Connecticut Town To Burn Violent Video Games

[cyclone3d]

Riiiiiiiiiiiight...so you OBVIOUSLY know something that a vast majority of biologist don't! Man, I think you just turned the scientific community on its heads! When are you publishing your paper that proves evolution is wrong and impossible the way a majority of biologist say it happens. Where did you go to school for biology?

Oh you didn't? You aren't a biologist? You really have no idea what you're talking about? Well, that's a surprise!

Go back to reading your Bible and I'll go back to learning actual facts.

Hah.. guess you will find out soon enough.

 

[Odnocer]

I simply asked a question and quite a few commentators responded with abusive ad hominem (also called "personal abuse" or "personal attacks") usually involves insulting or belittling an opponent in order to attack their claims or invalidate their arguments, but can also involve pointing out true character flaws or actions irrelevant to the opponent's argument. Equating someone's character with the soundness of their argument is a logical fallacy. Mere verbal abuse in the absence of an argument, however, is not ad hominem nor any kind of logical fallacy.

COLUMBINE STUDENT’S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER !!

Guess our national leaders didn’t expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:

“Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

“The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart.

“In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs, Your words are empty air. You’ve stripped away our heritage, You’ve outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere, And ask the question “Why?” You regulate restrictive laws, Through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need!

“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs —politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

“As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA — I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! My daughter’s death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!” - Darrell Scott

Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man’s speech.

 

[Odnocer]

For those of you who use profanity...

Violence comes from the mouth of a WICKED man.

I'm not a preacher nor do I believe in god, but I know wicked when I read the profanity from your comments.

 

[ShamisOMally]

For those of you who use profanity...

Violence comes from the mouth of a WICKED man.

I'm not a preacher nor do I believe in god, but I know wicked when I read the profanity from your comments.

Actually I am described by virtually everyone who knows me as the most kind hearted soul they have ever seen, doing things for everyone I can, helping out where I can, giving food and money where I can to people etc.

I swear cause, well, I don't know why I swear, I just do. Swearing is not a sign of anger, is it a sign of ignorance? Maybe, but I vote no, I swear because I am emphasising a point etc, rarely its out of true anger. Swearing with ignorance would be like screaming Nxxxxx or Jxx etc etc, that's ignorance.

 

[Jadawin]

Video game haters tried something similar in Germany once and the media was all over it... and then all that happened was that one TV station actually and secretly BOUGHT a game to show how someone dropped it into the dumpster - which had been empty before. They just showed the guy with the game, not the dumpster inside and didn't tell that they paid him and for the game. But there were enough other media there to report it

 

[michael.pa2]

Once they burned books,now they burn video games.
The media may change,but the stupidity remains the same.

 

[fochkoph]

People are crazy lol

 

[Phoenix333]

People are burning games for the same reason they burn books. I wonder if mankind will ever stop being afraid of ideas.

 

[Stiletto]

For those of you who use profanity...

Violence comes from the mouth of a WICKED man.

I'm not a preacher nor do I believe in god, but I know wicked when I read the profanity from your comments.

 

[Runningflame570]

"Rather, Southington SOS is saying is that there is ample evidence that violent video games, along with violent media of all kinds, including TV and movies portraying story after story showing a continuous stream of violence and killing, has contributed to increasing aggressiveness, fear, anxiety and is desensitizing our children to acts of violence including bullying."

If by ample evidence they mean -ZERO-.....

Pretty much, based off of a recent visit to a former school of mine, I'd say the lack of daylight and decent food along with the police, almost omnipresent cameras, and badge readers around schools do a much better job of causing fear, anxiety, and aggressiveness.

It made me all of those when I was there before they had so many police and added the badge readers.

Zero tolerance policies are a big problem there as well, because no matter who starts trouble everyone gets punished. You want to alienate kids quickly, let them get their asses kicked due to no fault of their own and still get stuck in detention, suspended, or expelled.

Whether or not I believe media plays a role-and while I do think it does, I'd say it's minor-popular media reflects the culture it's created in.

