Subject: NJ legislation trying ban sales of M Rated games to children under 18.
AloneSoul
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Posts: 522 Registered: 6/7/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 1/11/2002 at 10:05 PM
I'm just copying and pasting this in a few different BBS's and e-mails.
This is something I think that anyone who enjoys their freedom of speech
and choice should read.
NJ legislation trying ban sales of M Rated games to children under 18.
Please excuse any literary errors in this message, it was written in haste.
I was eating breakfast this morning and I saw in the front page “Video game
curbs urged. State lawmakers have proposed a bill to keep ‘mature’ games
from kids.” Yes you read it right, a group of lawmakers in New Jersey are
trying to promote a law which will ban the sales of M rated games to “under
aged” gamers. (As they are in New York, Illinois and Florida.)
They are CONTINUING to wage the dog with the unbacked argument that video
games demoralize the innocent minds of youth. Assemblyman Gary Guear is
speaking for this group of bastards stating “Clearly children should not be
subjected to this level of violence and aggression.”
If that wasn’t enough the article in this paper featured a ludicrous quote
from Ronald Coughlin, a “child psychiatrist.”
“Violent images on television and the movies cause aggression in children
immediately after being viewed.” (-which is true but those effects are very
temporary and the aggression show by children is not towards another child,
studies proved that their temporary and often THERAPEUTIC aggression was
taken out upon their toys. Now, here comes the lies.) “But the effects of
on-screen violence pale in comparison to those in video games, he said,
leading to increased hostility that often lingers for up to two years.”
It gets even better:
“What video games do is teach (youngsters) how to kill someone,” said
Coughlin, who drew a direct link between video games and the Columbine
shootings.”
They’re fabricating facts YET again to bring leverage towards their
arguments and at the same time they are trying to bring life into a dead
media cashcow, Columbine, yet again.
First off these idiots are trying to ban the sales of M rated games to any
minor under the age of 18 even though the M rated label states that it is
for ages 17 and older. Secondly these “lawmakers” are again trying to step
into your homes and are trying to control your choices in a dictator
fashion.
We all know about why this is simply wrong, we know the facts about gaming
violence and youth...we need to act now.
Now, if you don’t live in New Jersey, New York, Illinois or Florida where
similar legislation is trying to be passed you may wonder why you should
care? Well it’s simple folks, there are fifty states in this great country
and it only takes ONE to start a chain reaction...sooner or later, state
after state after state, they will add up to fifty.
This article was produce from the Gloucester County Times: www.nj.com
The writer of this article is Terrence Dopp: [email protected].
The editors page of this paper is [email protected]
I do not know the e-mails and names of the lawmakers who are trying to pass
this bill but the assemblyman Gary Guear’s e-mail is [email protected]
Well god bless the founding fathers. They really went into overkill didn't
they. Well now at least we know what happens when you give Opium to someone
who's already been lobotomised.
____________________ Light is changing to shadow, and casting a shroud over all we have known.
Anya
Extreme Fanatic
Posts: 656 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
posted on 11/8/2003 at 05:51 AM
Was thinking about something...I've also noticed how there's also those
parents who refuse to notice their children's behavior...thinking that
they're "good little angels" when they're probably the one who shot Timmy.
Then again, there's also those paranoid schizophrenix parents who think the
total opposite. That tends to affect the disciplinary thing too, heh.
let's just put it this way... give it a week... go to rent a center or some
place like that.... give it a week, and the control system is instinctual
after that...
____________________ The earth turns on a tilted axis - just doing the best it can.
Hohenheim of Light~Full Metal Alchemist
AloneSoul
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Posts: 522 Registered: 6/7/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 8/8/2003 at 12:48 AM
Agreed. Parents should know what content is in the games they purchase if
it’s for their children. - It’s amazing though how some parents seem to
ignore the ratings system; you gotta shove it in their faces before they
realize what it’s for.
By the way, even with that new controller for the X-Box I still can’t get
used to the damn thing. That’s the main reason why I haven’t purchased one.
The house and keyboard are the best controllers for me.
OH... I am so far away from the doom argument... I am citing, simply, that
people want to blame something... and that was the best they coudl do... I
know, and you know, and many other people know... that columbine did not
happen due to doom... not even in a catlitic fashion... it simply happened
because people are inherently badong!...
all of the consoles have good titles... Metroid prime, zelda, etc...
anya: I happen to agree.,.. if you are TOO BUSY to supervise, you are too
busy to HAVE... at least IMHO...
Soul: The maturity debate was covered in my post as well... I know some 30
year old children... reguardless of the maturity level, or age... the
'rents should at LEAST KNOW what their child is playin... Hell... if I ever
had a child, they'd be raised on PS2 and Xbox... and I would be right there
playin em too...
____________________ The earth turns on a tilted axis - just doing the best it can.
Hohenheim of Light~Full Metal Alchemist
AloneSoul
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Posts: 522 Registered: 6/7/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 7/8/2003 at 02:50 PM
Good points Anya.
