U.S. Senator Takes Pro-NRA, Anti-GTA Stance

[gentlemanghost]

"Well, for someone who refused to point fingers, Manchin certainly seems to be extending a digit in the direction of the video game industry."

Guess which digit *I'm* extending in Senator Manchin's direction.

 

[Johnson McGee]

There should really be a mandatory course in statistical analysis for politicians.

Video games exist in large numbers everywhere.
Mass shootings exist in relatively large numbers only in the US.

Therefore video games are unlikely to be the cause of mass shootings.

Similarly, guns exist in large numbers in many places, including places where mass shootings are rare. Therefore, the problem likely has much more to do with something unique to the US such as their reverence of gun culture or stigmatization of mental health issues or sensationalist media, etc.

But trying to fix those things is hard, blaming games is easy.

 

[Racecarlock]

You know, if we really are going to ban violent media that causes violence and media in general that causes violence, then let's start with the bible. The crusades, the inquisitions, the gay therapy camps, the civil war, all the marches and social reform that had to happen for african americans after the civil war to get rid of most of the racism and the KKK STILL exist, I'd say far more people have been encouraged to violent acts by the bible than violent video games.

 

[mattttherman3]

He can say what he wants, but the video game industry in america makes money hand over fist so nothing will change. Nevermind that GTA isn't even close to the most popular shooter out there. In fact, why are they not complaining about the airport scene in MW2? That would seem to suit their interests, and it's more recent than GTA4.

 

[an annoyed writer]

he's also advocating real steel firearms that 1: he lacks the knowledge to operate, and 2: The BIG one: DO kill people.

Actually, guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people. Honestly, these hippie types drive me up the wall.

Actually, the shock and impact of the bullet puncturing the body and severing nerves and blood vessels sustaining the ecosystem that keeps the subject alive kills them, not the bullet. The bullet may instigate this phenomena, but it needs to be explosively discharged, usually through a hollowed out tube, to perform this task. This tube is mounted on a frame which houses a mechanism to discharge the bullet through the tube, which when properly aimed, is directed towards the target and causes said rupturing of blood vessels and severs the aforementioned nerves on impact. Whether it kills the subject is highly situational and dependent on where the bullet enters: the puncturing of a place like the skull will more likely kill the subject than the puncturing of an arm. It's possible to survive either if treated correctly: most of the time however, the subject will suffer from a hemorrhage and die before treatment can be provided in the headshot case.

One more thing: I'm not one of those hippie types either: I own a personal sidearm by necessity due to the fact that I live in a bad neighborhood. Knowing how to own, operate, and store such things responsibly is key to preventing incidents like the Connecticut case from happening again.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

As the old saying goes "when you point the finger at something, there are four pointing back at you." The guy who shot up that school had been trained to use real guns, had experience using real guns and additionally had a very real mental health problem. I think killing civilian in GTA or whatever game was hardly going to improve his aim and while gaming could possibly have been a trigger for him, someone of that mental condition could have be set off by even the most innocuous of things.

This senator will probably move on to crusading against something else next month once he realises some other hot topic issue might score him some brownie points with some voters. So let's just call it as it is, some guy trying to exploit the emotions of a tragedy and the ignorance about a new medium for votes. Most people with half a brain will see straight through this guys act and call out the blatant hypocrisy and bias in his statement.

On a side note I wonder how long it will be before politicians realise that a large portion of gamers are of voting age and constantly trying to have a gaming witch hunt at every opportunity is likely to come bite them in the arse once an election rolls around?

 

[WanderingFool]

People need GTA about as much as they need 30 round magazines. They really dont need either, but both are fun to have!

Though one wont directly allow you to kill a large number of people, and the other lets you kill hookers to get your money back...

Wait... that doesnt sound right...

