| bonkers555 said: I somewhat agree. If you look closely, what does the young shooters in Columbine, New Mexico and Sandy Hook have in common. They all loved to play violent video games. |
That's a horrible, horrible attempt at logic. Common factors do not equal causality. What if it turns out that all the killers went to Sunday School, would that be a cause? What if they all liked Pepsi? What if they were all minors who had easy access to fire-arms?
Wait, I've got one: what if they were all mentally unstable people who were allowed to experience violent media as well as having easy access to fire-arms? Ding ding.
If people look at that description and their first response is "the games did it" then something is very, very wrong. I would think the "mentally unstable with easy access to fire-arms" part would be the more important factor.
And here is another question: What if the common factor is that mentally unstable people with violent tendencies are DRAWN to violent videogames rather than being CREATED by violent videogames? And how should we explain the limitless number of violent, mentally unstable people who have commited murder WITHOUT access to violent videogames? How should we view the fact that, since the rise of violent videogames, mass shootings and violent crime in general have gone down? Yep, that's right, mass shootings in the United States are down. But how can that possibly be the case with all these kids running around CoDing up the place? Crazy stuff. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/18/nation/la-na-nn-mass-shootings-common-20121218
If violent games are way up and violent crimes, including mass shootings, are down, then what is the logic behind the idea that violent games cause violent crime?
Essay Pro