Basically, every news station has been talking about the recent school shooting, and some people are trying to pinpoint the exact reason these shootings happen. Some reasons I saw people say included mental health, bullying, and even public notoriety. While some of these reasons are backed by some sort of research or proof, there is one reason that continues to get unnecessary attention. That reason is violent video games.
Let me start by saying this, for every person/politician that thinks this is a valid reason, you clearly have your head on backward. Some politicians like to blame video games as the leading cause of mass shootings instead of actually talking about gun control, Courtesy of Vice. These politicians are so pathetic, that they have sold their souls to the NRA and will even go to the extent of blaming video games for shootings. In order for me to believe your flawed logic, I always ask the person for proof. These people scramble to type in some mumbo-jumbo to try and find proof. Sadly, they come up with nothing credible and look like idiots.
I have been playing games for almost twenty years. I have played first-person shooters, “Call Of Duty”, sports games, “Madden”, open-world games, “Grand Theft Auto”, amongst many other games. Yet, not once has the idea of shooting people come to my mind. Why is this you ask? Maybe because video games aren’t the reason for shootings! The gaming community consists of millions of people from around the globe. People from Japan, South Korea, India, United Kingdom, United States, and Canada are just a few countries where there are gamers. Why don’t all the other countries have mass shootings like the ones in the United States? Interesting to think about right?
Maybe people need to think about other causes instead of blaming video games. Mental health is a leading cause, easily obtaining guns is next, and bullying is right after that. The thought of playing “Call Of Duty” is just a scapegoat that these people use to shift away from main issues. The video game community already gets enough shit for being “nerdy”, and the World Health Organization even thinks that gamers have a disability. The last thing this community needs is to be blamed for horrific mass shootings and I’m sick of hearing it.
I really try and understand the point of view for blaming games. Younger people are very vulnerable. I believe that because I used to believe everything I heard. But to insist that video games are powerful enough to have someone go out and kill somebody is ridiculous. These people have tampered minds because of mental health or real-life horrors they’ve seen. Looking at a gun in a video game is so obviously not real and society can decipher the difference.
All in all, I love to play video games. I love playing with my friends, and I strongly believe video games make you more creative. How dare some people blame an entire community of people for being potentially violent enough to shoot people up! I am a very smart individual who knows right from wrong. There are many people like me and it’s slanderous for these allegations to be put upon us. It’s time that people push back at these politicians. No more scapegoating to video games! Time for ALL politicians to talk about supporting mental health, preventing bullying, and having stronger gun control. I, and the entire gaming community will continue to play the titles we love regardless of these people. So it’s time to wake up!
