From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Video games cause violence. That's the new official line of the US administration (well, their health department head, anyway)*. Of
course, we shouldn't be surprised; it's from the same guy who thinks
vaccines cause autism and doesn't believe in germ theory. The fact
that numerous studies have found no link between violent behavior and
playing video games is just the sort of thing you'd expect from him.
I'm surprised he didn't also point fingers at D&D, rock-n-roll and
comic books while he was at it.
I mean, it's not as if overall violent crime in the US has actually
DROPPED over the years, even as video games have become more intense.
Sure, the US _does_ have daily mass-shootings, but it's not as if they
aren't playing the same games as are played in countries which don't
suffer the same problem (it's almost as if there might be some other
reason for all the shootings. Here's a thought: maybe it's all the
guns?). But an evidence-based viewpoint never has been important to
the current administration, so I shouldn't be surprised if they ignore
the facts again.
Of course, it's not as if this is the first time a high-official in US
politics has pointed fingers at video-games; Senator Lieberman was a
fierce proponent of the idea back in the late 90s and early 2000s. But
for the most part that sort of scare-mongering against the hobby was
left behind as more and more people who played video games as kids
grew up into adulthood. That it's being dredged up again so long after
its heyday seems more than faintly ridiculous.
But this is America; a nation filled with people who believe the Earth
is flat, the moon landings were a hoax, and that vaccines don't work.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find some of them have worked
their way up into positions of authority.
I just wish they'd find stupid theories that DON'T impact my hobby of
choice. Because as much as I wish otherwise, idiots like Robert
Kennedy aren't limited only to the US, and I'm his initiative is sure
to trigger some local morons too.
*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-AXTo3Am8
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