Mother Claims Videogames Made Her Son Kill

[Andy Chalk]

Mother Claims Videogames Made Her Son Kill

The mother of the U.K.'s "most violent teenage murderer" is claiming in a newspaper article that videogames are responsible for turning her son into a killer.

Lorraine Harling claims in the tabloid sleaze-rag News of the World article [http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_pages/news/news4.shtml] that she and her husband had no idea of the "well of savagery" that had built up in their son Stuart. "Stuart never gave us any reason to think he was violent at all," she said. "He was a very normal boy - quiet and reserved. I used to call him 'my little professor.'"

Stuart Harling, 18, was convicted [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6253024.stm]two weeks ago of the murder of nurse Cheryl Moss, who he stabbed 72 times while she was on a smoke break. According to the article, the attack took place "just like he'd PRACTICED on the PlayStation in his bedroom."

"I knew he was playing the videogames but we didn't really know what went on in them, how brutal and graphic they were," his mother said. She also claimed to be ignorant of the age rating systems for videogames, saying, "Stuart was 11 or 12 when I bought him the PlayStation [http://www.playstation.com]. For a long time I didn't even realize games had age limits on them. We'd just buy him the game that all the other kids had."

During his trial, it was revealed that before the murder, which took place while his parents were vacationing in Spain, Harling had spent days online talking to pedophiles and researching serial killers. He also behaved disruptively throughout the trial, uttering threats and obscenities.

"I know these games are played by kids across the world, but some are truly horrific," his mother said. "And if they can cause a trigger to be pulled in someone's head they should be banned."

"I was his mother, but I'd no idea what was happening," she added.


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[Tom Edwards]

The News of the World is among the reddest of the red-tops. They'll print this kind of bile about anything - so aren't worth getting worried about in the slightest.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Hence my description of the paper. But it's still the sort of thing worth being aware of, because regardless of its lack of worth, NotW has a massive readership, the majority of which will probably swallow that crap unquestioningly. I like to think we live in an enlightened society that's transcended mob rule, but I can't honestly say that I believe it.

 

[Bongo Bill]

It's easier, I suppose, than contemplating the likelihood that she failed as a parent. Which is not to say that's necessarily the case here - sometimes kids are just bad.

 

[Caolinn]

yeah, sometimes kids are just bad. and likely, anyone who /can/ murder someone in so extreme a fashion has got something a bit off.

but

"I was his mother, but I'd no idea what was happening," she added.

is telling, to my mind.

 

[LxDarko]

During his trial, it was revealed that before the murder, which took place while his parents were vacationing in Spain...

"I was his mother, but I'd no idea what was happening," she added.

Those two statements right there tell the reason for this tragedy.

NotW has a massive readership, the majority of which will probably swallow that crap unquestioningly. I like to think we live in an enlightened society that's transcended mob rule, but I can't honestly say that I believe it.

I tend to hold the firm belief that many people are not as mentally capable as they should or could be. It is quite the viewpoint to hold but then people like this "mother" have children and reaffirm my theory.

People believe the media far to much. Not enough people question what see and read in the news.

Next time you are watching the news on tv and they put on a video clip that seems to look like a montage ask yourself where it came from and if it is even directly connected to the story.

If you watch cable news stations in the U.S. they often play random generic video when talking about Iraq, just about anything middle east, dealing with a foreign country, or any story that can make people afraid to leave the house. Sad thing is most believe what they see even if it isn't related to the story.

 

[Tarmanydyn]

If a kid fucks up, the parents are to blame. Period.

The mother is always the one to say "Oh, he was perfectly normal, this came totally out of the blue". It was either complete ignorance that she didn't see anything wrong with her son, or she simply played his condition down as "just a phase".

For a long time I didn't even realize games had age limits on them. We'd just buy him the game that all the other kids had.

Clear proof of poor parenting, I don't expect 24/7 surveillance, that would be absurd, but at least inquiry into what your child is doing, instead of leaving them completely out of your hands.

 

[shadowbird]

This paragraph says it all:

"I knew he was playing the videogames but we didn't really know what went on in them, how brutal and graphic they were," his mother said. She also claimed to be ignorant of the age rating systems for videogames, saying, "Stuart was 11 or 12 when I bought him the PlayStation. For a long time I didn't even realize games had age limits on them. We'd just buy him the game that all the other kids had."

Makes me want to whack anyone who can so blatantly say "Videogames should suffer because of my neglect and idiocy." So if she bought her son "The way of the samurai" and a real katana, just because all other kids have one, she would then call for ban on books and martial arts weapons when he actually cuts someone - because, you know, some of them (the books and weapons) are really dangerous or can trigger one's violent urges to finally come out? Douche.

 

[Ros Lai]

Harling had spent days online talking to pedophiles and researching serial killers.

I like how they manage to slip pedophiles in there too. Mmm...that there's some good fearmongering.

 

[the_carrot]

Hence my description of the paper. But it's still the sort of thing worth being aware of, because regardless of its lack of worth, NotW has a massive readership, the majority of which will probably swallow that crap unquestioningly. I like to think we live in an enlightened society that's transcended mob rule, but I can't honestly say that I believe it.

