July 8, 2007
For now, New York's proposed video game law rests in a legislative limbo.Both the State Senate and Assembly have adjourned, but Gov. Eliot Spitzer will likely call them back to finish up a few agenda items, including the video game law.
In the meantime, Dr. David Walsh, president and founder of the National Institute on Media and Family has penned an op-ed in the Elmira Star-Gazette. Walsh, a frequent critic of the video game industry, has never been an advocate of legislation. He writes:
In the legislative halls in Albany and Washington, D.C., elected officials have taken a keen interest in combating media violence and sex... While the debate about legislative solutions is important and needs to happen, parents cannot afford to wait for elected officials...
There are a few things that parents can do to tame the violence their kids experience when playing some video games. First, follow the rating on the game's packaging...
A good rule for every parent is "watch what your kids watch, play what your kids play." ...Finally, limiting the amount of screen time your child views will vastly impact their access to gratuitous media violence and sex...
When it comes to shielding kids from media violence, parents are still the best solution.
Comments
Erik - Not undergoing psychiatric evaluation, and you are.
If only he'd started talking to people like this in the first place, this place wouldn't be so hostile to him.
How about an article that exposes how much that idiot and liar of an "expert" ex-Lt. Col. Dave Grossman is when he asks for money when making his presentations? Oh wait, the seMissourian newspaper stated that when Grossman spoke at Chaffee High School in Missouri, he was paid $3,500 by the local school districts and the Scott County Sheriff's Department. http://www.semissourian.com/story/1166593.html
How about an article on that other clown of an "expert" Craig Anderson from Iowa? Oh wait, he recently wrote a book about violent video games, for profit!
Yes, Walsh is a fraud, but as you can see, he's not the only one.
I agree that parents are the best defense but this washed up old fart is acting like the downfall of Western Civilization will occur if some kids see some red pixels on the screen. We don't need legislation, we need personal responsibility, something that is lacking in a lot of people today.
I am over 18, by far. Where can I get this AO Manhunt 2, or the AO GTA?
Make it illegal for any person under the age of 18 to have money, barter, trade or own property. Therefor an adult would have to be present for any item to be purchased.
There, fixed.
walsh strikes me as the type who would accept the fact that he could be wrong about some of his viewpoints. thats what separates him from thompson. i may not entirely agree with him but at the very least he doesnt act like a complete douche when he speaks.
anyone who can tell thompson that he doesnt approve of his tactics and behavior even though they share some of the same goals gets points in my book, as i shows that he wants to express his ideas but not demand that you acknowledge he is right or wrong. he seems to be devoted to helping parents understand what and what not to do regarding media instead of using this subject as a means to make money or a name for himself.
It probably is, he's been posting on here a lot lately.
The message should be "You are a parent, you take responsibility for your children until they are able to be responsible for themselves".
And that magic number is 18, when all of that wonderful AO stuff becomes freely available to you.
The message is "Until we get this silly game business so sanitised that even the Pope will start advocating playing games, better keep an eye on the tots. Legislation is in the pipe though, so it won't be long before you can dump em in front of the computer then kick back with a cold one in front of the game with 100% surety that they won't be consuming anything unpalatable..."
"While the debate about legislative solutions is important and needs to happen, parents cannot afford to wait for elected officials…"
Says it all right there. I'll give you the benefit of doubt and just say u missed that line GP. =)
Next they will wont to send parents that live poorly to ajil for misteatment of kids....NIMF making life illicit for kids since 96...ZOMG!
My solution: Do your jobs as parents all the time so there's no need for legislation.
See. He is not against legislation. It just isn't happening fast enough for him. He does not want the debates to happen, he just wants the legislation to go through.
So he is just an annoying man who thinks that parent involvement is a temporary solution while we wait for legislation.
Anyhow, its true, legislation is not the answer, its parental resposibility and education for parents and children alike! Thats what will win the day.
Also stop the pussification of todays youth, get out and go camping, RUN in the playground playing dangerous games like tag and cops and robbers (Ohh Proto RTS and FPS's!) Parents play games with your kids, get in there and be a role model. Videogames are great for kids, given the right games and cool paerents who take an acttive part of the kids lives.
There my challenge to parents right there.
