27 dead at Connecticut school, including 14 kids

[mozg]

Oh dog, do I hate it when people compare cars to guns.

Fair enough. It shouldn't be much of a comparison; guns should be far more regulated than cars. But it's the other way around.

So you have to pass a background check to buy a car now?

The only regulation of cars applies to using them on public streets. If you instituted the same kind of regulation with firearms, anybody who could pass a very rudimentary marksmanship test would be handed a license that allowed them to carry their firearm in all 50 states and DC.

It's the most bullshit comparison I've ever heard of! Cars are designed to get people from one place to another. You can have your license suspended if you don't obey traffic laws. Guns are unnecessary and designed to kill.

You really don't have a clue what you're talking about, do you?

There are a lot of offenses for which you can permanently lose your right to even touch a firearm, and many of them don't involve using a firearm at all. If you're sixteen years old and you get busted with a single joint, your right to own firearms is gone for life.

The argument that 'cars aren't designed to kill'? Damn, I'd hate to see the carnage if they were, since they're already out there killing 40,000 people a year.

Depends how you define regualted of course. But without a drivers license I would have a far easier time buying an assault rifle than a car. Reality is what it is.

You would have an almost impossible time buying a bona fide assault rifle unless you have tens of thousands of dollars, a seller with one registered prior to 1986 willing to part with it, six months to a year to wait for it, three sets of finger prints, and a federal tax stamp authorizing you to buy it.

Pragmatism. I don't want to own the thing. I don't love it, and I don't ever want to even fire it. I bought it because thanks to the NRA and gun-loving paranoid types everywhere, there is a flood of guns per capita in the US, far ahead of any other country. I consider it potential insurance against a home invasion, not insurance of my freedom from the government. If I could be assured that gun ownership in the US was plummeting, I'd be thrilled to get rid of it.

If you're not wiling to put in the time and effort to become familiar and proficient with its workings and how to handle and operate it safely, you should take it to a gun store and sell it. Having a gun you're unwilling to even touch is a bad idea.

Skills degrade over time, and in a high stress situation shooting something roughly human being sized that's 20 feet away is going to be harder than you think.

Apparently when knives are the easiest weapon to use, the spree killers prefer younger children:

Criminals perfer victims who pose little risk to the criminal.

[FBM]

Gallstones, considering that you recently had a reminder, this is a warning that this post contains a personal attack on another member, which is a violation of the rules. Please refrain from such language. Thank you.

[Coito ergo sum]

He was addicted to Call of Duty.

That's it. You got it. Violent video games teaching kids how to fire, reload, aim.. yep. That's the problem.

They are not the sole problem, but they sure as hell aren't helping.

There is no evidence that video games are even part of the problem.

[Coito ergo sum]

He was addicted to Call of Duty.

That's it. You got it. Violent video games teaching kids how to fire, reload, aim.. yep. That's the problem.

They are not the sole problem, but they sure as hell aren't helping.

I agree. And I'm an avid gamer, and I still agree. I think it would be absurd to say video games have no effect on a person. Everything has an effect on a person.

Given the increase in the quantity and degree of violence in video games over the past 30 years, if video games made people more prone to violence, then one would think our society would have become more violent. The reverse, however, is true. Violent crime is way down.

[Azathoth]

[Coito ergo sum]

Hmm. Most people who look at pr0n don't become rapists, but a few do. Most people who play violent games don't become murderers, but a few do. Most people who don't do either of those things don't become either rapists or murderers, but a few do. Pr0n and violent video games may act as catalysts, but I doubt it's accurate to put too much blame on them directly.

If they did act as catalysts, then one would see more violence perpetrated in our society today, since the violent video game industry is huge now. In the 1970s, it was nonexistent. Has violence, per capita, increased? No. On what basis can we claim that violent video games are catalysts for violence?

Arguably, providing an outlet for these impulses keeps people from acting them out for real. Given that both violent video games and pornography have increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but both violent crime in general and rape specifically have decreased per capital, it seems more reasonable to conclude from that that video games and porn help decrease violent crime and rape.

