Halo 3 Teen Shooter Convicted

[grimreality]

If video games are to blame then so is TV, movies, radio, books, contact sports, news, internet, religion, wars, and we can keep going on and on until nothing is almost nothing left. We respond to violence, we learn from it, we learn with it... and if we don't catch on how to control the part of ourselves that likes to act out in violence, then this is something that is likely to happen. 18 hours a day of Halo 3 isn't the cause of this kid's problems, it's a symptom of his inability to control his violent tendencies, or anything else for that matter. And to be honest, the gaming probably kept him in check, acting as a pressure release valve for his urges, so when the game was taken away things built up quickly and...boom. I'd go so far to say that if it weren't for Halo (or any other game) for him to latch on to and keep himself occupied with that he would have acted out like this even sooner.

Is he a cold-blooded, premeditated murderer? I don't think so, but he is an addict and he is just as guilty as any drug/alcohol abuser who strikes out against anybody who takes their drugs/alcohol away. I think his case should be or should have been treated exactly like one of those types of situations.

 

[azxcvbnm321]

Think about it folk, if you killed someone and got caught, wouldn't you try to use ANY excuse you could to avoid jail?

Of course the first thing I would do is blame video games. I'd use GTA and say that the missions there trained me to kill for fun. I didn't understand that I was "playing" a game.

Any reasonable adult would recognize that as absolute BS. I doubt that the kid expected his excuse to work, but when you're caught and facing prison or death, it's time to grasp at straws.

 

[Guest]

ahh.. I'm so sick of this blame it on the video game excuse. I've been playing quake/halflife/unreal since I was 17. I watched Japanese violent manga/anime since I was 10 - and believe me, Jap cartoons aren't like the American GI Joes where the bad guy escapes an exploding vehicle. Jap cartoons, u see blood, guts and glory. I'm now 30+ and I am doing fine with a great job and a loving family. If VDO games are to be blamed then every gamer should be on a rampage by now. All we see are these idiots doing the shootings - why never a professional gamer?
There was a kid somewhere in southeast asia who played too much GTA and stole a taxi - stabbed the driver 7 times and went on a rampage driving. His pathetic excuse was: I thought it would be more fun to do it in real life. I'd say give him the chair - or poke him in the eye and ask him if it hurts.
My guess is, these people are the lowest end of our evolutionary scale. Its a waste of precious resource keeping these lot.

 

[Guest]

Problem is he is a spoiled little brat. I had friends that were spoiled and nothing good came out only bad things. You know whats worse Music, it can brain wash you and when your pissed off and you listen to music that s talks about anger, well thats just going to pump them up. I think games are good, they RELEASE your anger out. WOW this country blows. At least OJ is in jail now. I wish that kid went for Bush LOL.

 

[Guest]

I say it is the ultimate testament of hypocrisy that in a country so riddled with paranoia that even ministers carry weapons, people dare to blame violence on computer games instead of taking the blame on themselves. Did anyone ever stop to wonder WHY that kid spent 18 hours a day playing video games? Why does everyone always blame electronic entertainment for everything? Whatever happened to CRAZY ?

 

[JumpKickJoe]

This kid is just friggin pathetic..... I have been playing these games for over a decade now and I have never harbored the thought of murdering anyone.... using video games as an excuse for violent behaviour is so lame....just their way of doing ballsness and looking for a scapegoat... you killed your parents over a VIDEO GAME!!!! I definitely would not want to be his friend.... I hope he picks up the soap "a la Boondocks" style (Look at me, I'm all squeaky clean)