Seriously, though, this isn't new, but it goes without saying that this needs to be repeated ad nauseum in order to get it across to people.
Mr.Thompson, i'm still offended at you calling us Hitler Youth. Do you have any idea what those Innocent Children went through??? Plese, read a history book and stop breaking Godwin's law.
Jack what ever happend to your Jack and Goliath site hmm?
All Walsh is saying is parents have to act WHILE legislators are making laws. To help them act?
And Jack's still annoyed at being disowned by NIMF ;)
Jack, don't you have anything more worthwhile to do? Like say, chase an ambulance? (BTW, still waiting for you to make good on that threat of legal action you made against me last year. Or maybe that's because you really don't have a case with that.) For someone who loves to flaunt his superiority around here, you fail miserably at reading comprehension. Read that again. You should know better. Shame on you. And you call yourself a lawyer.
Oh wait, I'm sorry. You SUCK as a lawyer! I should have remembered! :)
Dennis, I know this is a hassle, but please ban this clown again immediately. Thank you.
Anyway, this is why I have more respect for Walsh. No, we may not agree with him all the time, but at least Walsh isn't insufferably arrogant and concedes that parents really are the ones who should have final say, NOT politicians or lawyers.
Frankly, I'm surprised Jack had to comment on this of all articles, considering that Walsh has stated publicly that both he and the NIMF want nothing to do with him.
"…. is that really Jack Thompson?"
Who cares if it is or not? If its not then its some random internet troll. If it is Jack then its still a troll. So it doesn't much matter. Though he is fun to slap around in a debate. He will post gibberish, call everyone kiddies. Then the next posts will tear his argument to shreds and he won't bother trying to make a counter point because he can't. Good fun to start but eventually Jack or FakeJack gets boring.
Yeah, I get what you're saying, as he's not opposed to legislation itself, but rather waiting around and let the legislation do the job for you. Everyone here more or less agrees that parents SHOULD be in charge, and he advocates that, but then what would be the point of legislation in the first place if he's suggesting such a more efficient alternative?
Yeah, I'm a bitch for semantics.
Also, because of that, I have a problem with the word you use to describe the gaming community, specifically those who speak out against you, "Pixelante". You described it yourself as a contraction of "pixel" and "vigilante" (It's actually a portemonteau, but I use contraction anyway, because, hey screw the French). It's the latter part "vigilante" I have the trouble with.
When I think vigilante, I think of V of V for Vendetta, and associated activities, like blowing up the parliment and collecting banned goods. I don't think your house has been blown up or anything, and I doubt these "Pixelistas" would get off of their masturbation long enough to do such a thing. Unless your neighbor had a grenade or a rocket launcher. What I'm saying is, don't piss off your neighbor.
Now, on to my word "Pixelista". Pixelistas are even worse than Pixelantes because they use these things called "facts" and "empirical evidence". There are three kinds of lies: lies, empirical evidence and facts. Here are some of these lies the pixelistas have been spewing:
1. Youth violence has gone down astronomically since 1993, when video games were becoming more prominent
File this one under damn lie. That's only because the children ar practicing and not murdering and raping. When those bastards at Take-Star finally broadcast their message to kill through their space-age console technology (Fact those Pixelistas won't tell you: Those goddamn Nintendo Tapes were made by the Communists! DAMN YOU RED IVAN!!!)
2. School shooters had mental and psychological issues, which greatly take precidence over what they played and watched, and were usually severe loners (beyond "shy") who hated everyone.
OK, this is 2007. We have enough Zoloft and Paxidryl and Ritalin to cure any psychological problems. Every problem can be solved with prescription drugs, even death, like Prescott Pharmecuitcals "Vaxydrine" (Side effects may include: Death, Anal leakage, spotaneous combuistion, testiccular shrinkage, and blindness)
Clinton, literally at her side, when she proposed federal legislation to stop the sale of mature games to kids.
Jack Thompson
If I read the journal article mentioned in this blog "Study: Kids Can’t Get Enough of M-rated Games". The article survey results showed that about half of boys play 6+ hours per week. Only 12.6% of boys play 15+ hours per week. so what else do kids what watch in "screen time". Oh that's right, television and the internets.