Gamers Planning Propaganda Protest in NYC
What is it about tragedies? Somehow they manage to bring out the best and worst of humanity. The worst being those who would use any tragic event to further their own ambitions. It’s no surprise that Jack Thompson has stepped up in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy to push his rhetoric. Regardless of the details of this attack, video games are sure to be pushed to the forefront as a primary cause. Some gamers have set it upon themselves to fight Jack Thompson and all those who would use this horrible event to their own ends.
Empire Arcadia (A website devoted to cultural development through gaming) has set up an event called Fellowship of the Gamers. Here is what the organization says about the pending event:
“This demonstration is to show that gamers will not take the blame of this tragic matter but we will do what we can to help put an end to terrible events like this. We reiterate and urge that all leaders of gaming communities, organizations down to the last gamer to set aside 10 hours of this day to pay respect and come together not just as gamers but as HUMAN BEINGS for peace.”
Fellowship of the Gamers will take place on May 5th, 2007 in New York City at Bryant Park. The event starts at 1pm EST.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I believe Cranial Rectomitis is a far worse epidemic than violence portrayed in games and movies.
There are alot of people who will hear and believe some nincompoop preach long and hard about how Video game and Movie Violence has caused these sorts of tragedies. The fact is they are really just passing the blame from those really responsible and giving them a crutch for pity.
Homer Simpson almost had it right, I think People are the cause of and solution to lifes problems.
Thank you for your time.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
@three-
well said. I watched the news today and saw at least 3 dead bodies. From car crashes to murders… we see death on the screen everyday.. from the same people who say video games are too violent.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Good lord . . . I fail to see how Jack Thompson could connect a tragic crime so sparse in details with video games . . . oh wait . . its JACK THOMPSON. Now I remember.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Last night on CNN they were showing a year old interview with some kid responsible for the shooting deaths at his school. His excuse was that the bad guys in Doom would get up after you shot them once, and you had to shoot them many times for them to stay down. This is why he’s not guilty ? Come on ! The people at CNN should be ashamed. Then again, pointing out that it’s not a game or movie that does the real killing won’t sell advertising. What a sad state of affairs.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
I think you mean “Bryant Park” not “Bryan Park”
April 18th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Interesting. I fully support allowing adults to purchase whatever types of games tickle their respective fancies without any type of governmental restrictions.
What I don’t understand is how Jack Thompson doesn’t see all the clear signs, but instead chooses to speculate on things. Let’s see, we have a kid who stalked girls on numerous occasions (and was caught and sent to a mental health facility), he wrote plays about molestation and killing your family members with chainsaws, he was on medication for depression, he was referred to VT counselors because of his actions prior (who, along with police said that they couldn’t do anything about it) - then he snaps and kills 32 people and somehow video games are to blame.
How about blaming the VT administration and police for failing to take any action in the past 4 years when there were clear cut signs? Maybe it’s just me, but if I was a teacher, and I read this kid’s play about a stepfather raping his stepson and his mother killing her husband with a chainsaw AFTER knowing that he was mentally unstable and on medication for depression, I certainly wouldn’t say “oops there’s nothing we could do because it’s his civil liberty to write what he wants. oh well.” Blame the people that COULD HAVE prevented this but CHOSE not to. Don’t blame the gamers and the gun advocates.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Maybe some gamers could ask themselves what moral responsibility they have in “playing” games that involve pretend murder and serial shootings, in which a lone gunner is a “success” when he’s killed everyone. No, these games don’t cause a Columbine. What makes a gamer want to swim in the same bloody pool as a paranoid sadist, that’s what one should ask himself. Recommended reading:
“On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society”
by Dave Grossman
Here’s a review:
“Drawing on interviews, published personal accounts and academic studies, Grossman investigates the psychology of killing in combat. Stressing that human beings have a powerful, innate resistance to the taking of life, he examines the techniques developed by the military to overcome that aversion. His provocative study focuses in particular on the Vietnam war, revealing how the American soldier was “enabled to kill to a far greater degree than any other soldier in history.” Grossman argues that the breakdown of American society, combined with the pervasive violence in the media and interactive video games, is conditioning our children to kill in a manner siimilar to the army’s conditioning of soldiers: “We are reaching that stage of desensitization at which the infliction of pain and suffering has become a source of entertainment: vicarious pleasure rather than revulsion. We are learning to kill, and we are learning to like it.” Grossman, a professor of military science at Arkansas State University, has written a study of relevance to a society of escalating violence.”
