• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Do You Think That Violent Video Games/ Movies Are An Issue

Do You Think That Violent Video Games/ Movies Are An Issue

  • No

    Votes: 64 72.7%
  • Yes

    Votes: 18 20.5%
  • Other

    Votes: 6 6.8%

  • Total voters
    88
Lately the media, especially the liberal media has been scapegoating ......

Stop calling the media the "liberal media." Almost all the media are corporate owned and are not even remotely liberal. The Huffington Post actually does have a liberal slant, but the others like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. have no such slant. Right-wing extremists just brand them liberal as a convenient excuse any time coverage is not favorable toward the far right.
 
Stop calling the media the "liberal media." Almost all the media are corporate owned and are not even remotely liberal. The Huffington Post actually does have a liberal slant, but the others like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. have no such slant. Right-wing extremists just brand them liberal as a convenient excuse any time coverage is not favorable toward the far right.

does corporate owned mean conservative owned?
 
Stop calling the media the "liberal media." Almost all the media are corporate owned and are not even remotely liberal. The Huffington Post actually does have a liberal slant, but the others like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. have no such slant. Right-wing extremists just brand them liberal as a convenient excuse any time coverage is not favorable toward the far right.

Fine the more left-leaning media or those with a more Liberal audience and whose parent companies are in direct competition with the video game market.
 
does corporate owned mean conservative owned?

It means they don't want to offend the right-wing plutocrats that run the corporations. When was the last time any major news outlet ran a story about how unions really work? When have any of them run a story about how universal medical insurance systems run in other countries? The answer on both of these is never and never. PBS did cover the medical insurance systems. The major media only covered the fight over health care. They covered people screaming at each other, but none of them covered anything in depth. They're not even remotely left leaning, but if they're not 100 percent in sync with the far right pundits, those guys scream, "liberal media." It's an absurd distortion.
 
This thread, just like the gun control and other threads are all trying to play the blame game, but restrict to things one side or the other supports. If we want to analyze blame, then lets do it on a broad basis, not just a restrictive one and not to just one incident or type of incident, but all violent crime.

You have to take in the individual, society, crime and punishment, parenting, media, gun laws, poverty and other factors.

The individual makes the actual choice to commit a violent act. What contributes to that individual making that choice?

Examples of previous violent acts? The "fame" gained by so many that commit violent acts? I do think these have some affect. A troubled person is looking for answers to his/her troubles and I believe that the media treatment of so many past incidents can trigger a thought process that leads to the choice to do violence.

Living in areas where violent crime is just a fact of life? How many of our violent crimes are centered or located in poverty/welfare areas? We know where most of it is located and who commits violent acts. How about Economic disparity?

In these areas where violence is a fact of life, how much cooperation do the police receive in removing the violent areas? Watching the news, not much.

Even when the police arrest and the courts convict violent offenders, what is the reform system like? Does it do a good enough job to deter future violence? I certainly don't think so. With all the repeat offenders and crowded prisons and jails, it would appear that it does not.

The prevalence of violence in games and movies/tv? Some acts have been reported to have been inspired by these types of media. Exactly how many and how much is not clear since a lot of other factors I am mentioning here also seem to be present.

Gun Control laws? How much? Without tracking the crimes committed with legally purchased guns vs those where the gun was obtained illegally, I don't believe we can accurately judge the effectiveness of Gun Control laws.

Can the presence/availability of guns be part of the problem? I don't think so, otherwise we would see a far larger percentage of legal gun owners committing violent crime. But, again, because we don't track or differentiate gun related violence committed with legal vs illegal guns, we cannot make an accurate determination. We do however have ample evidence that many violent crimes are committed with other tools, not just guns.

What role does gun-free zones play? Laws that restrict self-defense?

How many violent offenders were themselves victims of violent crimes or threats of violence? What part does "abuse" play? We know, beyond a doubt, that some violent offenders were subjected to various abuses while children. Serial killers almost always have some kind of abuse in their past. School shooters/mass shooters many times have been the subject of violent bullying and social isolation. Gangs have been documented to use threats of violence against family members to get new members into the gang. Some gang members join to seek protection against other gangs that commit violent acts.

