Minecraft: Video Game Violence's Latest Victim

[KingWein22]

I know there are many out there who enjoy Minecraft and it's # of mods out there, but now it has become the latest victim in the fight against Video Game Violence.

Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/now-weve-heard-it-all-minecraft-blamed-in-school-viol-1418633346] Reports:

A nine-year-old Orlando, Fla. boy?"so tiny ... he could barely see the judge over the podium"?was sentenced to home confinement by a state judge after he brought "multiple weapons to school." The video game being blamed? Minecraft.

WFTV in Orlando, FL [http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/student-found-weapons-orange-co-elementary-school/nZ8DK/] adds:

School officials said the boy brought multiple weapons to his elementary school in Hunter's Creek Wednesday.
An officer searched the student's bag and found an unloaded handgun, a magazine with six bullets inside, a steak knife and small-handled sledge hammer.
The guns came from his father's home, officials said.
A judge ordered the boy to home confinement and said his parents need to keep any and all weapons away from him.

The boy's father said he was playing a character he learned from the video game Minecraft.

"They use hammers to dig and knives and guns to protect themselves from zombies," the boy's father said.

The school the 9-yr-old attends is Endeavor Elementary School in Orlando, FL.

Now, I am no Minecraft fan...but this makes me wanna flip a table. How about you?

Sources: WFTV [http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/student-found-weapons-orange-co-elementary-school/nZ8DK/], Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/now-weve-heard-it-all-minecraft-blamed-in-school-viol-1418633346]

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

...

Listen, the kid was a moron to bring weapons in there, but to blame MINECRAFT?!
And just last night, I heard NRA's Wayne Lapierre say that the Navy Yard shooting happened because there wasn't "Enough Guns" there...

Fuck this entire moronic country.

 

[Clowndoe]

Well, there's nothing to be said here that hasn't been said in the million or so identical stories but god damn, it just gets dumber and dumber. God forbid the guy has to do any parenting eh?

 

[Gunner 51]

Minecraft?!?! Minecraft?!?!?
I should be shocked that an out of touch judge is blaming my preferred media - but I'm not. But I am rather shocked he cited Minecraft (of ALL games!)

As I've said before, good parenting and good gun control may not stop all gun violence perpetrated by children - but you can stop a lot of it.

Perhaps schools can show a movie stating that guns have NO place in school AT ALL? (Unless it's already going on.)

 

[luckshot]

...

Listen, the kid was a moron to bring weapons in there, but to blame MINECRAFT?!
And just last night, I heard NRA's Wayne Lapierre say that the Navy Yard shooting happened because there wasn't "Enough Guns" there...

Fuck this entire moronic country.

yeah the minecraft blaming is pure retardation,
but the nra guy was refuring to the fact that soldiers are not allowed to be armed on bases, effectively turning them into gun free zones...until a lunatic brings some and starts shooting all the unarmed people

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

yeah the minecraft blaming is pure retardation,
but the nra guy was refuring to the fact that soldiers are not allowed to be armed on bases, effectively turning them into gun free zones...until a lunatic brings some and starts shooting all the unarmed people

He didn't even say that, just that more guns were needed.
Shooting in an unarmed area: Needs more guns.
Shooting in an armed area: Needs more guns.

It's the fact that he doesn't give a shit, as far as his paymasters are concerned, the only answer involves getting more and more guns into the public so the gun manufactures can make more money, Via fear ("The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.") or by lobbying for policy change that involves lots of guns ("I call on Congress today to act immediately, to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school...")

I don't care if you are Pro-Gun, that is a human shit stain if I ever saw one.

 

[Pink Gregory]

That *does* sound like the kid was floundering around for excuses, but the strange combination of items on a nine-year-old boy does seem more than a coincidence.

Not that anyone in the press is going to check up on that, being that 'knives and guns' don't exist in Minecraft outside of mods.

Kinda off-topic, I've never really understood the fascination that weaponry seems to hold for kids.

 

[sky14kemea]

Oh yeah, I totally remember the time I met up with Johnny the NPC in Minecraft and we had to shoot our way through the local shopping district in order to obtain better materials for our mining gear.

No. Nooooo. I'm sorry but that's just loopy. That's like saying Barbie dolls cause cannibalism. (I've seen some weird shit, guys.)

I actually had the urge to hit my head on the desk when I read that. It boggles my mind. I'm laughing and crying at the same time. I'm lying craughing.

 

[Eve Charm]

You know what I see it. It's a kid so out of touch with reality thanks to horrible parenting that he bought weapons to school to defend against the creepers or whatever...

This is what happens when kids are left to video games and tv to raise them instead of their parents actually giving a damn.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Well... on the brightside, this introduced me to this awesome gif I found on the Kotaku article.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Wow they are really scraping the barrel blaming Minecraft for this. Hell your average Tom & Jerry or Loony Toons cartoon has more violence in it than Minecraft. And come to think of it, Minecraft doesn't even have guns in unless you use a mod on the pc version.

The obvious blame to be placed is the idiot who leaves knives, hammers, and a bloody gun AND ammunition in the reach of a small child. Idiot parents will be idiots I guess. Unfortunately we can't stop them breeding thanks to human rights and all that. I suggest a heavy tax on stupidity, both for individuals and media.

 

[Weaver]

So the press takes issue with Minecraft and no one bats an eye that a 9 year old had free access to a handgun?
Seems legit.

 

[Benpasko]

Minecraft doesn't have hammers, knives, or guns. Don't even need to look at the game to blame it for violence, I see. What good parenting.

 

[freaper]

Well... on the brightside, this introduced me to this awesome gif I found on the Kotaku article.

Angel Beats was actually pretty darn good. I recommend it for sure.

OT: Oh, right, I'm meant to say something about the topic...

 

[Phrozenflame500]

You know, while I wouldn't be that surprised that Minecraft may have been somewhat involved (due to the hammer and knife), the gun kinda makes the whole thing doubtful and even if it was it would be the parent's fault for not being aware of their children, not the game's.

 

[TheMigrantSoldier]

My.... IQ went down a little. Why do so few attribute the problem to children having access to firearms at home? I vaguely remember back when some boy attempted to kill (Or killed) his mother and his CoD-playing habit was to blame. Never mind that the boy had easy access to weapons and had Intermittent Explosive Disorder or something.

The fact that Minecraft was blamed made this kind of special. Best excuse for bad parenting yet.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Yes, completely ignore the fact the kid has easy access to a gun.

Completely ignore the fact that his perception of reality is so screwed up that he actually wanted to reenact a character from a game in real life.

Completely ignore the fact that his parents weren't able to recognize this issue and that he somehow got all this past them. Not to mention the fact that they left the gun within easy reach for him.

Completely ignore the fact that the parents obviously have no clue what this kid is playing, which raises questions about what else they are unaware of regarding their own son.

What's to blame? Minecraft!

OK, to be fair, the father isn't trying to lead some righteous charge against Minecraft, or at least it doesn't sound like it. He's simply giving an explanation for what he thinks his son was trying to do. Still, blaming Minecraft in any way is ridiculous, and there are enough problems regarding how that kid is being raised and with his mental state that he needs some serious help. Hopefully, this wakes his parents up to how they need to improve their raising of him.

 

[Exterminas]

If he had used a pick axe I would have understood the complaint. But this is just absurd.

 

[Roxas1359]

Now I've never played Minecraft, but I'm pretty damn sure that there aren't any guns in that game at all!
*sigh*
Then again I live in a country where the political figures are gonna shut down the government because they don't like universal healthcare so why am I surprised. >.>