Logging into the BBC web site today and there are at least 3 headline stories involving shootings in the UK.
Yep, that's UK, Britain, land of Robin Hood, Castles, The Queen, quaint pubs and warm beer.
It is natural, as you will know, to try and make sense of all of this , especially the 'Gears of Waresque' child on child killings. The nature nurture debate rages and for an intelligent discussion I would recommend The Blank Slate written by Steven Pinker.
Just how Gullible has UK society become to underestimate the complexity and subtly of what is happening? To deny that violent games, where you can now 'chat as you kill', 'taunt and abuse as you cleave, chop, and massacre' have 'no' influence is to deny reality. The consequence free world of 'gaming' (sic) will have sub-conscious impacts beyond the superficial PR of sections of the games and music industry.
And the dividing line between reality and fantasy? My son's girlfriend recieved a threatening e-mail after beating a male opponent in an on-line game...The whole thing is 'real', we don't have an hermetically sealed 'world of games' and 'world of reality' - we have one reality.
Having sat in on a role-playing gameing session held in rural Buckinghamshire, and witnessed six grown men threatening to melt each others eyeballs out by role-playing wizards and Egyptian Gods, I have to confess that I shook my head wearily as the memories flooded back...
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that gameing most definitely leads to feeblemindedness, inability to countenance reality in life and a warped outlook. Yes, I can certainly believe there is a correlation between violence and gameing.
I also believe there is a correlation between gameing and being totally dull.
Luckily, at the time, it gave me one of the most hysterical evenings I have ever had...and also one of the most painful from trying to conceal my laughter.
The threatening email is just a shocker. Really, the world is going mad isn't it?
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