On Virginia Tech and Video Games

First off, my thoughts are with the affected students, faculty, and families impacted by the incident at Virginia Tech. This is a pretty scary thing, guys. Particularly so for me, VT was among the schools I applied to. (as a safety) If things hadn't gone the way they did with the application process, I could be there instead of freezing my ass of in Rochester, NY. I'm still kind of trying to swallow that.

In any case. Here's the article for today, faithful readers. I seem to be deviating from my original intent when I first started this blog, but I figure I can weasel it in. Now usually, I'm all for being able to say what you want without fear of 'insulting' people. However, what we need to remember is that there are limits to can can and can't and should and shouldn't be said. Which brings me to Jack Thompson.

If you don't know, Jack Thompson is a lawyer from Florida who has recently been getting a good amount of media time attempting to get the government to place harsher restrictions on video games. Well, that's probably putting it a bit too lightly. The man is insane. He seems to be convinced that video games are the cause of everything bad that's happened over the last decade. From Columbine to bank robberies to rape, the man is convinced that games are the cause. Now, I like video games. A lot. I'm pretty busy with school work lately so I can't play as much as I like, but if I am able I tend to get in an hour or so of gaming a day. It's an escape, you know? I prefer sports and strategy games myself, but I'm not afraid to admit that some of my favorite games are the Resident Evil series, Goldeneye, Mortal Kombat, and the mother of all evil, Grand Theft Auto.

And, surprise surprise, I have yet to (in order) run through a remote village blasting everything I see with a shotgun, run through any buildings killing people 007 style, rip someones spine out, or beat anyone to death with a baseball bat. The very idea is simply ludicrous to me. However, we've got people like Jack Thompson whose mission in life is to be offended by as many things as possible, then complain as loudly as they can. Then they have to go a thing like demean something like what happened at Virginia Tech with spiteful, ignorant drivel. Tell me why we need to be giving this hate-filled man airtime, when we should be focused of grieving for and supporting the people at that campus. I just don't understand it. It's times like this where I wonder if there are some times that we should be allowed to censor people, just because they are negatively affecting the situation. But then I think, 'where would it stop?' So I just have to sit and accept that people have their own opinions and their own agendas, just like me. I just wish the media would do a better job picking which opinions to present to the public.