Copyright 1995
April 18th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Robert that review was ridiculous. “reaching that stahge of desensitization?” “learning” to kill?
You don’t think the Huns had any qualms about massacring entire cities, you don’t think the bruitish hordes of rapists and murderers who made up most armies until the past hundred years or so didn’t have vicarious pleasure from killing? You don’t think the Nazis were desensitized? We’re becoming MORE sensitive about killing.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Sam, the problem is that a lot of times you can’t do anything to someone until they actually commit a crime. Just writing something down isn’t a crime. If it was, that goes into a whole other issue of freedom of expression. If you could be arrested for writing freaky things, Steven King would have been in jail a long time ago. It’s a shame there isn’t some sort of way that all these things can add up to some sort of program that would give someone help before they snapped, but the sad fact is there is nothing like that.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Seriously. I am sick of Jack Thompson’s BS about video games. I am quite positive that violence in schools and whatnot was happening even before the days of Pong.
I fully support this demonstration. Maybe, just maybe, Jack will learn something.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Why in New York City? That makes absolutely no sense, the event should be held in Virginia, preferably Richmond. Washington, D.C. is another appropriate venue. The choice of venue seems to make very little sense, although this is a national tragedy, the Nation’s government is seated in Washington, D.C., and this is closer to the location of the tragedy. Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA are better locations than New York City, New York.
April 18th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
@DHOFF: Maybe because the majority of the Empire Arcadia clan are located in NYC
April 18th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Perhaps a few major cities nationwide should have simultaneous events? But I agree that part of this needs to be in DC, though I’m not certain about the need for a Virginia demonstration. Even if Thompson held a rally in Blacksburg decrying video games, I’d say the gaming community would be best off purchasing full page ads in several Virginia newspapers with something to the effect of “We hate JT, but we respect VT and those affected by this tragedy. Therefor, we will not be picketing and rallying just to face him. We will make our points here and leave these good people alone.”
Hell, nationwide ads might not be a bad idea anyway until a forum is put together where the issue can be actually discussed (not that I believe that will happen anytime soon).
April 18th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
I’ve actually read On Killing. It was a very good book, but you’ve misrepresented it. The vast majority of the book deals with military killing, and how, and to what degree historic armies were able to overcome the resistance to killing. There is one chapter about video games, and Grossman is opposed to banning them. He actually argues against the idea of most video games conditioning players (if the game doesn’t have an actual rifle attachment, and provide immediate positive reinforcement, it’s not going to condition anyone.) He does feel that games and movies desensitize people, however, he feels that this is less of a threat to society than censorship. In short, he approaches the subject from a reasonable perspective.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:04 am
Video Game violence is different then killing a real life human. There is a big difference between hitting buttons on a keyboard, having a artistic rendition of a human on screen shed blood composed of pixels on a computer screen and holding a heavy metal firearm which you first load with bullets and pulling the trigger on living breathing humans that are running and screaming for their life. Im sorry for the description if it was too harsh.
As for the event. I think it should be in multiple cities. I live in San Francisco and would like to show my support but NY is too far away.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:55 am
The massacre at VT is truly sad and tragic. My prayers go to the souls of the lost and their family members in this time of grief. I will be attending the protest and I hope that this will in some small way bring people together. We all know that there is no supporting evidence that the shooter even played videogames but he was incredibly creative. I would hate to see creativity blamed for this violence as much as I dislike Jack Thompson’s comments and opinion on videogames. I hope to see many there. The only way to stop violence is with unity. When we unite with one another we don’t go against each other.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:43 am
[...] The Virginia Tech massacre has been on my mind since it happened on Monday, April 16. The news hit me harder than Columbine did. Maybe because I’m older. Either way, my sympathy goes out to all of the families that lost someone that day and to the gunman. To feel alone/lonely, confused, disregarded, insignificant, not loved, depressed are all emotions that I have experienced and I empathize with. Its a shame that someone wasn’t able to connect with him and prevent the murder of all those people. It was a really sad and shocking occurrence. Of course the media and law enforcement are scrambling to gain insight as to how something like this can happen. From what I gathered (mainly from the NY Times), there were plenty of signs that suggested Cho was troubled. Speculation ensues, however, by individuals who have no business assuming things (fuck you shame on you Jack Thompson, YouTube Video. Gamers Protest Propaganda in NYC on May 5th.). [...]
June 9th, 2007 at 11:12 am
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