Oslo Murders Lead to Calls For Game Bans in Australia

[android88]

First, let's give a big hand to Brendan O'Connor for being quiet level headed in all this. Second, Why is it always Christian's who are outraged at all this? We never hear Muslims or Jews outraged at violence in video games. Third, this christian lobby group are more worried that he was playing violent games? I'm more disturbed by the fact he said he was inducted into the Kinghts Templar. Their priorities seem a bit off, especially since there's war and famine in Somalia for them to get angry about.

 

[Angry Camel]

Uh-oh, I'm a Christian that plays FPS games, too. Quick, lock me in a room and throw away the key!

In all seriousness, it's great to see the government actually using some common sense. I had to read it over twice to assure myself that someone in our political system actually sided with us for once. Mr. Wallace singling out videogaming and ignoring all the other contributing factors to the killer's mental state is just foolish and kind of hints at desperation.

 

[Keepitclean]

Anders was also a Christian. The bible is a violent book. Why stop at violent video games? Lets ban Christianity too!

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

The bible is a violent book.

True. I'd never let someone under 15 read it. All that sex and violence. IT COULD WARP YOUNG MINDS!

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

increasingly dysfunctional society

This right here should ruin his credibility instantly.

Society has gotten progressively safer and more functional throughout most of recorded history. Modernity has, if anything, significantly sped this progression. Bizarre conservative notions contrary to all available evidence should immediately disqualify opinions like this.

If he weren't so serious about it, it would almost be funny. Increasingly dysfunctional society in Australia of all places? Let's take a moment and remember how quite a proportion of the current population ended up in Australia. I'd say society's been increasing in functionality pretty damn well since then.

 

[Griffolion]

Oh great, the backlash has begun.

Oh great, the guy's put on the Christian moniker, meaning I'll be thrown in the same boat as him in the opinions of many.

Today will be a bad day...

 

[deanzig]

John Lennon was killed by a man obsessed with the book The Catcher in the Rye; should rebelious literature be banned?

Dimebag Darrell was killed by a man obsessed with the music of Pantera; should metal music be banned?

In Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army rapes, kills and tortures in the name of God; should religion be banned?

None of the above?

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Increasingly dysfunctional society in Australia of all places? Let's take a moment and remember how quite a proportion of the current population ended up in Australia. I'd say society's been increasing in functionality pretty damn well since then.

Immigration. Of Australia's 22 million and a bit population around 25% were born in another country and around 45% are either migrants or 1st generation Australian born.

You did say 'current population', after all.

The total percentage of Australians that have any convict heritage (because that's where you were going with this, right?) is less than 10%.

 

[scw55]

At my local turtle sanctuary there was a horrific case of where a young kid broke in and stomped on all the turtles with his feet. They found a vauge connection to him being obsessed with Mario games.

Sorry, bad taste joke but this is the sort of point people formed.


I don't see why people just don't BAN GUNS.

Works in Britain, why, any form of shooting is considered *huge* news.

Also, BAN HUNTING. Leave animal population management to people who are qualified in the area of Ecology.

... Why is it always Christian's who are outraged at all this? We never hear Muslims or Jews outraged at violence in video games...

Because Christiany have alot of mentally imbalanced people/people who interperate the whole concept of Christianity the wrong way.
In comparison, Muslims are alot more balanced and Jews extremely more so.

I think it's just white humans using Christianity as an excuse to wave their irl e-dongs around making themselves be self-righteous and condeming everything that they don't like via vauge and weak biblical references. When will people realise that not all Christians are douche bags? Oh wait, they never will because there will always be douche bag christians... :<

 

[Porygon-2000]

I love how everyone seems to have not read any of the previous comments, and repeated the phrase "LETS BAN CHRISTIANITY" (herp derps optional). I realise they were meant as a ridiculous extension of this guys particular logic (or maybe not, I'm not sure of how many of the commentors are actually anti-theist), but seriously, that point has been made, worn and run into the ground by now, find something else about him to ***** about.

