FPS and School Shootings

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

I was thinking earlier about all the school shootings in America and the blame some people place on the influence First Person Shooters "allegedly" has on young minds and i thought "maybe the games don't incite you to murder or violence but could playing alot FPS make carrying out the violent act easier, but without neccessarily making you do it in the first place, now don't get me wrongim insane CSS player and the most gratifying experiences i've had with friends is making their brain explode with an ak but i think sometimes when someone does something wrong by me how easy it would be to kill that person, is that wrong? am i mentally unbalanced? or is that FPS has made it easier for me think like that without actually making me do it?

[Jiggles]

I doubt that it would make it any easier than watching any action movie, reading many books, or even just watching the news would. Games are just scapegoats because it has a younger average audience, and a smaller fan base, this, of course, means that there are fewer people to argue with those making games scapegoats.

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

how can this be true when many games have bigger budgets than most blockbuster hollywood films, and make more from their games than actors/crew make from their movies

[MaximiIian]

Y'know, I've heard some people say that "videogames make kids more accurate with guns"...which leads to school shooting deaths...
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...
The day real guns use an analog stick to aim is the day that bull**** is true...

Paranoid Parents p** me off...

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

im not parent im 15 yrs old im not saying FPS incites you to violence ALL IM SAYING IS VIOLENCE MAY MAKE CARRYING OUT THOSE ACTS EASIER WITH LESS THOUGTH FOR CONSEQUENCE OR GUILT

[MaximiIian]

I didn't mean you.
Oy!
The concience or guilt thing? Yeah, that part's true.
Look at me for example. I play GTA and like playing it.

[Jiggles]

If it makes it easier for you to do, then it is making it more likely for you to do it, thus making it a cause.

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

but the fact you play alot of FPS may desensitise you in a way that you dont really care if he's dead or not, that doesnt mean the game made you do it though
P.S and if you dont care that he dies or what the consequences are that means if the games caused THE EMOTION/THOUGHT then it makes it easier for you to kill some one without the game directly causing you to do it

[Atheist Peace]

Ive played games like GTA and i dont think it 'desensitizes' me to it at all, i dont actually think im killing people and i dont think i really could but i know its just a game and its the same as any video game, i dont take it seriously or anything.

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

i dont take CSS seriously either, and i have played GTA VC and i dont take that seriosuly either but what im saying is maybe subconsciously the fact that your killing people and the more realistic maybe the worse it can be it may change your veiw as to whether when it comes right down to the critical moment when someones life is in the balance that you dont really care if you put a bullet through him and what repercussions that might have on you, the guys family or anyone else because you just see it as someones dead, ive done that before so what

[Atheist Peace]

Well yes with some people. However, i think the reason that most school shootings occur is the kids who do it. They are likely driven to it by things at school or in life that are too stressful and they dont know how to deal with it. Some of them might actually think, oh well when i get mad at someone in GTA i shoot them so i'll do it but someone that susceptible to something like that is bound to do somehting similar in their lives. I think that most likely though, the kid wants to do the worst thing they can to get back at who they perceive is causing major problems in their lives and so they shoot them. I think that it isnt so valid to make generalizations about school shootings though because it really depends on the person and the situation.

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

so if they're so ****** off how come they shoot innocent people they don't know or who have never caused them harm, seems to me they just shoot people at random when they're angry in real life JUST LIKE YOU DO IN A GAME

[Atheist Peace]

No need to get angry, i said that a game certainly could at least play a role and in some cases there could be some retard who kills people only because they want to copy a video game but im sure those cases are very rare.

[Tom Paine]

In a game you are in a role of someone who doesn't care. You shoot at people without emotions, just a set of pixels and AI. It is a big leap to suggest that makes it easier to kill real humans who you might have an emotional connection to, that is people you know and who have thoughts, feelings, fears et al. It would only make it easier to people who thought that either the game world was the real world or vice versa.
Games are just the latest thing to bash: there have been filmbashing, pornbashing, bookbashing, atheismbashing, etc. And all of those, in different parts of history, have been given as reasons for increased murders or the moral decline of society.

[JAY THE CONQUEROR]

but for the last time im not bashing or suggesting games kill people

[Tom Paine]

I'm not suggesting you were, don't get me wrong on that. I am just pointing out that games are the latest in a long series of things that are blamed for this sort of thing, not that you were. The forst paragraph is i reference to your thoughts btw.

[Turnus]

Remember Miyamoto's famous words: "Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll."