Australia's Jack Thompson?

Michael Atkinson, the notorious attorney general of South Australia, has spoken out about his reasons for blocking the creation of an "R" videogame rating in Australia, and also expressed his opinions about the "swine" who think such ratings are a good idea.

In a recent segment by the Australian show Stateline that examined the country's lack of a mature videogame rating, Atkinson said the absence of high-level game ratings helps keep those videogames out of Australian homes, where some people - particularly children - would be adversely affected by their content. "I'm sure most people can distinguish the fantasy of the computer game from the reality, but it's the small number we know can't that leads to mass murder in American high schools, and in Thailand last year, linked to a gamer last year playing out the fantasy of hijacking a taxicab and murdering the driver," he said. "It happened."

Many gamers and other functional human beings in Australia and around the world are firmly against Atkinson's stance, but he does have the support of Young Media Australia, a company "committed to promoting better choices and providing stronger voices in children's media." Young Media Australia Vice President Elizabeth Handsley shares Atkinson's opinion that violent entertainment leads to violent behavior. "It can increase a person's tendency to be violent, or to want to resolve conflict with violence," she said. "Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it can increase people's acceptance of violence, and make them more tolerant of violence, or desensitize children to violence. And again, the interactive aspect of videogames just heightens that effect."

And while the demand for a higher videogame rating in Australia continues to rise, anyone hoping the attorney general can be persuaded to engage in serious debate on the matter is likely to be sorely disappointed. Atkinson, who implied he had been threatened with "elimination" by gamers, described his true feelings toward gamers in no uncertain terms. "I think the Western industrialized countries that allow R-rating-plus computer games and the extreme violence that goes with them are just so many gathering swine going over the cliff, and I'm pleased that Australia has a principled, sensible stand against this extreme violence," he said. "I'm happy for Australia to stand alone, and international gamers can laugh at us all they like."

Source: GamePolitics

Permalink

A little off topic, but is it just my computer, or is that video insanely quiet?

I found Michael Atkinson's view on the topic well presented and rational than the usual anti-violence games propaganda, but he is almost certainly imposing his views on others and they presented absolutely no scientific studies to back up their arguement other than a few isolated cases.

Off-Topic: It's not low, try turning your volume up.

Boo hiss! Go back to the 19th century, Emissary of the Christian Right, and take your meddling with you!

He talks like a rational man, basing his arguments on facts shown by scientific studies, except that the studies with those findings don't exist. You can tell he's not being completely honest by the amount of weasel words he uses. My favourite is: "it was decided that Australia didn't need an R rating". Yes Michael, it was decided - by you. I guess he's just not comfortable saying "I decided Australia doesn't need an R rating for video games".

The volume on the video is low for me too.

Mr. Atkinson, I do laugh at you. I laugh at you heartily and with great derision. I laugh at you both for your ass-backwards belief and for your swine-headed insistance in ramming said belief down the throats of an increasingly dissatisfied public. So "Ha Ha!" Mr Atkinson! Ha Ha!

I can at least respect him for speaking coherently and being internally consistent. And well, nothing he has ever done has ever stopped me from doing whatever i like ever. You know why? Because like most educated Australians, when i see that there's a better deal internationally *i go and get it*.

18 months and i graduate and i am *out* of this backwater village.

Lvl 64 Klutz:
A little off topic, but is it just my computer, or is that video insanely quiet?

I can barely heard it with my speakers on full although i am only using crummy laptop speakers atm because my real ones are elsewhere atm.

I personally think that video games should be able to contain whatever terrors and horrors that they want but should have the raiting that reflect that, and the parents of young gamers need to understand that not all games are sutible for their children to play at that age. An 18 rated game should be able to be as horrific as an 18 rated film and its parents (and childrens slightly) fault if they decide to let their child play an 18 game like it would be if they let them see an 18 film. By trying to ban games with unsutible content then its just destroying the oppertunity for those who can enjoy such games because they're of an age where it wont screw them up. I personally love to have a game that scares me and i know that games like doom 3 arent suitible for anyone under the age bracket.

Let's compare violence statistics, Australia... : P

Doctor Panda:
like most educated Australians, when i see that there's a better deal internationally *i go and get it*.

Me too, but it's illegal to import games that have been refused classification.

Whew, the ball has been passed...

I don't think it's really fair to compare Thompson and Atkinson. One is a egomaniacal raging lunatic who has lost touch with reality, and Thompson is nothing like that.

Malygris:
Australia's Jack Thompson?

Australia already has a Jack Thompson, so no thank you.

WELL we took down one, lets take down the new one! Stage 2 boss battle!

YAWN.

At least this one isn't in my country. And while he makes a pretense at being logical, the studies he talks about don't exist. Whatever happened to just "Crazy"?

Because nothing's healthier to a growing child then the knowledge that the government can and will take away freedoms without consideration, evidence, or fair process.