Largely we have decided to glorify the military and not question the necessity for war, we frame much of our language around a fight, battle, conflict, or struggle and we're surprised that popular media follows our lead?

 

[Runningflame570]

I'm not Christian, and I don't listen to preachers. I also know that almost all Christians I meet do not intend me harm. Can't say the same for the examples I listed. There's no "innocent" or "evil" about it. Some Christians are douchebags, like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and Bill Donohue. They're manipulative and pious assholes. However...when they turn into cultists who will physically attack you for questioning the actual tenets of their religion, let me know. Until then, I think I'll focus my attention on those that have.

Limiting harm to direct physical violence is fallacious, although I can work with that too. If that is your criteria then I would direct you to Nigeria's "witch" hunts and Uganda's kill the gays bills-both backed by groups which were supported by the American religious right I'll note. Assuming you're looking for a more direct link to one of the specific individuals you listed, look into Pat Robertson's relationship to Charles Taylor and the Operation Blessing mining scandal.

I'd also like to note that the degree of violence against homosexuals in the U.S. is likely related to anti-gay bigotry by Christian fundamentalists and that the anti-sodomy laws previously on the books were almost certainly due to lobbying by Christians.

More generally though, the most prominent Christian pastors with little exception look and behave much like the charlatan televangelists that preceded them and causing people to part with their money fraudulently is still harm.

 

[JoeUser]

For those of you who use profanity...

Violence comes from the mouth of a WICKED man.

I'm not a preacher nor do I believe in god, but I know wicked when I read the profanity from your comments.

You don't believe in God? Riiight...your post above this one obviously doesn't point to that nor does your calling people that curse "wicked".

I'm sorry that curse words apparently offend you so much. However, if I went around complaining about the things that offend me you'd never hear me shut up. Curse words are exactly that...words. Language. Their use has nothing to do with the attitude, personality, or level of good in a human being. I can say "fuck shit ass balls" all day and yet this has nothing to do with my actual character. Why? BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST WORDS.

To assume otherwise is just closed minded and ignorant to the human spirit.

I mean, do you really think that someone that DOESN'T cuss is automatically better in some way than those that do? The fact that you would make a comment like the one here makes me feel truly offended to the core. To think that you would consider someone like me wicked because I type out a four letter word is just appalling and honestly makes me almost feel sick to my stomach.

Sheesh...some people I swear...

 

[Serpent]

Che.... what happened to the fun posts from page 1... how'd it go to God and Evil and "Actual Facts" and the like?

WTF is wrong with you people!?

 

[DeathPrincess]

Media: We should blame books for violence. Burn the books!
People: No, it's not the books, it's the people who are bad!
Media: We should blame movies for violence. Burn the movies!
People: No, it's not the movies, it's the people who are bad!
Media: We should blame music for violence. Burn the music!
People: No, it's not the music, it's the people who are bad!
Media: We should blame guns for violence. Burn the guns!
People: No, it's not the games, it's the people who are bad!

So there is no root cause, and it's just people who are bad. But then...

People: We should blame religions for violence!
People: Fuck yeah, makes total sense!

 

[Sovereign]

Oh look, this reminds me of the people who burned copies of Harry Potter in protest...by buying copies of it to burn. No doubt some will have existing video games, but I bet some of the crazier ones buy new games to burn for the "symbolism" without realizing the irony.

 

[BBA]

I normally don't respond to retarded comments, but yours really takes the cake.

Since you haven't figured it out on your own, I'd like to inform you that you're a dumbass. Whether your comment is just your choice of trolling technique or you really are as ignorant as what you said, it would probably be best for you to just stop breathing.

^Like

 

[Shorehn]

What is the fascination with inanimate objects?

First it's the guns fault, like it can pull it's own trigger.
Then it was a movies fault, like fiction is reality or something.
Now it's video games fault.

Why is it never the killers, and his parents fault?

Because that requires personal responsibility, and we simply can't have that.

