Take a Break Vs GTA4

[Sabre]

Take a Break is a magazine for old ladies about a dogs that rescue people from fires, crosswords, and how to clean stuborn stains with household objects. My mam showed me this weeks magazine as it had a 2 page article about how games were evil. It was a typical gish gallop (google it) with all the arguments and BS you've heard a million times before with single mothers sitting around the game tutting. It's odd they chose GTA though, kind of a bit late for that.

So, my mam has asked for my help in writing a letter to the magazine (yes, they still use those) complaining about it. Problem is because it's a gish gallop if I were to attack every lie, wrong, fallacy and half truth I'd end up with something like a noval. So I will try to get it to 3 paragraphs or less, I have to pick carefully. I also thought it would be interesting to see what others would have put.

I think I'd open by stating I don't really like GTA. Then move to the games being less violent then films argument. (against the genral idea that all games are evil.)

Go into games as an abstraction in the middle. (Pressing Y is as far removed from actual theft and murder as you can get)

I think I'd end with the games before sport argument. (the idea that games have never hurt anyone, whereas football is full of broken legs and hooliganism, and if games came first they would be trying to encourage games.)

You?

[Asper Sarnoff]

I'd suggest avoiding this:

Go into games as an abstraction in the middle. (Pressing Y is as far removed from actual theft and murder as you can get)

It can easily be turned the other way, they could start to claim that games make comitting crimes abstract, and therefore that the "weak-minded" people who play games and commits crimes think of it as just pressing a button.

Ridiculous I know, but that is how things can get when different opinions meet. If possible, what you say WILL be turned against you.

[Sabre]

I don't understand?

[Asper Sarnoff]

Those who are against violent games will claim that those who commit crimes and (play such games) think of their illegal actions as just pressing buttons in just another game. Blocking out your conscience and social norms that would often cause you to think twice about actually comitting a crime.

An argument that is completely BS, but I have seen used several times in similar articles.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

I'm so sick of these dumb jag-offs blaming violent media, or guns, for society's woes..give a little credit to our crappy global economy, or our lousy schools (where applicable) for ****'s sake!  :cool:

[ThePointingMan]

Geeze Louise, I hate things like this...

As far as I know, the gamers I know are a lot less violent then those other peoples, and a lot more creative...

maybe creatively violent sometimes, but only for the greater good.

The magazines like this just upset people, and use false arguments using their perspective, not getting the opposing persons perspective.

THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE EVERYTHING SOUND EVIL, setting standards way to high ect.

Video games are most certainly not evil...

Reading that magazine would make me more violent then playing some vidja games.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Geeze Louise, I hate things like this...

As far as I know, the gamers I know are a lot less violent then those other peoples, and a lot more creative...

maybe creatively violent sometimes, but only for the greater good.

The magazines like this just upset people, and use false arguments using their perspective, not getting the opposing persons perspective.

THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE EVERYTHING SOUND EVIL, setting standards way to high ect.

Video games are most certainly not evil...

Reading that magazine would make me more violent then playing some vidja games.

I agree!

[Braux]

Meh, its because some people (I say "Induhviduals") sit their little kids in front of a box all day instead of caring for them while they grow up. I mean, while your young, your still growing right? What you see is what you start to believe is acceptable. I have a friend like this, who's little brother plays games such as Halo, GTA, and others... and hes only like... 8. I mean, Get a grip! So far hes completely destroyed 3 Xbox controllers because he "dies" constantly, not to mention hes pretty violent for someone his age. These Induhviduals who buy these games for their little kids are absolutely out of it. That's why we have RATINGS on the boxes, to say "no" when you happen to fall 10 years short of the approved age.

I do believe that too much media exposure can ruin a person, believe me, its possible.

I'm not saying ban these games from stores, heck no, I'm just saying that the reason people think this way is because you hear these stories from these Induhviduals who finally look at what their kids are playing, then ask themselves: "WHO LET THEM PLAY THIS!!?!?!?"

Guess who...?

