Found this Interesting Opinion

[cbman]

I found this opinion on G256.com, In regards to the shooting in Germany I believe.

I think the guy has some really good points, Some other stuff I don't 100% agree with, but still some good points.

Name: Runitai
E-Mail: dmp9199@cs.rit.edu
Comment: Personally, I think a school shooting every now and then is healthy for society at large, but I'm biased (all the folks at my school were suddenly REAL nice to me after Columbine).

Seriously, though, I've said this before, and I'll say it again: there is a definite correlation between time spent playing violent video games and exhibiting violent behavior in the real world. Research has proven this beyond all doubt. The media, however, in it's endless quest to point the almighty Finger of Blame (tm) instantly concludes that "the games made them do it."

This stirs up violent emotions in me, mostly I want to hit them with bricks and scream something along the lines of "Really? You mean to tell me that this murderous son of a bitch enjoyed violent video games in his spare time? And all the while, I thought he went to antique shows or knit sweaters."

Honestly, folks, if you feel like killing someone, and there's a media that shows, simulates, or even suggests the killing of another human being, you'll be all over it.

Sex starved people watch porn. People with no lives watch other people's lives on "reality" shows. People with no one to talk to watch talk shows.

Media is designed to satisfy one urge or another that society isn't doing a sufficient job of satisfying. These young people (like many young people) feel the need to destroy something, so they will find media that satisfy those urges.

The solution: teach kids how to stick up for themselves.

All my life I was told never to fight back to anyone, never to defend myself, to always just sit there and take whatever blows come my way, and I gotta tell ya, I felt like killing a few people by the time I was 16.

I believe getting the snot kicked out of you is part of growing up. If you haven't gotten your ass kicked at least once, then go pick a fight with your best friend and don't quit until someone's bleeding. Likewise, if you're a kid who gets bullied at school, FIGHT BACK. "If you ignore them, they'll go away" is a ****ing LIE! However, if you slam your open palms against their ears as hard as you can, they at least won't bug you for a few days. Sure, you'll get in trouble with the school, you're parents will find out, you might get suspended, but who the **** cares? As long as your grades stay up, you're doing just fine, and if you can't keep your grades up, don't worry about it.

That's the other problem: if you start failing in high school, the whole world makes you think there's something wrong with you. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING STUPID! Lots of people are stupid, deal with it. The world is built on the backs of stupid people. WE NEED STUPID PEOPLE LIKE YOU! By and large, the biggest ****oles I've ever met have been professors at private colleges and rich businessmen, while some of the greatest people I've ever had the pleasure of talking with have been garbage men.

My grandfather was, in my mind, the most respectable man I've ever met. I can't think of a single thing he has to be ashamed of in his entire life. He had a good marriage, a devoted family, raised a son who graduated with honors from the Air Force Academy, and was a respected member of his community until the day he died. HE NEVER MADE IT PAST THE SEVENTH GRADE!

It's OK to fail. It's OK to be a garbage man for the rest of your life. It's peachy ****ing king to admit that there are some things you can't do. Just find something you can do, and do it the best you can. You don't have to be the best, you just have to earn a ****ing living.

Most people hate their job, regardless of what education they have. Construction workers, retail sales people, garbage men, mail men, etc. tend to enjoy their work more than people who sit in cubicles and stare at computer screens all day. They tend to be happier people over all.

**** your education if it makes you miserable. Do what you want to do. Be comfortable.

WAKE THE **** UP!

[Jammrock]

Nerds and geeks never had to worry about getting beat up at my school, because I was a geek, a jock and the strongest kid in school. Kind of an odd combo if you ask me. But according to some people I went to an abnormal school.

I don't remeber who originally said it, but it goes like this:

The world has always been this violent, we just never had CNN to broadcast it before.

Jammrock

[Gurm]

Guns don't kill people.

I DO.

- Gurm

[Lizzard[MPE]]

"Honestly, folks, if you feel like killing someone, and there's a media that shows, simulates, or even suggests the killing of another human being, you'll be all over it. "

I seriously believe this is bullshit. If you are going to kill someone horrifically then you are going to do it, without a videogame. If we live in a society that believes that video games, tv, movies, etc make ppl kill other ppl then i dont really want to be apart of it. I mean what exactly is the solution, you cant ban everything they would like to ban. And if the content isnt ok for young children then simply just dont let them get to it. Parents need to pay more attention to the children they are raising these days.

[Wombat]

I think you misunderstood the author Lizzy. He's saying that people with an intention/mindset on killing will likely be very attracted to media about their favorite subject.

He's taking the opposite stance of those overly-conservative nutjobs that think violent media is what makes killers.

[Lizzard[MPE]]

look i am having a bad day. ha..lord. i'm going home and stealing my neighbors hot tub

[KvHagedorn]

Here's the lowdown, folks. We are all killers, potentially. We kill bugs without thinking, we kill fish with very little worry. We run over squirrels with minor unrest. We kill chickens and cows and pigs by proxy for our food. Some of us go hunting and personally shoot deer or birds. We feel horrible if we run over a cat or dog, though. And we (most of us) don't even seriously consider killing a human being. But what violent movies and video games do, especially movies like Natural Born Killers (if you've seen it, you know what I mean) is put this idea into our heads. We are sitting there, being thrust into putting ourselves in the place of a killer.. being given his point of view. This might just break down barriers for some people, causing the inconceivable to become conceivable, possible, even cool. It just takes a particular type of person to be affected by this. The movie might not have caused murder to be committed in the strictest sense, but it could definitely be argued that it was a catalyst that led to the behavior.

