Stop Hillary

The more I read about this sorry episode, the more pissed off I get.

Apparently Clinton is calling for a $90 million dollar study into the effects of video games on children.

Can somebody get me Hillary's phone number so I can have a conversation with her and explain the facts? This is the same kind of Tipper Gore "heavy metal music is bad" bullshit, but just a different target.

It irritates me when the right wing freaks do this shit, but I can laugh them off. But when Democrats do it, that gives it legitimacy. It's wrong in every way possible.

The LA Times gets it. If you're a parent, and you're concerned about video games, go read it. It's exactly on the mark.

For the lazy, some quotes:

I'd like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.

I'm talking, of course, about high school football.

As I've mentioned before, I used to officiate high school football. The goal, of course, is to violently cream the guy in the other jersey.

The BSC's in Texas love it as a religion - which of course goes back to my argument that the wingers like real violence, but not simulated violence, and anything to do with sex is bad. Which is why I call them "bat-shit crazy", because that's the most backward thinking you can have.

I'm not arguing against high school football. I think it's a great game, and I think they should encourage them to continue knocking each other silly. I've done it. It's great. Please, lets just stop pandering to the media, who are the REAL ones who want you to stop your kids from playing video games.

Anyway.. a bit more from the editorial..

Another key question: Of all the games that kids play, which ones require the most mental exertion? Parents can play this at home: Try a few rounds of Monopoly or Go Fish with your kids, and see who wins. I suspect most families will find that it's a relatively even match. Then sit down and try to play "Halo 2" with the kids. You'll be lucky if you survive 10 minutes.

The great secret of today's video games that has been lost in the moral panic over "Grand Theft Auto" is how difficult the games have become. That difficulty is not merely a question of hand-eye coordination; most of today's games force kids to learn complex rule systems, master challenging new interfaces, follow dozens of shifting variables in real time and prioritize between multiple objectives.

In short, precisely the sorts of skills that they're going to need in the digital workplace of tomorrow.

That is exactly right.... I've played competitive games for years, going back to the days when I qualified for the Doom2 world championship (I got smoked in the first round by a skinny Asian kid called "Thresh" who now owns his own technology information company called Firing Squad).

I still play them, and while I'm still competitive, I find I'm being edged more and more by the 15-25 crowd. It could be just an age thing (I'm old by gaming standards), or it could be that I picked up computer games at age 15, and they picked them up at birth.

Modern computer games really do require fast and complex thinking - and doing it in such a way as that you're not really having to think about it. In other words, in competitive gaming, if you have to consciously think about something, you will lose. Over many hours of gaming, it becomes instinctive - and that type of thinking relates directly to real life, because games are often a simulation of real life.

Congress should be interested in the facts: The last 10 years have seen the release of many popular violent games, including "Quake" and "Grand Theft Auto"; that period has also seen the most dramatic drop in violent crime in recent memory. According to Duke University's Child Well-Being Index, today's kids are less violent than kids have been at any time since the study began in 1975. Perhaps, Sen. Clinton, your investigation should explore the theory that violent games function as a safety valve, letting children explore their natural aggression without acting it out in the real world.

Crime statistics are not the only sign that today's gaming generation is doing much better than the generation raised during the last cultural panic over rock 'n' roll. Math SAT scores have never been higher; verbal scores have been climbing steadily for the last five years; nearly every indicator in the Department of Education study known as the Nation's Report Card is higher now than when the study was implemented in 1971.

So why is it that when I got home from work yesterday, the story on CNN was about violence and video games? Why are the media and politicians going crazy about gaming issues when every word out of their mouths is flatly contradicted by the facts?

Still, gaming should just be a part of a raising a child. Kids should pursue academics, and the arts, and also be involved in athletics. Games challenge their imaginations and complex reasoning skills.

If the kid spends too much time with the game, just consider it job training.

** update **

Let the lawsuits begin..

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that the game's manufacturer, Rockstar Games, and its parent company, New York-based Take Two Interactive Software Inc., engaged in false, misleading and deceptive practices. She sought unspecified damages on behalf of herself and all consumers nationwide, saying the company should give up its profits from the game for what amounted to false advertising, consumer deception and unfair business practices.

If there is any justice in this world, the judge will dismiss the lawsuit and tell the plaintiff's to grow up..