*Puts on flame protective suit*

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Meh, its because some people (I say "Induhviduals") sit their little kids in front of a box all day instead of caring for them while they grow up. I mean, while your young, your still growing right? What you see is what you start to believe is acceptable. I have a friend like this, who's little brother plays games such as Halo, GTA, and others... and hes only like... 8. I mean, Get a grip! So far hes completely destroyed 3 Xbox controllers because he "dies" constantly, not to mention hes pretty violent for someone his age. These Induhviduals who buy these games for their little kids are absolutely out of it. That's why we have RATINGS on the boxes, to say "no" when you happen to fall 10 years short of the approved age.

I do believe that too much media exposure can ruin a person, believe me, its possible.

I'm not saying ban these games from stores, heck no, I'm just saying that the reason people think this way is because you hear these stories from these Induhviduals who finally look at what their kids are playing, then ask themselves: "WHO LET THEM PLAY THIS!!?!?!?"

Guess who...?

*Puts on flame protective suit*

well, technically yes, particularly if the kid is really stupid...plus, it's DEFINITELY the stupid parents' fault (stupid parents usually have stupid kids)...and those stupid parents try  to blame the media for something that's mostly their fault

[Guest Para Astaroth]

well, technically yes, particularly if the kid is really stupid...plus, it's DEFINITELY the stupid parents' fault (stupid parents usually have stupid kids)...and those stupid parents try  to blame the media for something that's mostly their fault

REALLY agree with this, meaning to say that (Sorry, going a little off topic) Tuesday when I was playing GTA IV, some kids were talking in their usual squeaky voices and one of them were using foul slang and all sorts.  He used words that teenagers, like myself, and adults would use, and I asked them if his parents are even listening, or caring, about what their child was saying.  Obviously not since he kept egging on about how badass he was and how better he was at the game(Using slang in the process).

[ThePointingMan]

I SHALT AGREE!!!

I dunno, parents of gaming children shouldn't get those games for their children, what they should get is an n64 and a snes, play some of em old games. Not only where most of them child friendly, they weren't party game collections. Plus, they where amazing, none of this, grays and browns for the only colors in games, and minigame collections are okay, but not when they are lame minigames.

don't have to agree with meh, but really, snes and n64 where great, and gamecube was verygood at times, but lame at others.

[Asper Sarnoff]

Meh, its because some people (I say "Induhviduals") sit their little kids in front of a box all day instead of caring for them while they grow up. I mean, while your young, your still growing right? What you see is what you start to believe is acceptable. I have a friend like this, who's little brother plays games such as Halo, GTA, and others... and hes only like... 8. I mean, Get a grip! So far hes completely destroyed 3 Xbox controllers because he "dies" constantly, not to mention hes pretty violent for someone his age. These Induhviduals who buy these games for their little kids are absolutely out of it. That's why we have RATINGS on the boxes, to say "no" when you happen to fall 10 years short of the approved age.

I do believe that too much media exposure can ruin a person, believe me, its possible.

I'm not saying ban these games from stores, heck no, I'm just saying that the reason people think this way is because you hear these stories from these Induhviduals who finally look at what their kids are playing, then ask themselves: "WHO LET THEM PLAY THIS!!?!?!?"

Guess who...?

*Puts on flame protective suit*

Good point. I were of course thinking more about more grown up kids playing, as it for me at least, it is totally unrealistic to let someone as young as 8 play such games.

Actually, those below 10 shouldn't play games at all. They should be out plaing with their friends instead. Getting dirty and having fun!

[sniper]

All right, I'll stick my oar in.

You all have to admit that there are a few games out there that are just too gory, too crass, and just too disgusting to be worth anything.  I'll admit that the "take a break" magazine has a point if they were only referring to those games.  The only problem is that they are referring to EVERY video game EVER made. 

So.....  mario kart will make us all homicidal, crass people? noooooo.....  so.......  wii sports will turn us into murdering, rude people?  nooooo......  I personally think that there are many games out there that people shouldn"t play, but if you are above the rating age limit, that's your call.  young kids who play the M rated games do seem to end up being violent, cussing people, but as braux  (I think it was braux) said:  the parents should be looking at what their kids are doing.

There are thousands of games out there that people just play for fun and have little or no effect on their lives.  So couldn't we say that knitting makes people into murderers because they get used to holding sharp objects and stabbing things with them?  (I know, I'm just using it as an example of how their argument sounds to us).  I dunno.  I just get tired of the "ALL VIDEO GAMES ARE EVIL" line