Maybe we can get Jack Thompson to jump on it, pawn him off on you for a while, get him out of the country to practice his crap. I'm sure he hasn't passed a UK bar exam, or whatever they use however.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

So in the article she claims video games are responsible for her son's behavior, but admits she had no idea what kind of games he was playing, or that there were ratings in place. GG, parenting.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I would like to see an article that says

"Video-gamers blame poor parenting for murder".

 

[PurpleRain]

"just like he'd PRACTICED on the PlayStation in his bedroom."

He practiced stabing his playstation?! Well I don't blame him.

 

[Alter]

Just to provide a different view...

What if this guy did in fact do this because of all the violent content exposed to him from such an early age?
These games are trying to be as realistic as possible and then hyper-violent as well, basically sensationalizing violence and using it as some kind of hip selling point. Taking that and constantly exposing it to young kids, possibly a small few of those kids are going to be warped by it...

I know there is a knee-jerk reaction by media to just go OMG it must be the violent computer games everytime an underager does something bad... but the gaming community seems to have the same knee-jerk reaction and discounts the possibility that violent games could have played any part in messing the kid up.

 

[PurpleRain]

Just to provide a different view...

What if this guy did in fact do this because of all the violent content exposed to him from such an early age?
These games are trying to be as realistic as possible and then hyper-violent as well, basically sensationalizing violence and using it as some kind of hip selling point. Taking that and constantly exposing it to young kids, possibly a small few of those kids are going to be warped by it...

I know there is a knee-jerk reaction by media to just go OMG it must be the violent computer games everytime an underager does something bad... but the gaming community seems to have the same knee-jerk reaction and discounts the possibility that violent games could have played any part in messing the kid up.

For every murder, there is a cause, a motivation. Why would some kids take somebodies life? Because of a game? Because of a movie? A Book? DnD? They're not motivations. I can't say I killed somebody other then a computer game made me do it. There needs to be an actual reason behind somebody killing someone else.

 

[Wetall]

"while she was on a smoke break"
More proof smoking kills, or is that in bad taste?

 

[fnph]

Just to provide a different view...

What if this guy did in fact do this because of all the violent content exposed to him from such an early age?
These games are trying to be as realistic as possible and then hyper-violent as well, basically sensationalizing violence and using it as some kind of hip selling point. Taking that and constantly exposing it to young kids, possibly a small few of those kids are going to be warped by it...

I know there is a knee-jerk reaction by media to just go OMG it must be the violent computer games everytime an underager does something bad... but the gaming community seems to have the same knee-jerk reaction and discounts the possibility that violent games could have played any part in messing the kid up.

While that is a good point, on the other hand there is the fact of the age restrictions on games in the U.K. That is, legal age restriction, not recommendations. Restrictions that are displayed on the front and side of the box in a big red circle. Also, the guy wasn't a minor when he did it, he was 18, a legl adult.
I think we can firmly put this down to poor parenting.

 

[DaneJ8]

The thing that really gets to me about that is the fact that the description of the guy is the same as any other person who randomly became a killer, just added that he played videogames. His mother obviously doesn't understand human psychology in the least as to how our minds are effected by things, and instantly blamed something that's commonly been blamed for things unjustly.

 

[Alter]

Just to provide a different view...

What if this guy did in fact do this because of all the violent content exposed to him from such an early age?
These games are trying to be as realistic as possible and then hyper-violent as well, basically sensationalizing violence and using it as some kind of hip selling point. Taking that and constantly exposing it to young kids, possibly a small few of those kids are going to be warped by it...

I know there is a knee-jerk reaction by media to just go OMG it must be the violent computer games everytime an underager does something bad... but the gaming community seems to have the same knee-jerk reaction and discounts the possibility that violent games could have played any part in messing the kid up.

While that is a good point, on the other hand there is the fact of the age restrictions on games in the U.K. That is, legal age restriction, not recommendations. Restrictions that are displayed on the front and side of the box in a big red circle. Also, the guy wasn't a minor when he did it, he was 18, a legl adult.
I think we can firmly put this down to poor parenting.

It sounded like she was claiming he had been playing the games growing up. My interest isn't from the point of view that he shouldn't have been playing them because he was a minor at the time.
It's from the point of view that he did play them and was perhaps exposed to other violent media, could those have contributed to creating a psyche that would then go out and commit this crime?

Or on the flip side of the coin, if he hadn't been exposed to violent media would the crime still have happened?

Edit: just in case you guys are wondering, I am a gamer. And don't doubt that the mother/media are looking for something to blame here. I'm just not able to dismiss out of hand what impact some of the more realistic and violent games out there could be having on younger kids while they are growing up (hell even some immature older people for that matter).

 

[Copter400]

Guys, I'm not as experienced as most of the rest of you are, so are there any games in which you have the opportunity to stab people 72 times? School nurses, at that?

I suppose the mother's just in the denial stage of things. The quicker she can get to acceptance the better. Lady, if you buy your kid Blood Drinking Hell Guys 3: Maim and Tear without giving the cover more than a passing glance you have failed as a parent.