Life Is A Video Game

"And those of you who think the emotional plague inherent in violent video games has no impact well remember Columbine, they practiced with first person shooters."<br />
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Ahahahaha. Thanks for the laughs, Eugene.<br />
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<a href="http://www.physorg.com/news5758.html">http://www.physorg.com/news5758.html</a><br />
<a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1779820,00.html">http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1779820,00.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050810133552.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050810133552.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=study+link+between+violence+and+video+games&btnG=Google+Search&meta">http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=study+link+between+violence+and+video+games&btnG=Google+Search&meta</a>=<br />
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"The reality is that those susceptible to the emotional plague will succumb to living these games out in reality."<br />
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So, you blame the mental health of these people on the game? Not on the lack of health funding, the parents who have to work so much that they don't notice changes in their kids, or even society for abandoning these kids to begin with?<br />
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I'm going back to running through my dark hallways, popping pills and chasing ghosts now . . .beware if the lights go out in your hallway, it might be me!<br />
<p>---<br>"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden<br />

Is it an assumption to say you are familiar with the writings of Wilhelm Reich or of his book &#8220;Listen little Man&#8221;?<br />
Some background on Reich<br />
<a href="http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/reichlecture.html">http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/reichlecture.html</a> <br />
<p>---<br>We have met the enemy and he is us<br />
Pogo<br />
A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled.<br />
Plutarch

I at first thought about that excuse when I was listening to an on the scene report by CBC radio. At first my conclusion was someone is playing to many video games. Then I recall "violence on TV", "violence in the movies" as being the former excuses. One may wonder what form of violence did Ted Bundy, The pig farmer, Jack the Ripper or any other mass muderer use for an excuse. The demented do not need provication. They do what they do THEN kill themselves or hide from penance. The youth seem more violent today then before but maybe because they are under the spotlight. Bully's in school is a norm but today they are in the limelight. Violent crime in Japan is less then most countries and yet the youth there are subject to the same video games and movies that everyone else watchs. Perhaps the liberal upbringing in the Western world allows chidren to show their attributes earlier. Then one can contradict with the children of war in the middle-east. The common factor may be an obsession with guns but then the opposition who will point out that not all violent crimes are committed with guns. The conclusion has to be that those who are stark-raving-bannas will do what they do, with little or no provication in real terms. The rest of us who watch violent movies and play video games can only stand back in bewilderment.

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Expect little from life and get more from it.

Gee, and I would have thought this whackjob's favorite video game would have been Donkey Kong.

What about the 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the people who play violent video games, watch violent movies/TV shows and do not act out violently?

Did the video games put real weapons and ammunition into the hands of this severely disturbed individual? Did the video games place unbearable financial pressure and strain on his parents, thereby making it impossible for him to get the help and attention he needed? Did the video games create a society of apathetic, shallow, desensitized and dumbed down individuals, who are only concerned about their material possessions and the next American Idol? Did the video games fill the airwaves with forms of music which have absolutely no positive message or redeeming qualities for the listener? Did the video games inject genes into this individual which made him predisposed to violence and depression?

Your explanation and analysis of this incident is just as simplistic and idiotic as that of those brainless annoying drones in mainstream media. But then again, isn't the video game "excuse" the quick fix answer that most of society's robots want to hear. Anything deeper than that would interfere with their ability to enjoy the next episode of Survivor.

"Not on the lack of health funding, the parents who have to work so much that they don't notice changes in their kids, or even society for abandoning these kids to begin with?"

... don't forget the example set by our never-do-wrong leaders ordering the killing of innocent people in far away countries using lies for excuses with greed as the real motive.

What surprises me is not the odd lunatic that goes off on a shooting spree, but how stable most people are despite all the violence and corruption that surrounds them.

&#8220;The reality is that those susceptible to the emotional plague will succumb to living these games out in reality. This video computer simulacrum, as Baudrillard calls it, becomes their real life.&#8221;


"In the psychological system of Wilhelm Reich, the "emotional plague" exists as a sort of mental disease which spreads throughout societies whose members are genitally blocked, i.e., incapable of genuine, healthy sexual love or expression. Hating life, creativity and freedom, and terrified that their own frustrated drives could explode uncontrollably at the slightest provocation, victims of the "emotional plague" cope by seeking to control, punish, and censor others who are healthy."

I use the above for emphasis


Violent video game have an influence on negative influence on some players but are not necessarily the, if you&#8217;ll forgive the pun, trigger.
One must be conversant with Reich&#8217;s work before going of on a tangent of personal attacks. They must also have the analytical skills required to actually comprehend Eugene&#8217;s post.
The thrust of Eugene&#8217;s post is about muscular armouring and all that it entails.
Attack that puppy and you will start to get somewhere. Video games are merely a portion of that goes into the mix associated with insanity.

Please read and understand the opening quote of this post, &#8220;The reality is that those susceptible to the emotional plague will succumb to living these games out in reality. This video computer simulacrum, as Baudrillard calls it, becomes their real life.&#8221;

I urge the reader to grasp the pertinent assertion; emotional plague, not the secondary one; video games


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We have met the enemy and he is us
Pogo
A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled.
Plutarch

I don't necessarily agree with blaming violence in media but I do not see why it is necessary to use violence for entertainment. If you really think about it, it's sick.

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Quick to judge, quick to anger slow to understand. Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand.

related to the topic
on last nights 20/20 there was a segment on on the power of labelling and words on the psyche&#8217;
as an experiment a teacher divided her class in two, the brown eyed people and the blue eyed people.
In her experiment the blue eyed people were praise and the brown eyed people denigrated all with the predictable results.
When the roles were reversed the results followed the same line as set up in the first part of the experiment.

It is only a pompous ass that would deny Fritz Pearl&#8217;s dictum, Garbage in/Garbage out.

Are video games the tipping point?

Not necessarily!

I agree with Wraun&#8217;s assessment.


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We have met the enemy and he is us
Pogo
A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled.
Plutarch

"The reality is that those susceptible to the emotional plague will succumb to living these games out in reality."

Actually, the reality is that those susceptible to the emotional plague will succumb to living out any warped and disturbed fantasy, regardless if they play video games or not. As one previous post mentioned, did video games even exist when some of the most atrocious serial killers in history stalked the earth?

If Eugene really believed that video games are not the direct and primary cause for violent oubursts in disturbed individuals, he should have given his essay another title, instead of copying a quote from society's latest nutjob.

It's necessary to use violence in the media as entertainment, because, like sex, it sells - big time! It's all about the money at the expense of the emotionally plagued individuals. Media's sole responsibility these days is to the well being of the corporate world (and their patsies), not the well being of the public.

At least video games developers do not rely on corporate sponsors for their financial survival, which is a lot more than you can say about the hypocritical television, radio and newspaper media outlets.