What role does parenting play? Has the number of violent crimes risen along with the number of women working outside the home? How about the increase in divorce rates and single parent families? Restrictions on discipline? The absence of discipline in schools?

What about the failures of mental health services in the country? Parents refusing to recognize the signs or mental disease and seek help for their children?

How much suppression and out right denial of basic human instincts is prevalent in our society and what role does that play? Does Multi-multiculturalism play a role? I believe that by dividing society into "multiple cultures" we naturally create tensions that can explode into violence between the different cultural groups. What role does "all violence is evil" play? What about "everyone is a winner for participating?"

All of these, and probably more, I believe can or do, in some way, affect the amount of violent crime in America today. Some want to point to Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan, among others, as examples of cultures lacking with much lower violent crime rates, or at least lower gun violence. But, what they are not putting into the equation is that these are all Mono-Culture or Bi-Cultural nations and none have the level of multiple culture input into their society that the US has.
 
Here's the thing, if something as benign as a video game can cause people like Lanza to snap, then anything could. If we make an effort to remove the stimuli that cause INSANE people to act INSANE then a whole purge of our entire culture would have to take place. Let's be honest: at a certain point maniacs do what they do because they are maniacs, not because of anything that doesn't affect normal people.

They would have to first prove that videos games can make a person insane. After all that is their assertion, that video games cause detrimental insanity as if all humans would become insane and start killing people just like in the game. The same goes for movies, comic books, music, and good ole books. BTW IMO banning video games, movies, music, etc, is no different than banning books.

The focus should be on the individual in each case, you really cannot generalize mental health.
 
Such things are not rules which apply universally or not at all.

I remember being in Tokyo in 1994 and seeing liquor, beer and wine machines all over the place. All you had to do was put in the money and you got what you wanted. I asked a Japanese friend how they could do such a thing and not have rampant teen abuse leading to worse problems. He looked at me with a weird expression on his face like I was asking where babies came from and explained that you had to be of adult age to use the machine. I asked him what prevented the teens from ignoring that and he looked even more puzzled and simply stated that they know they cannot do such things.

Every culture is different. What flies in one may not in a different one.

The fact that people can play violent video games in other cultures an have no ill effect upon society means nothing to its effects in other cultures.
So doesn't that mean the US culture is more susceptible to video games and other media? That would still imply that video games and such are not the problem, the problem is our mentality and attitude, maybe even our level of education and maturity as a nation.
 
I believe violent video games and media serves as a negative influence, and has increasingly influenced our society in negatives. It's not surprising that many people have become desensitized to violence and gore. Just think of that espicable movie, Hostel and the rest of that trash. They're catalysts that affect the mind which already has "cracks" in it. Or from a totally different perspective... we're animals that're trying to act like something we're not.... violence and destruction is normal for animals.
 
Probably "other".
This depends on the mental age of the player, ect...
There must be within these "games" some kind of positive message, perhaps hidden......crime does not pay as an example..
In a vast majority of movies that I watch (usually 50-100 years old) there is this message.. But todays movies, I know not about.
 
Probably "other".
This depends on the mental age of the player, ect...
There must be within these "games" some kind of positive message, perhaps hidden......crime does not pay as an example..
In a vast majority of movies that I watch (usually 50-100 years old) there is this message.. But todays movies, I know not about.

Thats because somewhere around the 1970s, acting and real story telling got thrown out in favor of unrealistic "action scenes" and special affects.

Or as I usually put it, John Wayne died and Clint Eastwood started making "chick flicks".
 
I believe violent video games and media serves as a negative influence, and has increasingly influenced our society in negatives. It's not surprising that many people have become desensitized to violence and gore. Just think of that espicable movie, Hostel and the rest of that trash. They're catalysts that affect the mind which already has "cracks" in it. Or from a totally different perspective... we're animals that're trying to act like something we're not.... violence and destruction is normal for animals.

Uh. Fail.

