Fortunately, I played Frogger so I know how to dodge cars.
(This picture has been forwarded to me a bunch of times, I guess all my friends know I’m a nerd. If anyone knows where to attribute this photo, let me know and I’ll link.)
Popularity: 12% [?]
In a country so based on Christian beliefs and ideals, it seems these days that most people are forgetting the definition for “Scapegoat”. As defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a “Scapegoat” is:
a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur
Basically the goat has all the sins of the populace placed on him, and then is sent out to die. Traditionally with rocks, sticks, and curses thrown at him to drive him on. Such things have been common in all societies, such as dragging a lonely old woman out and burning her at the stake for a witch when some of the town’s populace came down with sickness or sinful acts, whether she had any blame or not.
It does my heart proud to see these age old traditions brought forth again today with Video Games. Games in general have been blamed for years, whether it was claiming that Dungeons and Dragons (a game in which you commonly destroy evil, fight demons, and protect the innocent) was at blame for Satanic rituals and domestic abuse, or claiming that all Renaissance Fair enthusiasts are degenerate drunken rapists. History shows that Americans don’t seem to have much of a love of the imagination, even if that was what our country was founded on.
While some of these claims, sadly, can prove true, it is completely besides the point. Video Games are being blamed for the bad actions of bad people. While inspiration may come from violent video games, it’s true, can it not also come from television, books, or possibly even the newspaper itself? Violent acts are not uncommon in history, and sadly neither is attempting to pass the blame.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: action, EA, game, games, media, mmo, MMOGs/MMORPGs, politics, rock, RoM, video, video game, video game violence, video games, violence
Making the rounds these last few days have been reports of Sen. Hilary Clinton’s (D-NY) not-so-complimentary words for the gaming industry. From The Australian:
“Children are playing a game that encourages them to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them,” the US senator and former first lady said.
“This is a silent epidemic of media desensitisation that teaches kids it’s OK to diss people because they are a woman, they’re a different colour or they’re from a different place.”
Did she just say “diss”? Anyway, needless to say, geeks aren’t happy. Especially one Matt Paprocki, a blogcritic.org contributor who got his panties in such a bunch that he wrote an online response to the good senator. Here’s how it begins:
A Letter to Senator Hilary Clinton on Video Game Violence: While browsing the internet yesterday, I stumbled across an article centering around a $90 million study you have proposed on the so-called “effects of video game violence.” Please realize what a huge waste of not only taxpayer’s dollars this is, but also how simple the answer is to all of this. It has nothing to do at all with the content of these rated video games, but everything to do with lackluster parenting.
He then added, “P.S., your husband totally cheated on you with a fat chick.”
Hilary hits out at games violence [The Australian]
A Letter to Senator Hilary Clinton on Video Game Violence [blogcritics.org]
Popularity: 2% [?]
Tags: ds, EA, game, games, media, mmo, MMOGs/MMORPGs, rock, RoM, video, video game, video game violence, video games, violence