 

[BBA]

Kinda reminds me of the old days when nutters would burn books that promoted "vice" and all that jazz.

You mean like when Hitler burned all those 'un-german' books?

 

[BBA]

how much do you want to bet that the person in charge of the "disposal" is going to trade them all in to gamestop.

LOL...probably.

I'd bet game developers are loving it because people are probably buying more games just to burn them, which helps them and helps us get better new games.

 

[BBA]

Christianity doesn't cause harm...?

No, it does not.

But for those who do create harm, I can tell you it is not from Christian teachings.

 

[Paradoxine]

This has to be one of the very worst threads I've ever seen on this forum. On the one hand we have people actually talking about the OP, but on the other hand we have people defending something that in a sane world would be indefensible. Never mind the fact that in a sane world, humans wouldn't be so illogical.

This is why I have no faith in humanity. Humans are simply unfathomably arrogant, self-centered, full of undeserved, ill-based pride and to top it all off, hatred. I'm displaying the same qualities right now. In this very thread, if you even look past the surface layers of what's been said, the hatred and indignation, let alone abundant superiority complex, is clearly visible, yet the subject matter doesn't even close to warrant such a reaction. Humans are pathetic.

To address the subject matter of this thread, humans are too willing to shift the blame to anything but themselves, lest the status quo actually be changed.

Do people really want to know why the shootings continually occur in America? It's because your society is sick. Not exceptionally so, but the fact remains is that your society nurtures mental problems and provides very little help with dealing with them. I will not be so silly to suggest that any human designed system will be able to deal with all and any mental ailments, but whether something is solvable or not has absolutely no bearing on whether the problem exists.

At this point I'll just clarify that what I mean by a 'sick' society. A 'sick' society in this case refers to a society which features individuals who do not act in the best interests of other individuals within that system. A broad definition, but I hope it becomes clear what I mean by "all societies are sick" and additionally the link to the human condition.

All societies are sick of course, some more so than america (if that makes you feel better), but ultimately the reason that someone decides to pick up a weapon (whatever that may be) and start killing is because:

1. Humans are flawed beings (in just about every metric worth considering)
2. Flawed beings will not rigidly follow a set of 'moral' guidelines (which in the first place were defined by flawed beings) regardless of their circumstances.

What do I mean? A shooter, or mass killer probably matches the following, as a start:

• A. They have absolutely no regard for their own life. There is absolutely nothing which will compel them to not do such a thing. Prison? Death penalty? I'd wager that people who do this kind of stuff already want to die, as evidenced by their willingness to kill themselves quickly after the fact.
  
  
• B. They hold society responsible for their current state, probably rightly so. At this point people get indignant and point to the limitless examples of people who grew up or live 'rough' and don't snap and kill people. This is neither here nor there. Ultimately, in order to accept this point, it is necessary to do away with the idea that people are inherently 'good' or 'bad'. The ancient ideas of 'good' and 'evil' don't exist except within the minds of those who refuse to truly consider the human condition.
  
  Put simply, under a certain set of conditions, a human will harm another human being. The precise conditions necessary for this to occur are beyond our ability to gauge, however, I have no doubt that If you were to conduct two separate experiments with exactly identical conditions, then you would get the same result.

I know that at the very least, probability stands in the way of me ever living to see a human utopia, given the current state of the world. More troubling, though, is the possibility that we will never reach that point, which I can only assume is what ultimately all humans want. The ideal 'utopia' will be different for each person, but I would like to believe, at least, that one day we can at least agree on the basic idea.

 

[pbassjunk]

Burn the witches!

 

[Warboy]

This makes me depressed that some people think this would help things.

 

[FrgMstr]

On topic or get banned. Warnings have been handed out.

 

[SockMan!]

It should be a literal burning; who the fuck doesn't like bonfires? Granted, plastic fumes aren't pleasant, but if they're going to have a "burning" then they should go all-out.

Hell, I might even join in the fun - if burning material is the price of admission then I'd just bring a copy of DNF.

 

[PersonalJ]

What is the fascination with inanimate objects?

