Iraq War Vet Defends Games in NY Times Piece

October 24, 2007 -
A back-from-Iraq Marine talks about his love of gaming in today's New York Times.

Jeffrey Barnett, who was deployed to Fallujah, is also the author of a blog called The Midnight Hour. For the NYT he writes:
In addition to being an engineer, new homeowner, and seasoned curmudgeon, I also moonlight as a gamer. I started gaming almost as soon as I could hold a controller. My father purchased an Atari 2600 in 1981, the year I was born...

Video games get a lot of negative press for supposedly promoting, condoning, and even conditioning violence in gamers...

On one hand, I can see how a player might gradually decrease his human inhibition towards violence and killing through repeating the act in a video game. On the other, I think the vast majority of players understand that what is acceptable in the game world may be unacceptable in the real world...

I think steak knives and swimming pools pose a greater threat to children [than video games], but nobody is trying to restrict adult access to those tools...

GP: The NYT readers provide interesting and lively commentary to Barnett's piece. Worth a read.

Via: Kotaku

Comments

Damn Right!!!

Coravin, I know that they would appreciate it. Those boys and girls need the R&R time as much, if not more than anyone else.
 
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Matthew Wilsonhttp://imgur.com/XzpWeWw here is the twiter exchange in question.10/19/2014 - 1:39pm
Andrew EisenI either don't remember or didn't see it. Still have a link?10/19/2014 - 1:38pm
Matthew Wilsonits the twiter exchange I linked too a few days ago.10/19/2014 - 1:29pm
Andrew EisenThat link doesn't work. Browsed the Twitter feed but couldn't find anything. Did find someone claiming a Gawker writer advocated bullying but didn't say who or where.10/19/2014 - 1:05pm
Neo_DrKefkaGawker loses advertiser MERCED ES https://mobile .twitter.com/TheRalphRetort/status/522813815260733441/photo/1 after Gawker writer advocates bullying of nerds with an anti Gamergate rant10/19/2014 - 12:32pm
Matthew Wilsonhttps://soundcloud.com/totalbiscuit/weaponised-charity a interesting audio log.10/19/2014 - 12:04pm
prh99Also there is no story in rational and respectful discussion (where you can find it).10/19/2014 - 10:44am
prh99Well they are probably doing it on Twitter and probably the GG hashtag so any voice reason gets drowned out by idiocy. Also it's far easier to broad brush a group.10/19/2014 - 10:41am
Wonderkarpdont fool yourself, Technogeek. Remember Mass Effect 3? How about the ferver against Phil Fish?10/19/2014 - 10:18am
MechaTama31None of which is the fault or responsibility of the people who are not trolling, harassing, threatening, doxxing, etc. So why is their opinion hostage to the people who are?10/19/2014 - 10:06am
TechnogeekIf the developer were male there wouldn't have been a "conversation" in the first place.10/19/2014 - 2:27am
Montetrolls are just at their absolute worst when it comes to women and feminist. You could bet good money that if the developer were male the trolls would be silent and the conversation would actually focus on the journalism.10/18/2014 - 9:18pm
MontePapa: Not the first time we've had a journalism scandals before, but the harassment never got close to this level; the difference with this scandal is that feminists are involved. Without the feminist angle, their would be A LOT less harrassment10/18/2014 - 9:15pm
Papa MidnightMonte: That's honestly rather short-sighted. As has been proven with other persons who have been targeted, if it wasn't Quinn, it would be someone else.10/18/2014 - 6:26pm
AvalongodI think that's part of what gives an esoteric news story like this real life...it taps into a larger narrative about misogyny in society outside of games.10/18/2014 - 3:29pm
Avalongod@Monte, well the trolls made death threats that came to police (and media attention). I think this is tapping into a larger issue outside of games about how women are treated in society (like all the "real rape" stuff during the last election)10/18/2014 - 3:28pm
WonderkarpZippy : Havent tried the PS4 controller. might later.10/18/2014 - 2:37pm
MonteSeirously, If Quinn was not involved and GG was instead about something like the Mordor Marketing contracts, the trolling would have never grown so vile and disgusting. There have been plenty of movements in the past that never sufferred from behavior..10/18/2014 - 1:57pm
MonteWe have seen scandel's before but the trolling has never been as vile as what we see with GG. Trolls usually have such a tiny voice you can barely notice them, but its like moths to a flame whenever femistist are involved.10/18/2014 - 1:53pm
ZippyDSMleeWonderkarp: You might be able to if you had a PS4 controller.10/18/2014 - 1:00pm
 

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