hand in hand.

 

[Tdc2182]

Sorry, how is it not racist to ignore inner-city shootings as if it's something to be expected because minorities are involved while freaking out about how the white guy must, simply must, have been corrupted by evil video games because good, nice, middle class white people just don't do that sort of thing? Also, since when does stupidity preclude racism? They go pretty much hand in hand.

Because inner city shootings caused by Minorities are usually done by kids who are in fact in gangs of some sort, and are usually done due to gang conflicts. Really, lots of the times there are clear signs as to why they shot up the schools.

Not even Fox news is stupid enough to try and pin those shootings on games.

"Good Middle Class White people" don't do that thing, because they generally are living in the middle class.

I'm not gonna go into a full psychology lesson here, but lower class kids tend to have more problems than middle class kids.

The problem with people coming out with theories that put Videogames in good light is that people will blindly accept it without caring how random the information is.

Right now, the roles are reversed. We're the idiots trying to tell the videogame antiactivists that they're racist.

Not to mention that I haven't seen one story about a school shooting by a minority that really generates the type of chill that Columbine or this Oslo shooting could.

 

[PunkRex]

Racism? Really? We're going there?

That is stupid.

You hear that, Fox? You're racist!

Seriously though, how does that make any logical sense? He says himself 95 percent of boys have played violent videogames, and I'm pretty sure that would be regardless of color of skin or country of origin, so someone explain to me how this makes sense in his mind....

I dont think hes refering to gamers as a race guys. Hes saying that when this crap happens in a minority heavy area people just tend to turn and say "well thats just what happens in these places" but in a white majority setting e.g the suburbs, people seem to have to find some other reason aside from the fact that this stuff generally JUST HAPPENS. Some people are nuts and some people cant accept that.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

Hah, wrong word choice buddy xD
That was actually pretty funny

Right word choice. It's a powerful word and makes people listen, which they need to here.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

If video-games are a race now, can I play the race card?

No. Your missing the point. When something horrible like this happens involving a "white community" with some crazy everyone tries to find some big reason to blame for why someone would do this. Like rock and role, comic books, and the new favorite video games. However, say there's a shooting in a place known to be the home of The Bloods or MS13 involving a bunch of people who aren't white, and no one on the news ever tries to blame that on some stupid reason. Hell you'd be lucky to even hear about it if you didn't live in the area it happened.

 

[KirbyKrackle]

Sorry, how is it not racist to ignore inner-city shootings as if it's something to be expected because minorities are involved while freaking out about how the white guy must, simply must, have been corrupted by evil video games because good, nice, middle class white people just don't do that sort of thing? Also, since when does stupidity preclude racism? They go pretty much hand in hand.

Because inner city shootings caused by Minorities are usually done by kids who are in fact in gangs of some sort, and are usually done due to gang conflicts. Really, lots of the times there are clear signs as to why they shot up the schools.

Not even Fox news is stupid enough to try and pin those shootings on games.

"Good Middle Class White people" don't do that thing, because they generally are living in the middle class.

I'm not gonna go into a full psychology lesson here, but lower class kids tend to have more problems than middle class kids.

The problem with people coming out with theories that put Videogames in good light is that people will blindly accept it without caring how random the information is.

Right now, the roles are reversed. We're the idiots trying to tell the videogame antiactivists that they're racist.

Not to mention that I haven't seen one story about a school shooting by a minority that really generates the type of chill that Columbine or this Oslo shooting could.

Ah, so it's not racist to ignore shootings in schools that aren't predominantly white because minority students are violent gang members with psychological problems so it's to be expected and of course white people are automatically more peaceful and mentally well-adjusted, especially if they're middle class. And these unfounded claims of yours are not racist (and classist). I see. Have fun with that.

 

[Uriel_51]

Actually I think he highlighted a very important aspect of the public reaction to events like this. In the same respect to the way we immediately assume stereotypes about people based on what aesthetic categories they appear to belong, the public wants to know 'Why?' If you guys ever listen to news, I hear a lot about gang-related or drug-related shootings and it gets shrugged off (as well as you can shrug off a neighborhood shooting...).

When it's at a university, in a 'nice part of town' people do indeed freak out. And kudos for him bringing up the fact that such a widely applicable criteria is statistically meaningless. I'm usually baffled as to why these claims never get torn to shit in the media based on this factor alone. Kinda makes you wonder about the intelligence level of all our major networks.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Because inner city shootings caused by Minorities are usually done by kids who are in fact in gangs of some sort, and are usually done due to gang conflicts.

Not even Fox news is stupid enough to try and pin those shootings on games.

I disagree with your view of the topic, however I see no point in trying to change your opinion. That would go against free will, but I will say that I do not believe in this theory blindly. I see a good deal of truth to it. It is just as stupid to put the blame on video games for this most recent event as it is to put the blame on games for all violent crime.

However, that's not why I quoted you. I did this to say that Fox News is that dumb, and has already tried to blame video games for all violent crimes. One example was the story about Bulletstorm promoting rape. They stated that games have caused a rise in crime.(When it is actually down) (Sorry out of room)