Parents need to know more about the games they buy for the kids. Not to
long ago I saw a mother buy GTA: VC for her four year old son. She was
completely oblivious to the content of the game.
As for the "maturity age"...it isn't a standard that tends to hold up well.
I know some 12 year olds more mature than 18 year olds and can handle
"adult" content.
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size=1> but at least you know, just how much pain there is in living
Anya
Extreme Fanatic
Posts: 656 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
posted on 7/8/2003 at 11:34 AM
There's also the saying that goes, "If you wish to fully blame a child for
their flaws, look back at how you raised them."
There's also the arguement that parents are "too busy working and do not
have time to supervise their kid's activities", but in my opinion, that's
just an excuse to not take responsibility for the child. Yes, the child
has responsibility of their own actions, but when it comes to raising them,
that's the parent's place.
Then again, I never raised a child on my own. I'm just opinionated and
think that if a parent is too busy to even raise a child or even get a
babysitter for them, then what's the use of being a parent. Again, this is
just my opinion...it could change if I ended up having my own, but there's
still responsibility that some people just fail to take.
[Edited on 8/7/2003 by Anya]
Anya
Extreme Fanatic
Posts: 656 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
posted on 7/8/2003 at 11:32 AM
I believe that it is necessary for parents to buy video games for their
children in means to know what they're getting into. How a parent raises
their child/ren has a major effect on how their child will come out. While
the child has free will, society still molds the child in a way. Plus -
how many people can trust people to FULLY go by that law behind their
houses? They'd have to have the government watching homes, which to me
would repress society even more and add to the censorship situation.
Repression to me brings more resentment and rebellion, which increases
underground and crime rates even more.
As far as age goes, 17 or 18 and over is probably okay for the buying
situation. For playing, however, depends on each child. My mom raised me
and made me watch purely Disney movies and cartoons until I was nine years
old, which she opened the curtains for the more violent movies and a bit of
cursing. She didn't let me watch just anything until I was twelve, though
she did keep around for a bit until a few years later. Some children need
more time, some do not...maybe I needed more time.
AloneSoul
Fanatic
Posts: 522 Registered: 6/7/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 7/8/2003 at 09:58 AM
Going into Columbine, those two kids were bullied and disgruntled. When I
hear people using the “Doom argument” as cause to this tragedy I think: “so
you’re telling me that simply being bullied wouldn’t give someone the idea
to kill another in a certain fashion? You’ll need a catalyst like Doom, a
game played by men, women and children to offset that homicidal tendency?”
Ok... in the columbine example cited, I can understand the tendency to cite
it. A) the boys in question WERE obsessed with Doom and Quake.
Now I hate to say it... but I agree with the law in question. The lawa they
are proposing does nto say that children uunder 17 cannot PLAY these games,
it is requi9ring that an adult buy them. By doing this, it is FORCING
parents to take an active role in what their children see... Some parents
don't want their kids to experience certain things, but when tehy were
growin up video games were FAR from what they are today. We have the same
basic law in Missouri... and guess what... sales of M rated games continues
un abated...
Starlight: Precisely so - censorship IS bullshit... but this, by
deefinition, is not ceensorship... They are not asking them to change the
games, nor are they banning the games, nor are they demanding altered or
"bleeped" versions... they are simply saying that like, porn, whiskey and
cigarettes... if you want your children to have these... you gotta buy the
product for them...
bettie: I agree with you... but the children of columbine were obsessed
with specific songs and games... to the casual observer, the lemming of the
status quo... it would seem to be an indication of a problem...
Squid: my friend ben... is 16, looks 30...
Grimlore: evidently you haven't paid attention to a) the quality of game
for the console, b) the quality of the console, c) the POWER of the
console, and d) the fact that the game cube is failing, and the PS2
honestly is a piecee of trash... all teh drive problems? I mean honestly
man, the XBOX uses direct x... VERY EASY to develope for, and they offer an
extended service plan for it for 25 a year... i have yet to hear of one
needing any service..
Starlight: Inherntly... all religions strive to overcome the inherent
nature of mankind... therefor, I feel that mankind is inherently evil...
____________________ The earth turns on a tilted axis - just doing the best it can.
Hohenheim of Light~Full Metal Alchemist
Schizo
Extreme Fanatic
Posts: 897 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
posted on 25/12/2002 at 10:42 PM
Censorship is definitely bullshit. Obviously, there has to be some way to
let parents know what their kids are doing, but a parent who's on the ball
can do that without government "supervision". And if a kid has parents who
aren't on the ball, he or she will figure out a way to do whatever they
want in spite of censorship.
The government is power-mad. They want to be the ones in control of what
everyone does and sees. They think they know better than anyone else what
is good for you and your children. This is sick. There isn't a politician
in the world who knows and understands my child like I do. If I see that
my daughter has a strong sense of what is real and what isn't, and that she
can emotionally handle certain concepts, I will certainly allow her to do
things far earlier than Joe Leader-of-the-People would like. Some people,
conversely, may be far older than the legal age, and still be unready for
what are called "adult" themes.