First it's the guns fault, like it can pull it's own trigger.
Then it was a movies fault, like fiction is reality or something.
Now it's video games fault.

Why is it never the killers, and his parents fault?

Because violent media can influence individuals with mental illness.

 

[Liver]

I am currently ashamed to admit that I live in the Town of Southington.

I'll probably head down there on the 12th to see exactly how it goes though. Hell, maybe even bring one or two of my GFs Twilight DVDs to see if they'll accept them.

Then its up to you. This shit gets attention and when it flops, no news, just whistled away. I would really appreciate it if you told us how it really went down (when it goes down).

 

[Super-D]

I'm sure there are some examples of societies in history that have held mass burnings of art, literature, or other materials that they deemed "harmful". I wonder who those examples are and how they turned out...

 

[LeninGHOLA]

Because violent media can influence individuals with mental illness.

So can the color of tulips.

 

[Odnocer]

Good can imagine Evil, but Evil cannot imagine Good. ~ W. H. Auden

 

[Stiletto]

So can the color of tulips.

So can a message on a forum. ALL BANNED.

 

[Decibel]

Because violent media can influence individuals with mental illness.

Yeah, and Berkowitz was getting messages from his neighbors dog...

 

[AliceCooper]

Do burned copies of violent games count I see ways to get many gift certs haha?

 

[RigmoroleMotorCo]

I can appreciate what the people in the town with the game burnings are doing as a protest against the emphasis of our entertainment.

Guns and violence are sometimes the bread and butter of entertainment. Violence is a realistic part of the world. But, is violence something that we should be entertained by?

I'd personally like to see a lot more educational content being produced by the media outlets.

What kind of stuff can we associate with violence-centered entertainment: zero-sum gain outcomes, counterproductive competition, trophy, and status-centric ways of looking at the world?

Hopefully there is more going on at the video game disposal protest than good old-fashioned book burnings... but can those people even think beyond the skein of foulness they have been trained to accept? all that simple minded cult of celebrity and being trained to think according to shame and marketing, status and trophies?

maybe not...

 

[Manaknight]

didn't we try this shit in the 30s
if i recall it didn't end well

 

[JoeUser]

didn't we try this shit in the 30s
if i recall it didn't end well

That would be the Prohibition...outlawing of alcohol. Violent video games aren't going to be outlawed nor do I think there would be people distilling violent video games in their basements using bathtubs.

 

[Inside_line]

What happened in that town was really terrible. I think this comment from the press release should really be emphasized, we are indeed desensitized by overexposure to such things. When kids see violence and aggressiveness, they should be upset by it. In the world today, it surrounds them and is perceived as normal. How will we ever become a peaceful civilization if our children have no emotion tied to violence and killing? Maybe parents need to be doing something different these days.

The press release accompanying the announcement said that Southington SOS's action should not be "construed as statement declaring that violent video games were the cause of the shocking violence in Newtown on December 14".

"Rather, Southington SOS is saying is that there is ample evidence that violent video games, along with violent media of all kinds, including TV and movies portraying story after story showing a continuous stream of violence and killing, has contributed to increasing aggressiveness, fear, anxiety and is desensitizing our children to acts of violence including bullying.

 

[Tudz]

Che.... what happened to the fun posts from page 1... how'd it go to God and Evil and "Actual Facts" and the like?

WTF is wrong with you people!?

It must be all the video games, burn them!

 

[sliverjazz]

Count on the criminalization of the parent to possess just about and type of media deemed unfit for a child. Not only restrictions, but actual criminalization. I heard this directly from the highest of my sources. Now, it’s a new day, a new time, and they are riding the wave of emotion from Sandy Hook, which, by the way as tragic as it was, well, is as dicey as swiss cheese. I mean there are many things wrong there, and first reports are fast disappearing. The narrative is being changed. Look, there is something wrong with Sandy Hook, but if you write it, you’ll be called a something worse.

 

[xxEIEIOxx]

There is no better way to take a stand against violence... than with an angry mob and fire.