[Joel]

And Germany supposely has some of the toughest gun control laws in the world. I guess it just goes to show you that all the gun control laws in the world ain't going to stop a coward from killing someone who is unable to defend themselves. And if there were no guns it would be knifes or baseball bats.

Joel

[Wombat]

But what violent movies and video games do, especially movies like Natural Born Killers (if you've seen it, you know what I mean) is put this idea into our heads.

Bullshit. People get this idea on their own. Next you'll be telling me that people would have never have thought to have sex without the Playmate channel inspiring them.

We are sitting there, being thrust into putting ourselves in the place of a killer.. being given his point of view. This might just break down barriers for some people, causing the inconceivable to become conceivable, possible, even cool. It just takes a particular type of person to be affected by this. The movie might not have caused murder to be committed in the strictest sense, but it could definitely be argued that it was a catalyst that led to the behavior.

And those people are insane. Whatever happened to people just being <B>****ing crazy</B>? Now they are "a product of our society." Bah. There have always been psychos, and always will be. <I>Something</I> will trip them off eventually. It's no more likely to be video games than it is the word "New Jersey" or "Mars Bar."

[az]

I think people being crazy are almost always a product of our society (except for born psychic diseases, but most of those people are monitored a little more strictly than the rest of us, and I don't think any of them would be allowed to carry guns).

And I think that gun restriction laws are really a good thing, the bad thing is that this boy got the guns half-legally (he had licenses, but got those in spite of him not being an active sports shooter) - and that our gun restriction laws aren't restrictive enough - what kind of reason is "I like shooting ansd do so in a shooting yard" for being allowed to carry a gun?

I don't know if people have to take mental tests before being given a gun license, but they should! Sure, restrictive gun laws won't stop anybody who really wants a gun, but they at least make it harder.

I think forbidding guns is more useful than forbidding movies, computer games, etc., but I think parents should really pay more attention to what their kids do, watch, play, and what they do with their guns.

AZ

[Joel]

If you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns. The only people who are affected by gun control laws are the law abiding citizens. And it will just make the black market in guns more lucrutive. Just like the war on drugs has made the market in illegal drugs so profitable. But then again if society wasn't so screwed up then I guess people wouldn't feel like they need something to escape reality thus there would not be a demand for them.

Joel

[az]

The problem is children of law abiding citizens having access to their parents' guns (columbine?).. but here we are again: parent responsibility.. society (or laws) can't really force it..

I think many law abiding citizens who would be allowed to carry guns might one day freak out for some reason.. wife cheating, those flies getting on their nerves in a traffic jam.. and if they carry a gun (legally) with them when they catch their wive, god knows what might happen in affect. Most people would think before buying a gun on the black market though (if only because it takes more time to get the gun than to just pull it out the holster).

Even the kid at school might have thought twice before going berserk, or maybe he wouldn't even have come into contact with guns because up until that day he was a "law abiding citizen".. sorta.

I agree that the society might be a bigger problem than the right to carry guns, but the latter does make shooting people a lot more easy. If we were a perfect society we wouldn't need any gun laws because no one would want a gun anyway

AZ

[KvHagedorn]

Bullshit. People get this idea on their own.

Why don't you just think about something for once instead of just reacting to an idea? You are saying that behaviors are always instinctual and never learned. Sure, people have the idea of killing someone just like they have the idea of sex. Society and the hearts and minds and morals of normal people repress that idea, though. But people are influenced by the culture around them to varying degrees. Natural Born Killers and Pulp Fiction made me feel emotionally soiled, because the filmmakers were trying to make you identify with people who were so evil and amoral that they felt that messing up the back seat with "dead nigger" was just an inconvenience that had ruined their car. Tarantino is just too personally twisted in the wrong way to be able to bring that off as humorous, in my opinion. There was too much seriousness in the mood of the scene (and many others in his films) to look upon it as simply "black comedy." Not all films are like this, however. Snatch was able to convey the fact that the movie wasn't serious, but only black comedy. It was similar in some ways, but the gore wasn't reveled in, nor were the twisted, evil characters allowed to be any more than cartoonish. I would rather some twisted soul remain lost in society than be allowed to finally relate to another human being in the person of Woody Harrelson's character in NBK, thank you very much.

Unforgiven is another very scary movie from the standpoint of its effect upon the psychology of a potential killer. It practically spells out what it takes to cut the mustard as a cold blooded heartless murderer (though the murderer only kills "bad" guys in the film.) Furthermore, it goes out of its way to have us affectionately identify with this man by making him the poor hard working widower with two cute kids.

Next you'll be telling me that people would have never have thought to have sex without the Playmate channel inspiring them.

Boy, was that a piss-poor analogy for your argument.. wanna think about that one again? I bet the Playboy channel has inspired quite a lot of sex over the years.

[az]

People do of course have the idea of sex, but the playmate channel might have inspired them to have different flavors (dunno the contents of that channel, but you get the idea), so - yes, of course it inspires them. Maybe some sick people think about raping other people, but when they see a movie about a "rape drug", they might think on a whole new (dangerous) level.

AZ

[Joel]

I guess we should ban fist too. Just recently here, a man killed his stepfather, that he got in an arguement with, with his bare fist.

Guns don't kill people. People kill peple. And if it's not a gun, it's a knife, a bat, or even their bare fist. Hell if I was prone to killing I could do it with a ballpoint pen. You going to ban them too???

Joel