British Culture Minister In Attack On Video Games
In the wake of the British government's recent failure to deal with the massive upsurge of gun-related crime in the UK, British culture minister, Dr Kim Howells has launched an attack on popular movies and video games that portray a "pornography of violence".<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->"I watch my kids constantly playing blood-spattered video games.
"I don't think a child is going to turn out to be a killer or more violent as a consequence of playing those games.
"But it's the acceptance of that heartlessness that is at the centre of all those kind of games, the kind of joy of shooting innocent bystanders or running them over in the car."<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2652747.stm
If you disagree with these negative remarks, you can foward your comments to: kim.howells@culture.gov.uk
"I don't think a child is going to turn out to be a killer or more violent as a consequence of playing those games.
"But it's the acceptance of that heartlessness that is at the centre of all those kind of games, the kind of joy of shooting innocent bystanders or running them over in the car."<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2652747.stm
If you disagree with these negative remarks, you can foward your comments to: kim.howells@culture.gov.uk
Comments
Video games are like movies. Would you let a young child see a PG-13 movie? Probably not, you'd at least check it out first. R-rated? Definately not. For older kids I think there should still be some supervision there. The problem is lazy parents.
And what kind of parent would show an X-rated movie to their child?
Constituency: Pontypridd - the Welsh aren't well known for being quiet, they are hardly likely to elect someone who didn't shout about everything.
Labour majority 17,684 - with a majority like that he can say what he likes, his main concern is a proper Cabinet job not re-election [read as jumping on band wagons]
Often outspoken - well there is a surprise a Labour MP from Wales being outspoken.
Education - Hornsey College of Art;
Cambridge CAT (BA English and history 1974);
Warwick University (PhD UK Coal Industry (1937-57) 1979)
So there we go an outspoken man with left wing ideals from Wales, who has links with the coal industry. They are ten a penny.
Edit: Please for the love of God don't spam his e-mail, it will just give him some more ammunition.
Good day, ladies and gents!
It definitely has to do with parents, as DOOManiac said, to a certain degree. Violence when you're young can't be to good for you <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> It makes me laugh when new laws are started just because parents are too lazy to enforce them on their own (i.e. curfew laws)
That may be true, MayIPostNow?, but don't get confused with (/me looks in Psych book) <i>diffusion of responsibility</i>, a pyschological state in which a person feels decreased responsibility for intervening in the presence of multiple bystanders. People have been known to be brutally murdered in the presence of hundreds of people without anybody calling 911.
I'm paranoid! <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='siege.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::sentry::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/turret.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='turret.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::gorge::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='pudgy.gif'><!--endemo-->
I agree with Josiah Bartlet, however: outspoken, controversial... hmm. I doubt that computer games are to blame for the recent increase in gun crime (for reasons already stated).
Violence is sadly an aspect of human society, and human society is just what the media, amongst them games, show us. Fighting against violence in videogames equals the attempt of shattering a mirror because you don't like what you see.
Doesn't that seem a *little* odd??
If your parent buy you something with a half decomposed corpse with a chain saw going threw the chest cavity the problem isint the games. I think the solution is no more children without a 10 day fbi background check <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Now if you excuse me i have to jump over these barrels to save a princess at the top from a guerilla.
I agree with Josiah Bartlet, however: outspoken, controversial... hmm. I doubt that computer games are to blame for the recent increase in gun crime (for reasons already stated).<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was just trying to make the point that a Labour MP in Wales has to be more vocal than most. To be fair it's not very likely that the Tories are going to win very many seats in Wales - they are unlikely to even make a dent on the majority. Therefore he has to be more outspoken because his only major concern is if someone else runs against him when the local party chooses their prospective parliamentary candidate, so the louder he shouts the more chance he has of getting back in.
Also it was semi-implying that the Welsh are more likely to give a hoot about who is their MP is than people in the Home Counties and so he has to get more press coverage.
Anyway I would believe that an MP would probably be better off making a comment about computer games if it was a school massacre or something of that sort then maybe, and that is a very dodgey maybe, they would have a right to comment. I believe he was just trying to make a new comment because everything else has already been blamed (Rap/Garage music and "black street gang culture") and that it was his department.
Good day, ladies and gents!<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
bravo, dude. I couldn't have said it better.
(WE CAN AGREE!)
yes, i agree with you, ive played "violent games" since i was 7, and i would never kill ANYONE for the hell of it.
I also think its stupid how Final Fantasys are "T-rated" because you have to beat the "Obscenity" out of someone. Perfect Dark on the N64 was M rated, probably because of the "Oh so much blood!" in it, which might i add, when someone goes red from blood is NOT a sign of to much blood. I remember they tried to ban Doom 1 because "It was to violent and causes murder." I wish parents would stop complaining about such minor details which probably have no affect on people.
the reason most people don't intervene in a violent situation is because they don't want themselves to get injured and besides they are always taught to not be violent and intervening in a violent situation usually means using violence to stop the other violence.
i would like to add that it is gore in TV and games which reduces gore in real life and the government knows this and for proof of that you have to only look at the ads on TV in england which have huge amounts of gore and horror and guess what, those are government public service announcements about safety.
btw i slightly modified Quake1 to have a loop in it's throw gib function so there was much more gibs and i made the gib velocity dependant on the overkill damage and generally made the velocity higher than normal so everytime someone got gibbed almost everyone on the level knew about it and i did that to make my friends and me laugh.
btw i cannot watch hospital programs that show real surgeries coz they make me uncomfortable.
I also refrain heartily from violence against bacterial space aliens. Its ok on the computer, but the moment you start killing friendly skulks down the local pub, you need to take a serious look at yourself.
As for living in Wales: Its better than living at Warwick University. And thats a fact.
I probably have, (Been playing too long) but I have never once wanted to put out a gun and shoot someone/Knife someone/steal a car.
As the NYPD police chief put it when GTA came out
"I'd rather they do it in your videogame than in real life."
1.) Arsenal costs money
2.) Arsenal is heavy
3.) Requires strenuous physical activity
4.) Out...side.. <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='wow.gif'><!--endemo-->
HAHAHA!
A: buy a gun and shoot people
B: get high and shoot people
C: get high and start hitting people with a bat
D: all of the above.
either way you look at it, games sometimes make you feel happy.. and releif you of any pain you might have endured from something, in other words games make you laugh.. on occasion it happens <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
And we all know that politicians have more integrity than the hull of the Enterprise, and they wouldn't dream of using a scapegoat for a springboard.