Police seize violent games in shooting investigation

[Ryan]

I got this in my e-mail as an update for GTA San Andreas. Check out the bold print.


Police seize violent games in shooting investigation
Acting on advice of Jack Thompson, sheriff's deputies search home of suspected Louisiana killer and confiscate M-rated games.
By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted Jun 5, 2006 10:06 am PT

Last week, sheriff's deputies conducting an investigation into the murder of a 55-year-old Louisiana man seized a number of games rated M for Mature from the home of a 16-year-old suspect, according to a report in the Baton Rouge paper The Advocate. The action was taken at the suggestion of controversial Florida attorney Jack Thompson.

Thompson told The Advocate that he suggested the sheriffs look for violent games in the youth's house because he felt the killings mirrored a scenario from Grand Theft Auto. The original reports indicated that the victim was beaten to death and shot in the face by the 16-year-old and a 17-year-old accomplice.

"Nobody shoots anybody in the face unless you're a hit man or a video gamer," Thompson told the paper.

While the police did seize the games, it's unclear exactly what role they will play in the investigation. West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Captain Spence Dilworth told the paper, "I think it goes beyond video games, but who's to say?"

[Cloudy]

What the F.
Then they should confiscate all basketball sims, they make Kwame Brown think he's good.
Confiscate all car games, they cause accidents and illegal car races.
Damn.

[cyanide]

"Nobody shoots anybody in the face unless you're a hit man or a video gamer," Thompson told the paper

Wow, how narrow minded he is. Anybody can shoot somebody in the face, not just just hitmen or a video gamer.

[Donatello]

Then they should confiscate all basketball sims, they make Kwame Brown think he's good.

Bwahahahahahaha. That's great stuff right there.

I agree that the statement that guy made was really narrow-minded, but you can't deny that video game/movie/tv violence can influence dumb kids.

[cyanide]

you can't deny that video game/movie/tv violence can influence dumb kids.

To a certain degree, but it really starts with the parents. If parents let the media baby-sit them, then no good is going to come out of that.

In a polar point of view (not that I necessarily agree with), violence in media could be a good thing, to show kids what happens in violence and how no good comes out of that.

[Donatello]

you can't deny that video game/movie/tv violence can influence dumb kids.

To a certain degree, but it really starts with the parents. If parents let the media baby-sit them, then no good is going to come out of that.

In a polar point of view (not that I necessarily agree with), violence in media could be a good thing, to show kids what happens in violence and how no good comes out of that.

Totally, I agree. My fiance and I are the biggest critics of bad parenting (quitely to ourselves most of the time, of course ).

And I kind of agree with the violence in the media COULD be good thing.... except that the consequences aren't always negative in the movies. Guy kills another guy, then gets the girl and the money. Darn, that sucks.

It's kind of along the same lines of letting your child have a goldfish... it's mostly teaching them about death. Except the goldfish actually dies.... sometimes the criminal in the game/movie doesn't see anything negative happen to him.

[cyanide]

Totally, I agree. My fiance and I are the biggest critics of bad parenting (quitely to ourselves most of the time, of course ).

And I kind of agree with the violence in the media COULD be good thing.... except that the consequences aren't always negative in the movies. Guy kills another guy, then gets the girl and the money. Darn, that sucks.

It's kind of along the same lines of letting your child have a goldfish... it's mostly teaching them about death. Except the goldfish actually dies.... sometimes the criminal in the game/movie doesn't see anything negative happen to him.

I like the goldfish idea, it does teach a child something through experience. One thing I'm not sure about is the traumatic effects upon seeing someone die the first time. If the kid goes through his first 18 years without seeing a single act of death or extreme violence, then that would put the kid through terrible trauma as opposed to a kid who has seen violence all his life and is desensitized to this. Would this mean the kid who is desensitized is more predisposed to committing an act of violence or more understanding not to commit this act? Would the kid who has gone through severe trauma go through his life avoiding the act of violence because of what he witnessed, or would what he witness become his reality and engulf him to carry out that same act? Pretty mind-boggling.

