Newtown Boy Campaigns Against Violent Games
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Like I said, that is obviously an unfortunate tragedy, and he is probably taking it hard, but it doesn't make what he's doing justified or even logical.ThisGuyLikesNoTacos said:
I mean, good on the kid for being affected by this tragedy and trying to do something to help the community, but, really this isn't the best way to do it. Of all things, the stuff he decides to throw out had nothing to do with the actual tragedy.
I may just pop by to empty out the trashcan myself...
I may just pop by to empty out the trashcan myself...
You misunderstood me, which is acceptable. I was actually giving you advice.Capitano Segnaposto said:
Also, bullying causes suicides, though giving people wedgies these days seems a bit cartoon-ish.
I still think you're trying to be dark and edgy. Don't like it? You better start acting properly. You also appear to be trying to intimidate me with your degrading comments.
Of course it isn't good what he is doing. That's also obvious. I think people should just let others do some silly things, if they don't harm anyone (including themselves ofc.) in anyway, when their clearly having a hard time with their lives.sethisjimmy said:
We're all humans here after all, and humans make mistakes, especially when we're emotional.
What the kid is doing isn't even remotely dangerous nor offensive, so I don't think we should waste our time on criticizing him.
The kid isnt saying that games are bad or anything though, he's just decided that his violent games remind him too much of an unfortunate tragedy. That's a very respectable and even reasonable opinion. Of course if this group uses it to kickstart a big campaign against games then that wont be alright, but it wouldnt be the kids fault.BanicRhys said:Profit, you say?kenu12345 said:
I really hate it when kids think they have real opinions, of course this was most likely all some adult's idea.
While I appreciate the sentiment and the kid's change of heart I do have to points.
1) He is 12 and I don't care how much he bugged his parents, they shouldn't have bought it for him. If he convinced them that he was mature enough to handle it then why is no longer capable of seeing it as fantasy to the extent that he feels the need to throw the games out.
2) Does this mean he will never kill anything in any other video games? No final fantasy, no mass effect, no dishonnored, ect... or is it just military style shooters that he is done with?
I get what the kid is saying and i think it is important for people to take a step back from their fantasies at times like these and reflect; but other than confirming fantasy and not training platform, I don't see why you would need to give these games up.
1) He is 12 and I don't care how much he bugged his parents, they shouldn't have bought it for him. If he convinced them that he was mature enough to handle it then why is no longer capable of seeing it as fantasy to the extent that he feels the need to throw the games out.
2) Does this mean he will never kill anything in any other video games? No final fantasy, no mass effect, no dishonnored, ect... or is it just military style shooters that he is done with?
I get what the kid is saying and i think it is important for people to take a step back from their fantasies at times like these and reflect; but other than confirming fantasy and not training platform, I don't see why you would need to give these games up.
Its funny how many people are ripping on the kid for being 12 and playing CoD. Granted the game has an M rating which here at least means you have to be 17 to buy/play it. That said, I wonder how many people on this site can legitimately claim they didn't play anything that had a teen rating until they were out of elementary school and mature until they were out of high school (roughly). I very, very much doubt that anyone on this site can claim that, unless they are say older than 30 or 40 and didn't have/play videogames when they were young.
However I still got some problems with this though.
1) If he was mature enough to handle the game before and realize that it wasn't real life then why is he having a problem with it now. It could be argued that it reminds him of the shooting and no longer brings him joy, but I would say that he is more than likely convinced that videogames are the cause, based on how he is urging his peers to throw away their games too. His peer playing violent games should have no impact on reminding him of the murders so I'm rejecting that theory.
2) Kids don't really have opinions that young, or at least they don't usually make their own. The involvement of his stepfather and this council/group thing lead me to suspect that he is just a tool in the hands of his parents who are shaping his ideas.
However I still got some problems with this though.
1) If he was mature enough to handle the game before and realize that it wasn't real life then why is he having a problem with it now. It could be argued that it reminds him of the shooting and no longer brings him joy, but I would say that he is more than likely convinced that videogames are the cause, based on how he is urging his peers to throw away their games too. His peer playing violent games should have no impact on reminding him of the murders so I'm rejecting that theory.
2) Kids don't really have opinions that young, or at least they don't usually make their own. The involvement of his stepfather and this council/group thing lead me to suspect that he is just a tool in the hands of his parents who are shaping his ideas.
The Internet: Supporting child abuse and every other horrid act since its inception.ThisGuyLikesNoTacos said:
I don't know, what are we doing wrong? Far as I can see only one person has given a rather trollish response to the kid's actions. He's making a sweet gesture, really he is, and I doubt many of us at that age could stomach CoD levels of violence after living through that. His actions beyond that are no less naive and the adults around him that have already started to take advantage of his innocence as a rallying cry are no less despicable. All this is going to end up being is a harsh lesson for the kid that the majority of the world really doesn't care too much about what he's going through; they just enjoy watching the train wreck of a media circus that surrounds it.
