Sandy Hook Final Report Finds No Link With Games

[Infernal Lawyer]

Oh of course, his most favourite game was dance dance revolution. Well, it's not a violent game, therefore video games have nothing to do with it.

Not that I'm claiming that video games were related to the shootings, but I find it funny that the same people who claim that violent games will turn you into the spawn of the devil would probably scoff at the idea that any other genre would have any affect on you. Why isn't anyone talking about how his parents should have supported his dream to be a pop star?

Yeah, a bit off-topic, and maybe almost insensitive, but I think my point stands.

 

[thewatergamer]

You mean games have absolutely nothing to do with murders?

What a revelation!

Seriously though, good to see this but it will inevitably fall on deaf ears...

 

[Something Amyss]

I will bet that anti-videogame crusaders will keep using Sandy Hook as an example regardless.

Captcha: learn from mistakes. Unfortunately they won't captcha

Well, it's not like their claims were ever rooted in reality to start with.

 

[Sarge034]

For people like us who are allowed to reach a conclusion based on common sense, it seems silly to not just say too many guns plus untreated mental illness equals mass shootings.

So if there are "too many" guns now what is the "appropriate" number of guns?

I wish legislators would take reports like this, beat each other over the head, and agree to pass some meaningful gun control laws and increase funding for diagnosing, treating, and assisting people with mental health issues.

Not trying to speak ill of the dead, but if his mother had securely stowed her firearms in a gun safe her mentally handicapped and violence obsessed son would not have gotten to them. Why is personal responsibility being overlooked in favor of "ban te gunzzz"? There is already a mandatory federal background check, fully automatic firearms are illegal unless you have a class 3 license, and the law is very clear about where law abiding citizens can carry firearms. What "meaningful" gun control laws would you have them pass?

To me it's completely insane that we're ignoring the people most likely to go out and kill us and that everyone in the US isn't demanding we figure out how to help these people before they act.

Well, if you are talking about a government run mental health program it will probably never happen outside of the VA. There were government run facilities in the late '60s and a few made it to the '90s, but most were shut down out of public outcry at the state of the facilities and the programs themselves. Why should the government even be responsible for their treatment? Is it not a personal condition that a personal physician should monitor?

Now to say that everyone is ignoring the threat is simply hyperbole. There are groups working on the mental health side of things (diagnosis, treatment, and further study) and there are those who work to help educate people of the warning signs of potentially life threating violent behavior.


So now let me ask you a question after I give you some background. I carry a canceled .45 caliber handgun. I follow all laws such as; I am over 21, I passed my ATF background check, I know where I can and can not take my firearm, I can't be impaired at all while carrying (legal/ illegal drugs, alcohol, ect), I can't carry on school grounds, I must declare I am carrying to any law enforcement that approaches me (even if they are just coming over to say hi and interact with people), I know when I can and can not draw/fire my firearm, ect, ect, ect. I have to drive someone I know to their high school because they broke their leg and can't safely get on the bus and I have to leave my firearm at home because I'm a law abiding citizen. So now the question. Is the gun control law forbidding me from carrying my handgun on school grounds doing any good if a shooter who has ignored the law was to start their shooting rampage in front of me? If I was carrying I could end the threat right then and there, but because I'm following the law there is nothing I can do and many more innocent people are going to die because of it. Gun control FTW, right?

The moral is that at this point you can't get rid of guns. If a law was somehow passed to confiscate every gun in the US and for the sake of this example people were ok with it, you know what would happen? The law abiding citizens would turn in all of their guns and the criminals would continue, surprisingly enough, to be criminals ignoring the law.

 

[SinisterGehe]

Are they really saying that insane and unstable people, might be insane and unstable? And that they can do horrible acts without any hesitation?

I am sure FOX will soon report that there must have been mistake in the report. Or if they report this at all.

I say it here first! Dancing games make you insane, well... You have to be insane to play them to begin with.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

Well, that's good news. I was almost going to ignore this thread, but I'm glad I gave it a read.

Honestly, if Videogames caused people to be violent, then we'd have reached an armageddon by now. We're well into a point where 1-2 generations are raised with videogames, and since one pixel collided with another, there's been videogame violence. That means a lot of people that should've developed into monsters, yet they haven't.

If there's a problem with someone that they start shooting, odds are they've for problems instead of just one. Those problems stack up. Can games contribute? Maybe! But are they the source? The root? prolly not.

If there comes a day when videogames cease being a scapegoat as TV, books, Comicbooks, masturbation, and such largely have, what's next, though? What's next to be blamed? Youtube/facebook where one can post their violent outbursts?

 

[weirdee]

oh my god, we have to ban ddr, somebody get the president on the line

i highly doubt that this will get any real publicity since the media circus has sucked the issue dry, and will not let the past get in the way of their ratings

 

[faefrost]

I've always said that those Dance Dance Seizure simulators lead people down a dark and twisted path...

 

[Something Amyss]

I wish legislators would take reports like this, beat each other over the head, and agree to pass some meaningful gun control laws and increase funding for diagnosing, treating, and assisting people with mental health issues.

A lot of states have. As for the ones that don't, well....It will probably take a tragedy in each and every state for any real change to happen, because that's the kind of society we are.

 

[Nieroshai]

Next thing you'll know, Fox news will say that DDR is the most violent videogame game in the history.

Or every other news source, most of which were just as vocal if not more so.

 

[prpshrt]

I can't believe people are stupid enough to believe there was supposed to be a link between the two. Sure we all get mad at video games or people online but it's hardly enough to make a person go on a killing spree...