Myself, i'm just glad that a politician is using some common sense, and not listening to Jack Thompson's southern imitators

 

[smithy_2045]

Why does anyone care what the ACL has to say? They're a bunch of raving loonies.

 

[Fraeir]

As a Norwegian, this is just a ridiculous notion by the Australians.

If games are to suffer because of a right-wing extremist who's also a fundamentalist Christian, then both right-wing parties (like the Republican Party of the US) and Christianity ought to be banned, or suffer somehow else, like taxing the church.

Besides, Breivik got his actually relevant training from having served in the mandatory first-time military service we have up here, in addition to going to shooting ranges with the rifle and pistol he gained through making a false statement they were to be used for hunting (a harrowing statement, in the wake of this event) and recreational pistol range shooting, respectively.

The rifle, a Ruger Mini 14, he used for the mass killings are restricted in Norway for use with only 4 round magazines, and on the condition it cannot be fired automatically, but he upgraded it himself, and acquired ten 30-round magazines from American distributors.

 

[Corporal Yakob]

Good for you ACL says I! As soon as we ban those awful awful electronic video-station gaming devices we can ban all those dreadful brown people who don't believe in the peace loving religion of Christianity and make the world the utopia it was during the golden age of Christendom-the Middle Ages!

In all seriousness, my respect for the Australian government has increased because their showing some sense.

 

[OceanRunner]

Brendan O'Connor is my newest gaming hero.

 

[SimGrave]

As expected, the horrific mass murder in Norway last week that claimed the lives of 76 people was linked, however tenuously, to videogames...

Who cares that a christian extremist group in a country that already has issues with video games wants to ban games?
It's not going to happen in anyway, so it's not worthy news.
However, 76 persons died. A dozen more were injured. And hundreds other are mourning the lost ones.

Yes the blame on games was predictable, who cares?
The gaming community debating about it was just as predictable.
And selfish.

An entire country is dealing with these horrible events and "oh no, christians blame games".
/sarcasm

Don't put everybody in Australia in the same basket.
The problem here are the christian fanatics who happen to live in that country, not the country as a whole.

One last thing... none of the people that we are bitching about are actually reading this forum.

 

[SimGrave]

Because Christiany have alot of mentally imbalanced people/people who interperate the whole concept of Christianity the wrong way.
In comparison, Muslims are alot more balanced and Jews extremely more so.<

Muslims and Jewish are outraged at things too.
It just happen that it's not video games that they have a problem with.
So us gamers don't make a big deal out of it.

Pretty much every religions are having issues with one thing or another.
Religions are based on rules and principles, whoever or whatever don't respect them is subject to rejection from them or maybe worse.

In Montreal, a certain community wanted a Gym to blur their windows so that boys from their school wouldn't get distracted by women on treadmills.
The women were outraged by that and it make a big debate.

Most religions are based on thousands years old writings, but are also adapting to new aspects of our modern reality... however, sometimes it feels like some aspects were selected arbitrarily, but anyway...

... I'm not saying all this to defend either Christianity or ***** about any other religion.... just saying that most of them have their faults and it's not fair to make such comment on Christians based only on their reaction to video games.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

The Christianity that the Australian Christian Lobby loves so much has killed millions more than games could ever kill, even if they aspired to be training tools for sociopaths.

 

[Omnific One]

I wonder which has caused more people to go insane and start killing, extremist Christian views or games....

My guess is extremist Christian views simply because they've been around a lot longer than video games.

Rhetorical.

But even on a year-to-year basis, I'm pretty sure extremist Christians will come out on top.

 

[TheHitcher]

Right, you know what else we should ban? Walking. I mean, he must have had to walk at some point to find his victims, right? It's just another idiot that thinks that banning something removes the problem.

 

[Razorback0z]

Apparently he played WoW too. Lucky he didnt turn anyone into a chicken.