I'm trying to figure out the same thing with sex in the media. Whether pornography is a good thing or a bad thing. There's two sides to it:

Why it's "good": sexual education to avoid sex at an early age by being less reliant to experiment; sexual relief; avoiding rape

Why it's "bad": children lose their innocence early; socially accepted which translates to pre-marital or teen sex; an addiction that could cost a job, friendship, or relationship; society imposes that big breasts and big asses on a thin frame is what makes you a sexual being

I'd say the negatives outweigh the positives, but again, it's up to the parents to be open about sexuality and to educate their children.

[Abctest123]

Police seize violent games in shooting investigation
Acting on advice of Jack Thompson

Since WHEN did this guy become credible? This damn bitch blames EVERYTHING on violent games and TV. Thank goodness they took away his license in one the states (forgot which one). The moron tried to sue the judge afterwards for making the decision . Thompson even tried suing EA for The Sims because it simulated nudity or something. The fuck? It's fuzzed up and the only way to uncover the fuzziness when someone goes to the bathroom or take a shower in the game is through patching, and even that would not be EA's fault because third party users and people changed the coding of the game or made patches themselves.

"Nobody shoots anybody in the face unless you're a hit man or a video gamer," Thompson told the paper.

WTF? San Andreas has sold HOW many copies and what number of murders has been proved to be because of GTA San Andreas? Sure there have been numerous cases blamed on it, but any of them actually proven it? Same can be said for many other violent video games. [/b]

Parents should be more aware of the games they buy for their kids, but what Thompson says is just stupid.

[shadowgrin]

^^ Good points cyanide. It eventually comes down to having the discipline and knowing the middle ground. One musn't take the extremes of such issues as death or pornography.
The idea of death musn't be shunned, and it shouldn't be dwelled upon for a person to be morbid about it either, less you end up traumatized by it or be a serial killer. Same with pornography, one musn't shun it or be obsessed by it, such extreme views could result in a person being a rapist or have a narrow-minded idea about sex that the person ends up being an ignorant preacher.

Then they should confiscate all basketball sims, they make Kwame Brown think he's good.
Confiscate all car games, they cause accidents and illegal car races.

Nice.

"Nobody shoots anybody in the face unless you're a hit man or a video gamer," Thompson told the paper.

What a dolt.
If I'm unstable, I can shoot anybody in the face if I have a gun.

[dada]

I suppose they should confiscate all their dvds, take their television, comic books, newspapers, ban cnn etc etc etc.

Rubbish.

[Cable]

Odds are they only confiscated the games because they're too cheap to buy them.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I'm surprised he didn't even try to wreck his parents' car with a bus and only expect it to have a little dent in it since it has to do with GTA so much.

[Andrew]

"Nobody shoots anybody in the face unless you're a hit man or a video gamer," Thompson told the paper.

It's been said already, but that's just a ridiculous statement. If he'd said that violent video games have a negative impact on society I'd say he'd still be off the mark since I believe individuals encouraged to commit violent acts by video games are already have the predisposition to be violent. On top of the ratio of video gamers who commit crimes to those who don't, I don't believe any mentally healthy person who understands the difference between right and wrong and video games and reality has ever suddenly been brainwashed into murdering people because they've played a violent video game.

But to go one step further and say that only video gamers or hit men shoot people in the face is just absurd. I suppose until gamers experienced beating a character in an early GTA3 mission to a bloody pulp with a baseball bat, no one was ever clubbed to death.

[J@3]

I went out and bought The Godfather and GTA: San Andreas today, look for me to show up in the news over the next few weeks.

[[Q]]

yeah it really isn't our job to parent other people's kids... at work when I sell a GTA game, I make sure the parent knows that there's "blood, violence, guns, use of drugs, sex, prostiution..." and the parents are ALWAYS ok with it until I mention prostitution . Sex is ok as long as you're not getting paid for it .

[shadowgrin]

I went out and bought The Godfather and GTA: San Andreas today, look for me to show up in the news over the next few weeks.

A disappointing NBA Live 07 would probably push you over the edge than those games you mentioned.

[Nick]

Yeah, true. I almost killed many siblings due to the frustration i needed to vent because of NBA Live 2007.