First off, I am going parrot what a bunch of people have all ready said. Twelve year old. Playing Call of Duty Multiplayer. To be fair, I dont think I was much older when I started playing Half Life and Unreal Tournament, but at least widespread voice communication was none existent. Really hope his parents are at least engaged and monitoring his play, and talked to him about difficult interactions. But I digress..
Context. We need it.
The quote "how real this is", in what sense does he view his online slayings as real? Did the massacre hit too close to home because on occasion he'd picture bullies and objects of his envy taking bullets to the head? Was he sheltered to the point that he thought actual murder and killing didn't exist in the real world? After the tragedy, was he afraid games might make him a killer later on in life?
All right, he has been part of a traumatic experience, but throwing away his violent games seems like a very knee jerk reaction. As others have suggested, this may not be his idea at all, but a suggestion by someone else taken one step further. I think it is great that the boy is questioning why he plays the games he does, and what he wants out of his gaming experience. Now is a time for personal reflection and growth. Depending on what conslusions he comes to, he could be very sorry he chose this path. Money and entertainment down the drain..
For myself, it was the challenge of better myself, of being the best player, solving skills challenges and problems, learning from defeat, and loving the sweet taste of victory. Sure, there were rivals, people that really stood out and forced me to up my game to beat them, but that was always as far as it went, a rise to the challenge.
Context. We need it.
The quote "how real this is", in what sense does he view his online slayings as real? Did the massacre hit too close to home because on occasion he'd picture bullies and objects of his envy taking bullets to the head? Was he sheltered to the point that he thought actual murder and killing didn't exist in the real world? After the tragedy, was he afraid games might make him a killer later on in life?
All right, he has been part of a traumatic experience, but throwing away his violent games seems like a very knee jerk reaction. As others have suggested, this may not be his idea at all, but a suggestion by someone else taken one step further. I think it is great that the boy is questioning why he plays the games he does, and what he wants out of his gaming experience. Now is a time for personal reflection and growth. Depending on what conslusions he comes to, he could be very sorry he chose this path. Money and entertainment down the drain..
For myself, it was the challenge of better myself, of being the best player, solving skills challenges and problems, learning from defeat, and loving the sweet taste of victory. Sure, there were rivals, people that really stood out and forced me to up my game to beat them, but that was always as far as it went, a rise to the challenge.
I found most of the comments (notice the time of my original post) somewhat mean spirited and dismissive. Considering the person who is on the receiving end of it.KeyMaster45 said:
I overreacted. I admit it.
Destroy your expensive games as a proxy for my grieving process! Because if we destroy enough games that might bring back my brother and/or prevent another shooting!
Eh... I think you need therapy kid. You need it anyway for having lost your bro's brother, which is probably a trauma especially now that there is no one to answer for the crime. However you are now blaming a piece of media for what a person with a gun did. How about you invite people to throw away their guns? Seems allot more effective than throwing away games.
Also there is no such thing as a Violent Videogame. It implies that the videogame has some kind of anger issues and is threatening you constantly. It is just a term used to make the videogame sound like an entity rather than an piece of software.
Eh... I think you need therapy kid. You need it anyway for having lost your bro's brother, which is probably a trauma especially now that there is no one to answer for the crime. However you are now blaming a piece of media for what a person with a gun did. How about you invite people to throw away their guns? Seems allot more effective than throwing away games.
Also there is no such thing as a Violent Videogame. It implies that the videogame has some kind of anger issues and is threatening you constantly. It is just a term used to make the videogame sound like an entity rather than an piece of software.
Well, you can't decide if he's 'right'. If I see someone who's a tad over emotional, and crying over some spilled milk, I cannot go up to them and say "Excuse Me Sir, that emotion you're feeling? Well, its wrong. No, no, don't argue. I see where you're coming from, but you're not right, in feeling upset because this happened."FelixG said:
If you don't react emotionally as easily as the 12-year-old, good for you. I'd expect as much. The point is, he is not arguing anything, so you cannot dismiss him as not being right. He is a kid, and being put in the first person perspective of someone shooting another human, and taking their life, for entertainment, upsets him.
If you have a hard break up, and you hear a break up song or read a story about a break up, and it reminds you of it, and you get emotional, 'knowing the difference between between fiction and real life' doesn't stop you from sympathizing. You would be excused if you thought about going out of your way NOT to hear that song again, or read that story, so you can AVOID bringing up those negative feelings. As 'not real life' as Taylor Swift's song is, you still get sad, and you still don't want to feel sad, so you'll turn tune to another station.
I am already imagining a movie made about the last two intelligent people in Newtown and their quest to find this dumpster and save the games from destruction. Or, at the very least, get an ass-load of free games.