 

[LegendaryVKickr]

As a 23 year old who lives in Connecticut, plays violent video games, has been diagnosed with Aspergers, and works with children regularly, I'm glad that this is out of the way. There were way too many things I shared in common with this guy for me to feel like I wouldn't be judged based on his actions at some point.

I think instead of Connecticut taxing games and assuming video games cause a problem, maybe they should, oh I DON'T KNOW...RESTRICT GUN LAWS!? I swear, how many more tragedies are we going to go through before politicians and the press realize that giving crazy people guns is the real problem, as opposed to a new form of media. It's funny, I've never seen people use cop dramas as a scapegoat for violence.

I seriously wish research could be done into this so they could rule out video games as a factor. This whole thing is just stupid as dicks.

 

[Something Amyss]

If there's a problem with someone that they start shooting, odds are they've for problems instead of just one. Those problems stack up. Can games contribute? Maybe! But are they the source? The root? prolly not.

Homer: Do you want the job done right or do you want it done fast?
Marge: Well, like all Americans... fast!

I think the first thing we have to confront when dealing with the overarching issue is the cultural tendency to look for a single source, a single issue, a single reason. Particularly an easy one. Scapegoating is literally the easy way out: it gives us something to rail against and makes us feel better, and then we can go on with our lives. Because really, isn't hat the end goal?

Games have become an expedient way to do this. And that's the biggest problem of all. Because, as you say, video games may be a cause, but they are not the cause. And even as I write the word "cause," I sort of regret it. I suppose what I mean is a factor. And when they say cause, they mean a primary source. I don't think we'll ever prove that's the case. Quite the opposite, in fact. I think violent people are drawn to violent media. This has actually been suggested by the studies that people use to "prove" games lead to violence.

 

[Something Amyss]

I think instead of Connecticut taxing games and assuming video games cause a problem, maybe they should, oh I DON'T KNOW...RESTRICT GUN LAWS!? I swear, how many more tragedies are we going to go through before politicians and the press realize that giving crazy people guns is the real problem, as opposed to a new form of media. It's funny, I've never seen people use cop dramas as a scapegoat for violence.

I understand why most of the Escapist doesn't know that CT has passed gun laws, but....How do you not know this? You're from CT?

 

[Something Amyss]

Next thing you'll know, Fox news will say that DDR is the most violent videogame game in the history.

Or every other news source, most of which were just as vocal if not more so.

Yeah, I mean, I don't get why Fox is singled out here. Video games have been to blame for things like this since before Fox News was even a network.

 

[Erik Revis]

And lets see just how much air-time this story gets on the major networks. My bet is on zero.

 

[barbzilla]

Actually the video games are mentioned (as well as listed) in the document. The first mention is on page 25. They do not make any direct connection between the games and the shooting, other than the fact that they decided it was important enough to list in the final investigation report (where they said only pertinent information would be relayed, and not every detail of the investigation).

They later go on to mention that he had the video game "School Shooting" on his hard drive along with videos of him playing DDR. Keep in mind this is among a list of things on his hard drive that relate to the shooting itself. I really have to question the motivation of including these mentions in the report.

EDIT: Sorry, it appears there is mention of other non related items at the very bottom of the list (under other items).

Edit 2: So after reading the more of the document, I can say that there were a number of conflicting statements about Adam from the people interviewed, but everything seemed to point to either some form of autism or perhaps a strange form of Bi-Polar disorder (which seems the more likely of the two as he was reportedly diagnosed with it) as well as being a sociopath (from the reports, he could discern morality, and even wrote multiple essays on the subject, but he either didn't feel them or he didn't know how to act on them).

I am also a bit confused as to why they keep listing intricate details about his gaming habits if they weren't implicated in his reasoning. It is the only consistently out of place detail in the report, everything else that is a minor detail is only briefly mentioned.

If I was to hazard a guess, something happened in 2011 at or near that school to him (probably got bullied again) and that caused him to shut down emotionally (what few he had). When that happened he stopped going to the theater to play DDR, he stopped communicating with his online friends, and he started caring less about the world (such as researching violence and writing about suicide). Then when he felt like he couldn't take it anymore, he decided he would improve the world before he left it (keep in mind I don't think it was an improvement, I'm merely speculating on his mental state). There may be a chance that it had something to do with his mother though, given he decided to kill her (or it could indicate a psychotic break where he lost touch with his morality).

Anyway, these are just speculation, I am not a professional and won't pretend that I know what actually happened, but it is a plausible explanation. I'm only about 1/4 way through though (just finished up the bit about his personal life), but I have to leave for work. I'll read the rest later and let you know if I change my mind on my guess.

 

[LegendaryVKickr]

I think instead of Connecticut taxing games and assuming video games cause a problem, maybe they should, oh I DON'T KNOW...RESTRICT GUN LAWS!? I swear, how many more tragedies are we going to go through before politicians and the press realize that giving crazy people guns is the real problem, as opposed to a new form of media. It's funny, I've never seen people use cop dramas as a scapegoat for violence.

I understand why most of the Escapist doesn't know that CT has passed gun laws, but....How do you not know this? You're from CT?

I know there are laws passed, but I don't think they are restrictive enough.

 

[Something Amyss]

I know there are laws passed, but I don't think they are restrictive enough.

Your argument says otherwise. You were portraying it as though they had not restricted gun laws, rather than not restricting them enough. It's reasonable from that to infer that your problem is with the former, fictitious issue that you stated rather than the real one you did not.

Humble apologies.

 

[rasputin0009]

Imagine if there were proper firearm storage laws. Or social programs to help families of those with mental health issues understand how to take care of them. Or at least someone tell his mother to not have fucking guns in the house of someone with clear social problems.

Does the average American feel safe? Does he or she really know what freedom is?