Middle-Aged Gamer Assaults Teen Over Black Ops Beatdown

[Waaghpowa]

The problem is that people assume that because they're on the internet, they're not bound to the same social codes. The kid acts like a **** to someone, and that someone comes to get him for it. Had they been in the same room, he wouldn't say anything because he'd probably get talked down to or hit.

I'm in no way condoning what the man did, but this should be a message to the kind of people who act the way they do to people on the internet because of the supposed "Zero risk" of confrontation. You may think you're safe, but there could always be the one nutter who takes the time to find you.

Morale of the story: Treat people with the same respect you would expect from them, regardless of where you are.

 

[randomrob]

And yet none of the police officers or the courts questioned why the 13 year old little shit was playing an 18 rated game?

 

[Therumancer]

Hmmm, well to be honest I hope the guy doing the throttling has the common sense to see to it pointed out that the kid shouldn't have been playing anyway. That's an "M" rated game I believe and the kid is only 13. He should never have been on to bait adults to begin with, and the fact that his mother was home and knew he was playing an "M" rated game should be an issue here.

That said, while I understand why this has to be considered wrong legally, I don't think some "untouchable trash talker" getting his butt kicked is nessicarly a bad thing.

I'm also wondering about what the kid said in paticualr that was the last straw, and also if this was going on for that long, why the mother (who noticed the assault) didn't take any actions when she knew her offspring was acting like that over a headset.

I dunno, I guess I'm a jerk, but I think the guy in question deserves a month or so in jail for a provoked assault, the mother needs to go the jail for neglect, and the kid needs to have his attitude adjusted via social services. I support Internet anonimity, but when something like this DOES get outed it needs to be dealt with, and not ONE person here is not a jerk in some way, the guy who got upset and tried to throttle the kid might be the catalyst, but I think the situation that set him off also needs to be CAREFULLY looked
at here since if the parent was parenting, and the game rating was being enforced (above and beyond the behavior) this would never have happened. A parent who lets a kid act like that online is as big a problem as the guy that was goaded.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I don't think it was right for the man to do that. Not a single bit, cause cmon, that's really messed, even with mental health issues.

But maybe little shits like that kid should learn to keep their mouths shut. It's been said before, but, kids like that always trash talk because they think they can get away with it. Maybe it's better for people to see that you are NOT 100% safe. Because then maybe PSN and XBL will be better, and have less of these annoying little cunts cramming the place.

Props to the guy apologizing, now let's take a look at the kid. What's his punishment? Nothing?

 

[WanderingFool]

A man much older and stronger than you loses to you at a game. You relentlessly taunt him.

These are the situations the phrase "tempting fate" was invented for.

While the guy could have handled this better, I have to agree with your sentament. Sometimes people just need to now when to shut the fuck up.

 

[The Mighty Pepper]

This made my day

 

[Baresark]

Talk about a much needed cathartic release. That shit is so annoying. It's not right what happened, but the kid probably deserved to have the shit kicked out of him. The best thing to do would literally have been to berate the kid for being an artard like he was being. But, mental health issue and all, he is probably getting what amounts to a pass for slinking down to the kids level.

 

[Mahorfeus]

And yet none of the police officers or the courts questioned why the 13 year old little shit was playing an 18 rated game?

Why the hell would they? It's not illegal. And it's wholly irrelevant to the fact that he got attacked.

 

[Davih]

Don't blame him for throttling him tbh. But maybe he should have used his brain and muted the little twat?

 

[GonzoGamer]

What is it that starts this crap?
I really suck at call of duty (like the song http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/miracle-of-sound/3722-I-Suck-at-Call-of-Duty ) but I've never been taunted by children for it.
Or maybe I have, I can't understand what the hell people are saying most of the time anyway.

Either way. Maybe they can incorporate something like this into the game so this idiot doesn't have to track all these kids down.

 

[The Funslinger]

Wow, I've gotten pissed off at little kids but I've never actually wanted to go out and raise my hands to them.

A friend of mine remarked on multiple occasions that he wished he had the ability to teleport behind people who annoyed him in games, so he could kill them with a hammer. On the surface, it sounds like he's joking, but he mentions it a lot and he's quite physically ineffectual so I wouldn't put it past him if such a thing were possible. And he gets infuriated far too easily when playing multiplayer.

 

[Jamous]

Ok. At least they made it clear he has mental health issues, rather than the fact THE GAME MADE HIM DO IT. But why did they have to go to The Mail of all places!?!

 

[Risingblade]

Maybe he'll think twice about being a douche online now!

 

[Torrasque]

I'm sorry, but the kid should have shut his motherfucking mouth.

Not that I agree with what this fellow did, not at all. But I hold no sympathy at all for the little shit that got throttled, and his mother should have been paying attention to what he was saying anyway.

Kid that talks shit, nearly gets shit on. Thats what I see in this article.
Kind of like trolls getting their ass kicked in real life, for trolling online.
If the kid had merely beaten the guy soundly, and the guy freaked from that, I'd react differently, but he didn't. The kid was probably doing the usual "your mom/ur bad/get shit on" etc.
This is why I mute everyone everytime I play MW2, I don't give a shit what anyone has to say.
Occasionally I will unmute someone, but that is very circumstancial.

 

[Soviet Steve]

*looks around meaningfully*

Any questions?

Yes! What is the square root of seven?

 

[Raesvelg]

Is there a free cell in any jail nearby? care to take out some random person whose offense is minor and shove this man in there. That's where he belongs. If you can't handle trash talking online, you should stick to single player games.

Conversely, one could claim that if you can't handle the possibility of someone bigger and stronger than you tracking to down in order to throttle the life out of you, you shouldn't trash-talk online.

There's a long and well-established tradition of utter cowards hiding behind the legal system in order to spew invective that they'd never have the stones to utter in a situation where running your mouth can have consequences.

 

[RA92]

Let me get this straight, going to Facebook Memorial pages to talk shit about the deceased to the grieving family is perfectly alright and within freedom of speech, but apparently talking trash in an online match is grounds for getting your ass kicked?

...Stay classy Escapist.

You're fucking telling me, right?? I mean for Christ's sake, my jaw nearly hit my desk when I saw the responses in this thread.

Get some fucking sense, posters of the Escapist. I've never credited you with having much to begin with, but even THIS has come as a surprise to me.

THIS WAS STRAIGHT UP BREAKING AND ENTERING AS WELL AS ASSAULT AGAINST A KID, AND WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING TO HIS DEFENSE? Fuck off Escapist, fuck off.

Simple. Most people have experiences with trash-talkers like this kid, so they can sympathize with the man. Plus the fact that he has mental heath issues makes it easier on the conscience.

OT: I am pretty shocked. Appalled. What he did was deplorable.

But I still can't help not suppressing a little glee.

 

[Dizzle26]

How can anyone get upset over some kid from the UK talking smack? They sound FAR too polite to take any offense to what they are saying. I mean, c'mon..at his age the kid sounded like some poorly voice cartoon character. I'd be giggling and slapping his limey ass on 'mute' and report him for system tampering or something.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

*looks around meaningfully*

Any questions?

Yes! What is the square root of seven?

I'm the root of all evil, not the root of all seven!