[Kristie]

Gallstones, considering that you recently had a reminder, this is a warning that this post contains a personal attack on another member, which is a violation of the rules. Please refrain from such language. Thank you.

I would just like to state publicly that I strongly disagree with Gallstones just receiving another warning. Her attacks her blatant and continuous. She's as bad as Seth and deserves a 24 hour suspension.

[Kristie]

Hmm. Most people who look at pr0n don't become rapists, but a few do. Most people who play violent games don't become murderers, but a few do. Most people who don't do either of those things don't become either rapists or murderers, but a few do. Pr0n and violent video games may act as catalysts, but I doubt it's accurate to put too much blame on them directly.

If they did act as catalysts, then one would see more violence perpetrated in our society today, since the violent video game industry is huge now. In the 1970s, it was nonexistent. Has violence, per capita, increased? No. On what basis can we claim that violent video games are catalysts for violence?

Arguably, providing an outlet for these impulses keeps people from acting them out for real. Given that both violent video games and pornography have increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but both violent crime in general and rape specifically have decreased per capital, it seems more reasonable to conclude from that that video games and porn help decrease violent crime and rape.

I call bs. Video games desensitize people, especially kids. http://m.voices.yahoo.com/new-study-cla ... 38875.html

[Coito ergo sum]

Desensitize doesn't mean that people are more prone to commit violence.

Just because violence doesn't make us recoil because we've gotten used to it doesn't mean it causes us to commit acts of violence. If it did, then the never ending news cycle showing violence all the time, 24-7, would be just as likely to cause violence.

But, at bottom, violence has declined, not increased, over the past 4 decades, while at the same time violent video games have gone from 0 to everywhere, and television news has gone from "an hour at 6pm" to 24-7.

[Animavore]

Hmm. Most people who look at pr0n don't become rapists, but a few do. Most people who play violent games don't become murderers, but a few do. Most people who don't do either of those things don't become either rapists or murderers, but a few do. Pr0n and violent video games may act as catalysts, but I doubt it's accurate to put too much blame on them directly.

If they did act as catalysts, then one would see more violence perpetrated in our society today, since the violent video game industry is huge now. In the 1970s, it was nonexistent. Has violence, per capita, increased? No. On what basis can we claim that violent video games are catalysts for violence?

Arguably, providing an outlet for these impulses keeps people from acting them out for real. Given that both violent video games and pornography have increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but both violent crime in general and rape specifically have decreased per capital, it seems more reasonable to conclude from that that video games and porn help decrease violent crime and rape.

I call bs. Video games desensitize people, especially kids. http://m.voices.yahoo.com/new-study-cla ... 38875.html

I call bs on you calling bs. I play violent games, watch extreme cinema and listen to violent music and it has no effect on me what-so-ever. As far as I know the most scientists could show was raised aggression immediately after playing a game but this would fade over hours once relaxed. If there were a link between violent video games and violent behaviour we should see it all around us. At least in the Western world.

[Kristie]

Hmm. Most people who look at pr0n don't become rapists, but a few do. Most people who play violent games don't become murderers, but a few do. Most people who don't do either of those things don't become either rapists or murderers, but a few do. Pr0n and violent video games may act as catalysts, but I doubt it's accurate to put too much blame on them directly.

If they did act as catalysts, then one would see more violence perpetrated in our society today, since the violent video game industry is huge now. In the 1970s, it was nonexistent. Has violence, per capita, increased? No. On what basis can we claim that violent video games are catalysts for violence?

Arguably, providing an outlet for these impulses keeps people from acting them out for real. Given that both violent video games and pornography have increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but both violent crime in general and rape specifically have decreased per capital, it seems more reasonable to conclude from that that video games and porn help decrease violent crime and rape.

I call bs. Video games desensitize people, especially kids. http://m.voices.yahoo.com/new-study-cla ... 38875.html

I call bs on you calling bs. I play violent games, watch extreme cinema and listen to violent music and it has no effect on me what-so-ever. As far as I know the most scientists could show was raised aggression immediately after playing a game but this would fade over hours once relaxed. If there were a link between violent video games and violent behaviour we should see it all around us. At least in the Western world.

