rev_vadaul

Thanks guys, I was having RSS feed trouble and this thread sorted it out.

@Vigil80: Shifting the focus to the underlying causes of these mass shootings and the truly terrifying number of gun owner suicides; mental illness, would absolutely be a victory.

Politicians do not particularly hate videogames, a few do like Leeland Yee do, but most simply want an easy excuse for society's problems so they don't have to risk upsetting any of the groups who are funneling bribescampaign contributions into their pockets. In the past they blamed novels or films or TV or opera or whatever. Every time it is a lazy attempt to avoid addressing society's real problems and their failure to address them, to avoid being forced to live up to any of their campaign promises.

A fundamental truth in politics is that when you are explaining, you are losing.

Thus while gaming is doing a pretty good job or introspection and examination of violence within the medium that wont stop the scapegoating, hell scapegoating doesn't care about the truth it cares about shifting the blame. Pointing out that all artistic mediums have at some point been labelled, including novels, similarly wont bear fruit because to the scapegoaters and their target audience games, which they don't play, will seem essentially different.

So you change the narrative and shift the onus. You have to attack the people who are scapegoating you.

There are several potential avenues of response but the one I'd favor is pointing out how many gun owners kill themselves. The majority of gun deaths are male suicides. These mass murders which invariably end in the shooter dying too are just a variant on the much larger number of men who only kill themselves with their gun.

Focus on the suicides so the NRA can't shift into "If we arm the teachers, the janitors and all the students school will be safer! BUY MORE GUNS!" mode that they do whenever the mass shootings are brought up. Instead ask them why they aren't using their uniquely strong connection to gun owners to reach out to depressed or otherwise mentally ill men and get them help before they kill themselves and sometimes lots of other people.

Associate the withdrawn, disturbed young male stereotype of a gamer on gun ownership instead.

Take the fight to them rather than trying to explain to groups who have no interest in listening to you.

@Alex Glad to help, as I said the article is great I just wanted to chime in because this stuff is so damn complex and confusing already minor errors could cause further confusion.

@Alex Great article.

One minor correction, 4A Games, Metro 2033's developer own the rights to Metro and simply had a distribution deal with THQ similar to the arrangement with South Park. So it is unlikely Koch can count on being able to make it into a tent pole franchise.

This was a really good idea for an article Patrick thankyou for doing so. I really appreciate the fact Giant Bomb is doing stuff like this.

It is a real shame that when 8 different women from different companies and parts of the world all say how this was a big issue to them the misogynists complain how it couldn't possibly be a big issue because they personally don't mind treating women as inhuman pieces of meat.

It is also deeply saddening so many young men get deeply scared and violently lash out over the idea of gender equality.

It is really cool to see Alex get a column, he's been pretty under utilised of late so it is great to know we'll be hearing more from him now.

@MildMolasses said:

@fartGOD666 said:

Meanwhile red-blooded men get their God-given men's rights stripped from them as feminazi-run game shows banish the iconic Booth Babe from the American landscape. Strange days...

Probably because those "God-given" rights for men are "God-taken" rights for women. And if you need scantily clad women to interest you in a game, then you are the problem and the exact reason why things like this need to be brought out in the open

God-Taken? I wasn't aware booth babes were slaves. Chill out on the hyperbole.

How is the assertion God gave men the right to booth babes (I'd love to see where that is written in the bible) not also hyperbole then?

@Chavtheworld said:

@AlexW00d said:

Also I think it's a lot because gaming until very recently wasn't super mainstream, and was especially a male dominated industry. Boys were into games, so when they grew up you're left with men making games, and very little female representation. Isn't any excuse but games were never a particularly mature medium.

This is an interesting point given computers in general until relatively recently were considered a "boy" thing so boys were given much more access to computers by their parents at a younger age. So hopefully games being seen as more of a thing for everyone will contribute to more women over time being given the chance to get into the industry and create a kind of positive feedback loop.

Good on you for doing articles like this Patrick. Institutional sexism is easy to ignore so things like this attempt to bring the issue out into the light are worthy endeavors and definitely worthy of highlighting.