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Here are the contents of an email that I sent to Mr. Jack Thompson. I was incensed to the point of rage while I wrote it....
Dear Mr. Thompson,
Let us start with introductions. My name is Evan Martella, and I am currently attending Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. I felt compelled to write an email to you after I read a post of one of your letters on a message board I frequent and found myself strongly disagreeing with the points that lay therein.
Before we continue, let me tell you that I often play video games, it is a hobby of mine. All genres are welcome, and yes, I do play many violent video games, including Grand Theft Auto, Halo, and Manhunt. I just thought I would make that clear before I begin to elaborate on my problems with your position on the role these games have on adolescents.
I believe it is time to jump headlong into the main issue of this letter, and what appears to be the main focus of your law practice: the affect of violent video games on developing teenagers. Your stance (quite obviously) is that video games cause young adolescents to believe that violence is okay, a normal and everyday way to solve a problem. Also, you would say that it makes violence seem lucrative in such games as Grand Theft Auto, where money or other such "prizes" are given for violent activities. This is your position, or at least this is how I know you would characterize it.
I view your position as misguided and more as a blind search for a scapegoat than a path to a true and meaningful solution to the problem at hand (the growing trend of violence in the United States). Perhaps more troubling than anything though is how you seem to believe (or it seems this way anyway) that EVERY person who plays the game is affected in the same way and immediately exhibits chaotic, homicidal tendencies. Not only is this so far from the truth that it boggles my mind (as it should yours, were yours open) but it also is dangerous because it blames video games and other violent forms of media for all violence in our society.
What about Devin Moore, the young adult from Mississippi who killed three police officers after a routine stop and fled in the patrol car? Every headline was different, but all had the same message: This man killed three people and played Grand Theft Auto. People see that and immediately think that this is an open and shut case, that video games have once again caused a fray in the moral fiber of this great land. I wonder if anyone cared to read a bit farther on, where it was said that Moore had a history of child abuse? Hmm...call me crazy, but I don't understand how a man with a history of child abuse can kill three people and the acts of his parents (which, HELLO, are far more potentially damning or reaffirming than any video game) are left as a footnote while a game becomes the center of attention.
If this isn't enough, how about the fact that millions upon millions of people have played these violent video games and have not even begun to entertain the notion of doing the things they do on the games in the real world. Now before you reach for the tried-and-true examples such as Columbine or the Beltway Sniper, we should look at the home lives of people first. The majority of people in America are brought up in homes in which the parents at least have the decency to teach their children the meaning of right and wrong. The majority of these violent crimes are perpetrated by adolescents in extraordinary cirumstances (i.e. John Lee Malvo), people with mental disorders (whether inherited or from abuse), or children obsessed with gunplay and violence to begin with. 99.9% of the population plays video games in order to derive enjoyment or perhaps a sense of accomplishment from them, not to train for their next murder spree and cut all ties to the real world. Also, what exactly do you mean by "train" on a game? I play Halo 2 often with friends in my dorm's lounge, and often beat them handily. Does this mean I'm the next Dylan Klebold just waiting to be set off? NO. It means I derive pleasure from the competition.
Now let me talk about your stance on the Sims, which is simply absurd. What kind of Puritan society do you believe we live in, for one, and that's even IF the models in question were created with actual genatalia. Also, I don't know about you, but I would rather my kid learn about the opposite sex from me rather than have him "learn" it from a school buddy or another less qualified individual. Yeah, I said I would want my kids to have sex education of some form. I guess I'm contributing to some massive breakdown in our cute little American way of life.
After all this, I would be offended if I didn't realize what you can't: We don't need some attention-hungry idealogue (guess what, this is referring to you!) spewing his sorry excuse for a point in order to gain some empty measure of respect. Seriously, how hard is it to come out and say "Uh, video games did it"? People LOVE their scapegoats in this country, especially people who I believe fall into your main point of focus. Mainly what I'm trying to say is, its easy to come up with something like this, but its much harder to prove that this is the cause. Are you trying to say that violent video games are more of an influence than our country's lack of gun control, rising crime rate, and urban gang mentality?
Finally, let me comment on your final main point on your website, that you are simply trying to get a rating system in place before the government is required to step in and "discover" these evil practices and really put the clamps down on our American way of life. Well thank you, but no thanks, Jack. I (and millions of people) never asked you to speak for us on this issue, and in fact many of us would rather you not. I really do not understand the line of logic you're presenting, that somehow you will save us from a "1984"-like state where our media is controlled by an oppressive government...by attempting to allow the government to more actively control parts of media. It seems quite counter-intuitive to me. My final words are these: Do not allow isolated incidents to cloud the real issue. Violent Video games are not the breakdown in society. You could blame our violent landscape, the schism between political parties, hell, even the simple theory of entropy. Blaming violent games is a simple, everyday scapegoat that really explains and helps nothing, and is therefore pointless.
Still, what do I know? I'm just a gamer....
Sincerely,
Evan Martella
P.S. Sorry if I ruined your misconceptions of the American youth. |
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