Animal Slaughter Blamed on Violent Games

The latest scapegoat theory attempts to link violent videogames to an increased desire for young men to run out and kill Bambi.

In a recent piece published in The American Spectator lamenting the needless slaughter of wildlife, conservative writer Bill Croke draws some pretty far-out conclusions as to why games are supposedly responsible. Croke's sights are leveled at kids who play violent videogames and the parents who let them.

"My own experience observing kids playing videogames (in the Salmon, Idaho Public Library, no less) are that they always seem to involve human characters hunting down and shooting other human characters with automatic weapons, while being shot at themselves," writes Croke. "Since it's apparent that a small percentage of kids can actually suffer psychological problems from playing these games, an empathy deficit if you will, I think it might be an easy jump to get up from a computer game, go out and pull the trigger on an elk or a deer, and then walk away with a laugh. After all, it's only a game."

How exactly does Croke come to the conclusion that videogames are responsible for causing an epidemic of animals being shot and dumped across the great American countryside? He sets the stage by citing the usual studies on videogame violence. Then he notes "these wildlife atrocities are committed mostly by young men aged 15 to 22, the videogame generation." So apparently videogames are responsible simply because the age group supposedly matches up? Gotcha. Croke also adds animals should soon get a reprieve as gamers rise up and graduate to killing other humans.

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First Parent: "Our kids are screwed up because we were shitty parents, what shall we do?"

Second Parent: "I know, blame video games. That usually works."

More like "The American Speculator"

This makes about as much sense as that PETA Cooking Mama parody that floated about in late November.

Then again, in my neck of the woods (South East USA) those "Big Game Hunter" crapfests sell quite well...

People keep looking for something to blame for the same stuff jerk kids have always done. Now its video games, before it was rap, then before that: MTV, 80's metal, rock and roll, elvis' hips, horror movies, Jazz music played by them colored folks, and comic books, the first scapegoat that was blamed for violent behavior from kids and started the ball rolling.

THey need to start looking at where these kids come from. Garbage in, garbage out.

This is why I don't take the American Spectator seriously.

I know when I am arrested for a massive slaughter of human life my first words to the Press will be, "Dear Jesus save me from the Stranglehold of GTA! I didn't want to do it Rockstar Games made me do it! I want to be Saved! Hallelujah!"

That's silly. I don't think anyone kills animals because of video games... do we kill a lot of animals in video games anyway?

Those would only really be in hunting games where... you are SUPPOSED to kill animals.

Empathy? Never heard of it.

Seriously, blaming games for people killing animals? How about all those folk that actually go out with real guns and shoot at animals with their parents when they're younger? I'd start there.

Any stats on whether the rate of "wildlife attrocities" committed by 15-22 year old males has increased (especially when compared with the availability of guns) over the last few decades, or just someone looking for something to blame....

There's always something to blame.

This reminds me of what I saw on the news the other day. Two kids were arrested for killing, then hanging a kitten. And of course, some how they take it back to GTA. Maybe it was because they used the wire from the controller to hang it. Who has wired controllers now a days anyways? But back on point, I don't think it was the games fault, it always comes back to the parents, these kids were 6 and 7 I believe, playing GTA IV, now 6 and 7 year old cant go into a game stop and buy this game themselves, their parents would have to be their, so stop blaming the games, and start blaming the parents for buying them the games. Their kids, and their young and impressionable.

Rajin Cajun:
I know when I am arrested for a massive slaughter of human life my first words to the Press will be, "Dear Jesus save me from the Stranglehold of GTA! I didn't want to do it Rockstar Games made me do it! I want to be Saved! Hallelujah!"

Pretty much this. It seems more and more likely that saying something like this might get you off. Everyone seems to be trying to blame everything on the games these days.

His argument doesn't make sense. " It must be video games, since the boys are in the 15-22 (video game generation)".
It's like saying "It must be fast-food, since no ones wants to do sports"...

I blame conservative writers. If we didn't have any of these negative fearmongers running around, scaring parents into thinking that their little darlings will go on murderous rampages, the parents would buy them more violent videogames, which they would play and enjoy, instead of going out, torturing animals and beating up old people... with animals.

This made me so mad, that I took down a buck using my bare hands and teeth.

Naturally, upon surveying the bloody carcass, I laughed.

Brokkr:

Rajin Cajun:
I know when I am arrested for a massive slaughter of human life my first words to the Press will be, "Dear Jesus save me from the Stranglehold of GTA! I didn't want to do it Rockstar Games made me do it! I want to be Saved! Hallelujah!"

Pretty much this. It seems more and more likely that saying something like this might get you off. Everyone seems to be trying to blame everything on the games these days.

So instead of the insanity defence you plead "Video Games"? Interesting...

Brokkr:
First Parent: "Our kids are screwed up because we were shitty parents, what shall we do?"

Second Parent: "I know, blame video games. That usually works."

This seems to happen infinitely, but replace video games with Current Popular Thing Among The Youngsters X, Y, or Z. It happened for movies, comics, music, and now it's happening with video games.