Maybe you don't realize the effect, or maybe you're one of the ones or doesn't effect. I'm sure it has more of an effect on certain types of people.

[Coito ergo sum]

Maybe you don't realize the effect, or maybe you're one of the ones or doesn't effect. I'm sure it has more of an effect on certain types of people.

On what basis are you sure?

How do you explain the decrease in violent crime coinciding with the increase in violent video games? It is undeniable that in the 1970s there were 0 or virtually 0 violent video games. Pong just came out. Television for most people had from 3 to 5 channels, and violent movies were far less violent than they are today. Over the past 30-40 years, violence in video games, on television and at the movies, and the number of hours people spend, on average, engaged in these activities has increased dramatically. Yet, with all that, violent crime is down.

If all these games, television shows and movies -- not to mention violence recounted in music -- increased the propensity of people to do violence, wouldn't we see more violence per capita? It's undeniable that violent crime is down, though.

[Animavore]

Hmm. Most people who look at pr0n don't become rapists, but a few do. Most people who play violent games don't become murderers, but a few do. Most people who don't do either of those things don't become either rapists or murderers, but a few do. Pr0n and violent video games may act as catalysts, but I doubt it's accurate to put too much blame on them directly.

If they did act as catalysts, then one would see more violence perpetrated in our society today, since the violent video game industry is huge now. In the 1970s, it was nonexistent. Has violence, per capita, increased? No. On what basis can we claim that violent video games are catalysts for violence?

Arguably, providing an outlet for these impulses keeps people from acting them out for real. Given that both violent video games and pornography have increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but both violent crime in general and rape specifically have decreased per capital, it seems more reasonable to conclude from that that video games and porn help decrease violent crime and rape.

I call bs. Video games desensitize people, especially kids. http://m.voices.yahoo.com/new-study-cla ... 38875.html

I call bs on you calling bs. I play violent games, watch extreme cinema and listen to violent music and it has no effect on me what-so-ever. As far as I know the most scientists could show was raised aggression immediately after playing a game but this would fade over hours once relaxed. If there were a link between violent video games and violent behaviour we should see it all around us. At least in the Western world.

Maybe you don't realize the effect, or maybe you're one of the ones or doesn't effect. I'm sure it has more of an effect on certain types of people.

Call of Duty is one of the biggest games ever. It made 4 billion on its first day alone. It is massively popular among young people and it doesn't surprise me to find out shooters like this have been shown to be playing it. It would be more of a statistical anomaly had the shooter been shown to be not playing Call of Duty. I think the people trying to claim video games have an effect have it backwards when trying to make a link.

[Animavore]

Maybe you don't realize the effect, or maybe you're one of the ones or doesn't effect. I'm sure it has more of an effect on certain types of people.

On what basis are you sure?

How do you explain the decrease in violent crime coinciding with the increase in violent video games? It is undeniable that in the 1970s there were 0 or virtually 0 violent video games. Pong just came out. Television for most people had from 3 to 5 channels, and violent movies were far less violent than they are today. Over the past 30-40 years, violence in video games, on television and at the movies, and the number of hours people spend, on average, engaged in these activities has increased dramatically. Yet, with all that, violent crime is down.

If all these games, television shows and movies -- not to mention violence recounted in music -- increased the propensity of people to do violence, wouldn't we see more violence per capita? It's undeniable that violent crime is down, though.

It may even be possible that people playing out violent fantasies in computer games are less likely to act them out in real life. Similar to the way rape is less prevalent in countries where prostitution is legal and not a taboo.

If we look at the most violent places on Earth, shitholes like Afghanistan, we see children made to carry out violent acts from a young age, up to ad including being made to decapitate prisoners of war. These people often wouldn't have things like computer games. They get to do this shit for real.

[Kristie]

http://psychcentral.com/news/2006/07/28 ... e/137.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/10/17 ... 30428.html
http://curiosity.discovery.com/question ... sitize-you
http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/ ... nd-desens/
http://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005103
Multiple universities and psychological institutes have done studies to show that games do desensitize. And desensitizing is dangerous.