Video games Can't Be Blamed for Humanity's Problems

I could just see the headlines if someone in Canada embezzled millions from the government because their idol, Jean Chretian did it too...

 

Actually there have been cases of other media being blamed for crime. Back in the 50s or 60s a French murderer was found to have been reading one of Boris Vian's books and the murder shared similarities with the one in the book. Vian was put on trial and the only reason he got away with it was because he'd written the novel using a pseudonym and had pretended that he'd just translated it. Then in the 80s D&D was the cause of all the world's evil. I remember back in the early 90s when suddenly TV and violence on TV were campaigned against. Now games are the new scapegoat. It feels almost like a natural progression.

 

This happens even in mainstream media. Look at the episode of CSI:Miami where the bankrobbers were using the storyline from a GTA type game. Also an episode of one of the Law & Order shows where the killers blamed their actions on a video game they were playing.

 

Don't blame it on the videogames, blame it on the TV.

 

Sadly this can be said for a great many countries, depending on how lenient you are with what's too over the top. The "hot coffee" mod got Rockstar in dire straights even though you had to get the mod to see the nudity, even though the nudity was not exactly what I'd call titillating, and even though there was no real harm done by anyone who'd seen the mod. Then you have Germany and their ban (or censorship) on a great many violent games, not to mention their automatic censorship of any nazi symbology, regardless of context (why would an American GI slaughtering hundreds of nazi soldiers be unacceptable, but the exact same game with generic bad guys rather than nazis be perfectly acceptable?)

I don't have a problem with such shows using video games in a credible way. Killers in real life blame their actions on games because they know they can get a reduced sentence if their plea works. What I would find worrying is if this episode actually went along with the theory and pulled an aesop at the end: "poor poor killers, we shouldn't blame them for what video games have done to their fragile little minds!" It doesn't have to be that obvious, but you get the idea.

 

So we can also blame Society for letting them get away with it.

 

And if all fails, blame your parents

 

Ugh... I was hoping I was wrong. This is pretty disgusting.

Not society, but I would certainly blame the particular trend in the judicial system that makes it easy (too easy?) to shift blame and responsibility away from the criminal. There are perfectly legitimate cases in which this can be done, but that doesn't mean that any petty and lucid murderer should be able to get away with it if his lawyer is good enough. Then again maybe I'm too naive...