And it is true what you have been saying. Opponents of violent games and
television have a false idea of what children of the past were like.
Children, hundreds of years before video games were invented, have been
indulging in acts of violence. They reacted, either to copy or to reject,
what the significant adults in their lives did. Or, if there were no
significant adults, they followed the natural bend of their personalities
to the extreme.
Media in those days were different. Instead of electronic methods, the
only way of conveying information were verbal and written. If you were
lucky enough to learn how to read. And have you ever read the chidren's
stories from a hundred or so years ago? They are full of death and
disaster. And children at that time weren't censored from the world of
adult literature, except for a time, from the concept of sex. Look at
books like Jane Eyre, which children of that era read. It starts with
violent bullying, proceeds to an abusive schoolmaster, then a near act of
bigamy, insanity, homelessness, and much else that might be labelled
"violent" or "mature". And farther back still, children were exposed quite
naturally to the concept of sexuality.
The only thing that has ever kept children from lives of violence, etc., is
for the parents to play a prominent and positive role in their children's
life. NOT keeping all forms of violence or sexual themes from their
experience.
I will admit, video games can have a powerful effect. Last summer I used
to play GTA3 a lot, and I remember driving by plate glass windows, and
immediately thinking of the lovely ringing crash there would be if I drove
through them. I remember seeing sidewalks, and imagining the results if I
were to just drive madly down them. But they were just thoughts. They
never came even remotely close to actions. I have no desire to drive
through people's houses, or to mow down innocent pedestrians.
The vast majority of people have enough emotional maturity to draw a heavy
line between behavior that is appropriate in a virtual world, and behavior
that is appropriate in the real world. A very few don't grasp this
concept. They are very rare, and generally have emotional problems that
require intense therapy. There are others that understand the difference,
but don't care. These are the people who would act violently, even if they
never laid eyes on a video game, or listened to anything but Mozart.
Violent video games play an important role, I believe, in the directing of
our natural violent tendencies. They can sometimes help us to release
tensions that otherwise would have either been internalized, resulting in
physical and emotional problems, or they would be acted out in real forms
of violence. In a video game, you can direct those aggressions towards
simulated enemies and let them go freely where they can harm no one.
Maybe that's the problem with these politicians and censorship lobbyists.
They need to play more violent video games!
grimlore
Occasional Poster
Posts: 32 Registered: 20/9/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 9/11/2002 at 03:24 PM
Ah jeez....nothing like taking that thing into a group of ppl and waving it
around....fun fun fun.
hey that doesn't sound right...but you know what i mean
AloneSoul
Fanatic
Posts: 522 Registered: 6/7/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 7/11/2002 at 11:19 AM
Oh yes, and blood even sprays on the screen if you cut em just right.
*gives the thumbs up*
size=1> but at least you know, just how much pain there is in living
Xaoswolf
Fanatic
Posts: 463 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
posted on 7/11/2002 at 06:37 AM
Wait, you can walk down downtown with a sword and decapitate people?? I
may just buy this game now.
____________________ Sometimes I dream about dinosaurs shopping for cargo shorts at the Gap.
Does that make me a bad person?
grimlore
Occasional Poster
Posts: 32 Registered: 20/9/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 6/11/2002 at 08:16 PM
Vice city is so much fun...i like the sword though, theres nothing like
walking up to some random guy and chopping his head off....lol
____________________
Xaoswolf
Fanatic
Posts: 463 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
posted on 6/11/2002 at 05:15 PM
I wonder why nobody ever says how peaceful today's youth is. Why, it
wasn't too long ago that we had 16 year olds standing in big lines shooting
each other. Heck sometimes it was brother against brother. Whole families
were torn apart. It seems nobody remembers...
____________________ Sometimes I dream about dinosaurs shopping for cargo shorts at the Gap.
Does that make me a bad person?
DarkMistress
Member
Posts: 170 Registered: 6/6/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 6/11/2002 at 03:15 PM
My parents are violent and I'm not even phased by it. Kids today, so
desensitized by their families. Heh..
I wrote a story that somehow corresponds to the happenings of my summer
though it was sick and delusional and I loved it. Now I'm not really going
to go stab some girl or watch hounds eat the legs off of a guy I know. I'm
not going to torture someone relentlessly or any of that.
My friend wrote an in-depth story on how he would go about shooting up the
school (relating to columbine) but he's not actually going to shoot up the
school.
*sigh* If I was going to kill someone I would have already done it.
Outside influences like video games and television and music and books
isn't going to make me do anything. Just because something implies/talks
about violence or commits acts of violence does not mean it's saying "go
out and kill as many people as you can."
____________________ "Pity no one was there
No angels in the air
And the morning paper ran
One more suicide"