First, there has been no such link to be conclusively established. Anybody who could be set off by something as simple as a movie already had serious issues to begin with.

Second, humans are by definition animals.

Third, what's the solution? Restrict or ban violent movies simply because they might allegedly set off a tiny fraction of people?
 
First, there has been no such link to be conclusively established. Anybody who could be set off by something as simple as a movie already had serious issues to begin with.

I really don't care whether a "link" has been conclusively established. It's my opinion that very violent and gory video games and media are 1) a way to desensitize people to violence and gore and 2) they serve as catalysts by negatively affecting the mind of those more prone to such behavior.

Second, humans are by definition animals.

Which is not something I've disagreed with.

Third, what's the solution? Restrict or ban violent movies simply because they might allegedly set off a tiny fraction of people?

You seem to want a major answer rather quickly, when I'm merely voicing my opinion. Now, I'd like to see less of our youth viewing these trashy sources of violence, but I'm fairly certain that won't be happening any time soon. I believe all of the violence, gore, and barbarism is a negative to society.
 
I really don't care whether a "link" has been conclusively established. It's my opinion that very violent and gory video games and media are 1) a way to desensitize people to violence and gore and 2) they serve as catalysts by negatively affecting the mind of those more prone to such behavior.

And the burden is on you to show it. We need strong evidence, not just hunches.

Which is not something I've disagreed with.

You seem to want a major answer rather quickly, when I'm merely voicing my opinion. Now, I'd like to see less of our youth viewing these trashy sources of violence, but I'm fairly certain that won't be happening any time soon. I believe all of the violence, gore, and barbarism is a negative to society.

That's your view and you're entitled to it. Nobody is forcing you to watch R-rated movies. But if you believe that everyone should follow these beliefs, then you're forcing your beliefs on others. Before you may do that, you must provide a strong case to justify that.
 
And the burden is on you to show it. We need strong evidence, not just hunches.



That's your view and you're entitled to it. Nobody is forcing you to watch R-rated movies. But if you believe that everyone should follow these beliefs, then you're forcing your beliefs on others. Before you may do that, you must provide a strong case to justify that.

This isn't court, and I'm under no obligation to provide scientific proof when sharing an opinion.

Forcing my beliefs on others is using the law/whatever else to force it on others. Stating my belief on a Debate and Discussion forum is in absolutely no way "forcing" my beliefs on others. If you don't like a person's opinion, that's alright. Relax. This is a place not only for civil debate, but civil discussion. :lol:
 
This isn't court, and I'm under no obligation to provide scientific proof when sharing an opinion.

Forcing my beliefs on others is using the law/whatever else to force it on others. Stating my belief on a Debate and Discussion forum is in absolutely no way "forcing" my beliefs on others. If you don't like a person's opinion, that's alright. Relax. This is a place not only for civil debate, but civil discussion. :lol:

Now wait a minute. Are you saying that you personally won't be watching violent movies? If so, then that's just your personal decision and there's nothing wrong with it. But if you're saying that others should follow along with your beliefs, then yes, whether you realize it or not, you support forcing your beliefs on others.

Don't worry; I'm not upset. I'm just debating. :)
 
Now wait a minute. Are you saying that you personally won't be watching violent movies? If so, then that's just your personal decision and there's nothing wrong with it. But if you're saying that others should follow along with your beliefs, then yes, whether you realize it or not, you support forcing your beliefs on others.

Don't worry; I'm not upset. I'm just debating. :)

Interesting.