*Sigh* I'll say what I said at my philosophy club meeting, and have posted here previously "I'm incredably tired of people saying that video games cause violence (or misbehavior or rebeliousness or any number of other things) because kids (or someone else) played a violent game for 130 hours a week, and then went out on a killing spree/started misbehaving/ect.. Guess what people, if you're playing a violent video game for 130 hours a week, you're already screwed up."

huh, never played video games when he was a kid, yet would always go hunting. he tells me about his youth of trapping gophers and selling the skins, showing up to college finals still wearing waders from duck hunting that morning. he went bow hunting this year, as he does every year, and got a mid sized buck

is this the fault of video games? also the last game he played was duck hunt on the NES

i meanwhile, play video games but don't seem to have the necessary patience to sit there for hours on end hoping a deer will come by, or the ducks will see the decoys. ive done this a few times and never got the taste for it nor for just going cruising with a gun looking for an animal to shoot

i will admit im not sure what he's talking about: regular hunting; poaching from cars for fun; alien attacks on cattle and goat herds?

It's awful that these mediums of digital entertainment absolutely negate our free will and morality! It's terrible I say!

Deaths caused by gaming = A very small amount. You could count them on one hand.

Deaths caused by smoking = It'll be nearing its billionth soon...

I have an idea! Let's convert them from videogames, to smoking! That's sure to save a few lives!

Edit* Lol, fixed the typo. One slip up, and caused turnes into accused! (but spelled acused) What a funny language, har har har.

Pseudonym2:
This is why I don't take the American Spectator seriously.

I've never even heard of them. Tabloid?

Any of you guys hear of the Roman Colluseum? Video Games.
How about the holocaust? Video Games.

When are we as a society going to learn to stop letting our kids play video games??

Eternal_Rapture:
This reminds me of what I saw on the news the other day. Two kids were arrested for killing, then hanging a kitten. And of course, some how they take it back to GTA. Maybe it was because they used the wire from the controller to hang it. Who has wired controllers now a days anyways? But back on point, I don't think it was the games fault, it always comes back to the parents, these kids were 6 and 7 I believe, playing GTA IV, now 6 and 7 year old cant go into a game stop and buy this game themselves, their parents would have to be their, so stop blaming the games, and start blaming the parents for buying them the games. Their kids, and their young and impressionable.

i know. insane i have seen (spelling) 9 year olds get GTA because there parents have been so inattentive when they buy the games. then blame the games when THEY bought them. hypocrites,

Gotta love the enigmatic reference to some official studies done by somebody somewhere at some point that proved videogames cause violence. It really annoys me that everyone acts like this is a given when researchers are still disagreeing over its validity. I guess the strategy is to just keep presenting it like a fact and eventually people will accept it as one.

As a more or less conservative, it also annoys me that now everyone will automatically associate me with this idiot. I really dont understand the point of these politically alligned news publications. Republicans already agree with what they say so its just preaching to the choir, and democrats wont listen to it cause its so clearly biased against them. what is it accomplishing?

i am sick of these ppl >__<

i love first person shooters, that doesnt mean i suddenly wanna kill animals!
hell, i'd hardly even hurt a fly

orannis62:

Pseudonym2:
This is why I don't take the American Spectator seriously.

I've never even heard of them. Tabloid?

Not exactly. They are a far right magazine known mainly for hate on for Bill Clinton. A lot of the really conspiracy theories originated from them. David Brock, who worked for them, would later claim he was nothing but a "Republican hit man" and publish a book denouncing them.

DELETED

**Stompy twiddles his thumbs, awaiting the day when this bullshit passes over**

Kids that go out and shoot wildlife for fun are called hicks, or rednecks. They are everywhere around here, and most of them think games are stupid so... yeah... you guys do the math.

Aardvark:
I blame conservative writers. If we didn't have any of these negative fearmongers running around, scaring parents into thinking that their little darlings will go on murderous rampages, the parents would buy them more violent videogames, which they would play and enjoy, instead of going out, torturing animals and beating up old people... with animals.

To be fair, I'M a conservative, and I don't think there's any more relationship between video games and real-world violence than there is between movie or book/drawn violence and the real thing. Most people can tell the difference between fake violence and real violence, and people who go on and on about violent video games most probably do so because they want to alleviate their own guilt or ride the wave of popular opinion to fame and fortune. Besides, playing games often reduces tension and stress, which I would imagine actually REDUCES the risk of somebody harming someone else.

Just wait, pretty soon people will be linking cancer to video games, along with AIDS, scurvy, rickets, smallpox, salmonella and the common cold.

And the parents need to own up about these things. I'd say that at least 85% of the time a kid does something horrible, it's the parent's fault for not reigning in their child earlier in his/her development. You can't blame violent games. After all, it's the PARENT'S fault the child was even PLAYING violent video games in the first place, and even more the parent's fault that the kid never learned where the line between real and pretend violence was.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Llgunu-FlX4&feature=related Replace the word Canada with the word Video Games and there you go. Sorry I counldn't find a higher quality vid.

Wow.

I never saw that coming.

Of all the crimes to be blamed on video games, I never expected poaching to wind up on that list.

Well, there's only one thing for it. All the hunting video games should have a mandatory license application and hunting safety quiz minigame before a player can play the main game.

Blame Canada! Blame Canada! We must blame someone else before someone thinks of blaming USSSS~

i think the Man is on drugs