 

[Froggy Slayer]

Actually, the shock and impact of the bullet puncturing the body and severing nerves and blood vessels sustaining the ecosystem that keeps the subject alive kills them, not the bullet. The bullet may instigate this phenomena, but it needs to be explosively discharged, usually through a hollowed out tube, to perform this task. This tube is mounted on a frame which houses a mechanism to discharge the bullet through the tube, which when properly aimed, is directed towards the target and causes said rupturing of blood vessels and severs the aforementioned nerves on impact. Whether it kills the subject is highly situational and dependent on where the bullet enters: the puncturing of a place like the skull will more likely kill the subject than the puncturing of an arm. It's possible to survive either if treated correctly: most of the time however, the subject will suffer from a hemorrhage and die before treatment can be provided in the headshot case.

One more thing: I'm not one of those hippie types either: I own a personal sidearm by necessity due to the fact that I live in a bad neighborhood. Knowing how to own, operate, and store such things responsibly is key to preventing incidents like the Connecticut case from happening again.

I guess that we're both right, seeing as the bullet still 'kills' the person by enacting destruction on vital bodily systems. But the bullet must be launched from a gun. And the gun must be operated by a human. Ergo, all three kill people.

 

[The White Hunter]

he's also advocating real steel firearms that 1: he lacks the knowledge to operate, and 2: The BIG one: DO kill people.

Actually, guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people. Honestly, these hippie types drive me up the wall.

Ehh I'm sure you could bludgeon someone to deathw ith a rifle and some effort.

OT: Meh, who cares? The guy is pretty much wrong. Same with the gun control thing (Switzerland has more guns per capita. By a huge margin, every adult has an assault rifle issued and gets to keep it after their service in the defence force. They do not has massacres like this.

What they need is less coverage of such massacres to avoid encouraging mimicry for infamy, and better mental healthcare available for free.

 

[The White Hunter]

He can say what he wants, but the video game industry in america makes money hand over fist so nothing will change. Nevermind that GTA isn't even close to the most popular shooter out there. In fact, why are they not complaining about the airport scene in MW2? That would seem to suit their interests, and it's more recent than GTA4.

Cuz in MW2 you shot russians and thats fine. GTA4 you shot americans.

 

[DataSnake]

Games/Movies don't kill people; People kill people ...with guns.

Guns don't kill people...but they sure help.

 

[McMarbles]

The second some kid walks into a school with a copy of CoD and shoots thirty people with it, I'll be right behind him.

 

[ChristopherT]

in video games people kill guns

 

[an annoyed writer]

I guess that we're both right, seeing as the bullet still 'kills' the person by enacting destruction on vital bodily systems. But the bullet must be launched from a gun. And the gun must be operated by a human. Ergo, all three kill people.

Bingo. Each part comprises a machine that ultimately can kill things: an operator is needed to use the firearm, and the firearm needs bullets to propel at the target. A defect in any of the three can cause something bad to happen: the operator is the most crucial pert of this machine: they identify friend and foe, they aim the firearm, and they pull the trigger. If they've got a defect, the whole damn machine has a defect. The Connecticut case was a clear case of a defect in the operator: specifically, a mental defect that SHOULD have been treated, but wasn't. What caused this defect? We don't know, and due to the shooter's suicide, we won't know. All we can do is look at the evidence. That's where people are disagreeing: some think disarming is the solution, others think getting to the root of the problem is key: the problem there is focus, and the lack of taking all factors into account. This story is but one example of such fallacy.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Funny, I don't remember Nico ever shooting up a school. Most of what I remember from GTA4 is toll booths, and as such I think it have trained me to be a far more patient and level-headed person.

That's all the counter-argument I'm willing to offer, and even then it's more than this debate deserves by now.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

This reminds me of something I read awhile back. Something about a study being done from the lessons that kids learn from GTA.

Basically, young kids (under 13 years old) were allowed to play a GTA game extensively anyway they saw fit. And they asked them what lessons they learned from the game when they were done. The lessons they learned were things such as:

-Gang life is dangerous
-Guns are dangerous
-Once you begin Gang life; It's hard, almost impossible to escape
-Many gangsters die young
-If you commit crimes, the police will come after and won't stop until you are jailed or worse.

As fun as the games were to play and fun as it was to take part in the virtual violence of GTA, those kids got the point that GTA games convey. When asked what real-world lessons they can take away from their experiences with GTA, they lessons they claimed to have learned are very real and very serious stuff.

So in conclusion: Kids are smarter than this fuckwit of a politician.