...the problem with your assertion comes down to a basic failure in reasoning. You think that if I opine that watching violent video and playing violent games influences people in negative ways... I'm forcing my beliefs on others. Would you please show me the logic in how stating my belief is the same thing as forcing others to bend to my will? The reason your reasoning is faulty is that merely voicing an opinion or a belief isn't forcing anyone else to do anything. For example, if I say I dislike fast food, or that I believe fast food is a bad thing for our bodies, am I forcing people to bend to my beliefs? Aren't we here not just to debate, but to give voice to and share our opinions and beliefs? An opinion, a belief... can never be seen as a weapon to force others.... and deep down I think you already know this. Now, I can help you if you want, but it will take some effort on your part. First you must accept that within an online community, and that like it or not people will state their beliefs in order to share them with everyone else. Secondly, after you understand that, you should lower your sensitivity to the existence of other beliefs being vocalized in a civil and respectful manner. After that, then simply go with the flow, enjoy the varying perspectives and understandings, and learn. I'm relatively certain that once you adopt steps 1 & 2, you'll become a far more flexible and less dogmatic person, who will no longer see debate as some rigid battle, but an enjoyable mental exercise in learning.
 
Interesting.

...the problem with your assertion comes down to a basic failure in reasoning. You think that if I opine that watching violent video and playing violent games influences people in negative ways... I'm forcing my beliefs on others. Would you please show me the logic in how stating my belief is the same thing as forcing others to bend to my will? The reason your reasoning is faulty is that merely voicing an opinion or a belief isn't forcing anyone else to do anything. For example, if I say I dislike fast food, or that I believe fast food is a bad thing for our bodies, am I forcing people to bend to my beliefs? Aren't we here not just to debate, but to give voice to and share our opinions and beliefs? An opinion, a belief... can never be seen as a weapon to force others.... and deep down I think you already know this. Now, I can help you if you want, but it will take some effort on your part. First you must accept that within an online community, and that like it or not people will state their beliefs in order to share them with everyone else. Secondly, after you understand that, you should lower your sensitivity to the existence of other beliefs being vocalized in a civil and respectful manner. After that, then simply go with the flow, enjoy the varying perspectives and understandings, and learn. I'm relatively certain that once you adopt steps 1 & 2, you'll become a far more flexible and less dogmatic person, who will no longer see debate as some rigid battle, but an enjoyable mental exercise in learning.

Uhhh...oookkkaaayyy...

But w/e. To each his own. Anyway, I need to go watch Kill Bill now. :2razz:
 
Restricting guns OR violent video games aren't the answer! We need to educate others about unacceptable behavior like shooting an entire crowd. People kill people, how you may ask? A government that neglects them and only makes things worse!
 
Restricting guns OR violent video games aren't the answer! We need to educate others about unacceptable behavior like shooting an entire crowd. People kill people, how you may ask? A government that neglects them and only makes things worse!

Yep. Like say politician that worry more about popularity than about actual solutions. After all, if they do what actually works but don't get re-elected, how could they ever survive in a real job market?
 
Yep. Like say politician that worry more about popularity than about actual solutions. After all, if they do what actually works but don't get re-elected, how could they ever survive in a real job market?

I've got an example, before the election Obama agreed to recognize gay marriage. After he won, he changed his mind. They're only in it for the power and money is what I think.
 
I believe violent video games and media serves as a negative influence, and has increasingly influenced our society in negatives. It's not surprising that many people have become desensitized to violence and gore. Just think of that espicable movie, Hostel and the rest of that trash. They're catalysts that affect the mind which already has "cracks" in it. Or from a totally different perspective... we're animals that're trying to act like something we're not.... violence and destruction is normal for animals.
Then why not focus on the cracks instead of making media the scapegoat? This is another case of blaming the tool instead of blaming the user. It's funny because folks like that NRA head say we shouldn't blame objects (guns), yet he turns around and blames objects (video games) anyway. We can't cut off logic where it's most convenient for us.

I play violent video games and see violent media all the time but I have the maturity to realize the difference between reality and entertainment. Millions of people are like that.
 
I believe violent video games and media serves as a negative influence, and has increasingly influenced our society in negatives. It's not surprising that many people have become desensitized to violence and gore. Just think of that espicable movie, Hostel and the rest of that trash. They're catalysts that affect the mind which already has "cracks" in it. Or from a totally different perspective... we're animals that're trying to act like something we're not.... violence and destruction is normal for animals.

The people that go out and kill because they watched a movie or played a game would have done so anyways. BTW ever play war as a child cowboys and Indians?
 
Back
Top Bottom