Awww, that's so wholesome. Is like a big ole glass a milk.

I love how he says he lets his kids play GTA... shows that he has no idea what he's talking about.

Anyways, I have on question for the man: you keep talking about the kids, but why should the rights and freedoms of adults be compromised for the select few children, who's parents should actually take care of them?

Edit: Damn, how many South Australians do we have on this board?

If Atkinson continues to deny the public's overwhelming request to get an R rating for games in Australia, I wouldn't be surprised if it backlashed at him somehow.

I hate people that don't know what the hell they're talking about.

...but he does have the support of Young Media Australia, a company "committed to promoting better choices and providing stronger voices in children's media."...

And there we have the problem, video games are still not seen as a mature form of entertainment.

He lies! New Zealand gave the women the right to vote before australia. Lying bastage!

So basically what he is basing is argument on is that australian kids are soo weak minded to be corrupted by games that if their parents were doing their freaking jobs the kids would not have in the first place... Thats just great.

Swine?

Swine.

It's on, bitch.

I hate that guy. That is all.

He can't compare that if Australia could get R games we would have massacres to an extent like America. Guns are legal to adults over there so has this man lost all sense of the outside world? He reminds me of the vault overseers in Fallout, always trying to exceedingly protect us.

avykins:
He lies! New Zealand gave the women the right to vote before australia. Lying bastage!

On a technicality, South Australia was first: property-owning women were allowed to vote in local elections in 1861. It only granted real women's suffrage in 1894, one year after New Zealand. They were both beaten to it by the Pitcairn Islands way back in 1838, which was (and officially remains) a territory belonging to the UK.

Incidentally, the Australian state of Victoria (where Melbourne is, where I live) gave women the right to vote by accident by the wording of the Electoral Act of 1863! Women voted in the 1864 election, but after that the Act was amended to take the right away again. (We gave it back later.)

Copter400: "swine" was a poor choice of words, but probably not meant as a direct insult. He uses it as part of a saying: countries that allow R-ratings are "just so many gathering swine going over the cliff". Malygris was irresponsible to pull that word out of context in the first paragraph.

He makes a good point, however when you have super violent movies like Saw being advertised everywhere I would say that small percentage of people are going to become violent anyway. They shouldn't be aloud to ban and create new laws for every little thing anymore, I wouldn't be surprised if they made a law to wear helmets inside a car one day.

Well Dan's going to have to wait for now, this guy qualifies for a top rank on my 'Black List'.

Milkman Dan:
I don't think it's really fair to compare Thompson and Atkinson. One is a egomaniacal raging lunatic who has lost touch with reality, and Thompson is nothing like that.

Sure a man who called Bully a "public nuisance" is not crazy.

Aardvark Soup:

...but he does have the support of Young Media Australia, a company "committed to promoting better choices and providing stronger voices in children's media."...

And there we have the problem, video games are still not seen as a mature form of entertainment.

Comics still suffer from this problem. Only in very recent years have they been seen as less juvenile. So video games have another 40 or so years to go.

Malygris:
Australia's Jack Thompson?

Young Media Australia Vice President Elizabeth Handsley shares Atkinson's opinion that violent entertainment leads to violent behavior. "It can increase a person's tendency to be violent, or to want to resolve conflict with violence," she said. "Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it can increase people's acceptance of violence, and make them more tolerant of violence, or desensitize children to violence. And again, the interactive aspect of videogames just heightens that effect."

Whenever I see an idiot like her try to claim video games make people violent, I wish she was smart enough to actually understand the difference between aggression and violence. It would also be nice if she understood the studies she claims to have read.

Edit: I'm glad that I'm American with an idiot leaving the white house soon and another idiot being debarred. Now for the Senate.

These people need to read (grand theft childhood)
All these augments have been shot don in this book there is no direct link between watching violence and becoming violent

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&safe=off&resnum=0&q=grand%20theft%20childhood%20video&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

Take a look at the XPLAY interview

Grand Theft Childhood: о реальном влиянии видеоигр

This is the one I am referring to

We can't ever call anyone insane or psychopathic anymore. It's always someone or somethings fault. Therefore, punish everyone for it.

Wait...what?

I'm quite happy laugh at mr. Atkinson from my little industrialized western country(Also, where the hell would you find a western country that isn't industrialized?) with it's complete absence of school shootings & lack of violence that in any way takes place near a video game.

Truly, the man is a steadfast pillar of true and righteous behavior, to force others to stand tall against an onslaught of absolutely harmless entertainment.

Fraser.J.A:

Copter400: "swine" was a poor choice of words, but probably not meant as a direct insult. He uses it as part of a saying: countries that allow R-ratings are "just so many gathering swine going over the cliff". Malygris was irresponsible to pull that word out of context in the first paragraph.

I'd agree with you, but the saying is "lemmings going over the cliff." Replacing "lemmings" with "swine"...he has to be saying something there.