Kiwi MP: Booze, Dope, Video Games Fueling Teen Crime Wave
Kiwi MP: Booze, Dope, Video Games Fueling Teen Crime Wave
January 17, 2008
A member of New Zealand's Parliament has fingered video games in relation to a wave of youth crime.As reported by Stuff, MP Ron Mark (left) of the New Zealand First party wants to break up teen gangs and impose a curfew. Mark also blamed video games:
There are now large numbers of teenage gang members roaming the streets of the main centres and there is a subculture of violence and criminal offending.
These teenagers are thriving on a diet of alcohol and drugs and their main entertainment is playing violent video games before they head on to the streets looking for trouble.
GP: So, where did the juvenile crime come from before there were video games? Say, from roughly 10,000 B.C. to 1982?
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Posted 11/08/09 at 09:02am
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yez7jyo
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yez7jyo
Posted 11/08/09 at 09:01am
DarkSaber: Oh for gods sake, the Gearbox pres is gobbing off about Valve again
DarkSaber: Oh for gods sake, the Gearbox pres is gobbing off about Valve again
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:53am
JDKJ: But cheer up, Austin. If the unemployment rate continues to double-digit as predicted for the next few years, your half-dozen stands a better than likely chance of returning to power.
JDKJ: But cheer up, Austin. If the unemployment rate continues to double-digit as predicted for the next few years, your half-dozen stands a better than likely chance of returning to power.
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:46am
JDKJ: @DS: If he had added the line about "or hiring illegals aliens under the table to work as nannies," it would have been a completely perfect descripition. And, yes, it's about the same difference between a six and a half-dozen.
JDKJ: @DS: If he had added the line about "or hiring illegals aliens under the table to work as nannies," it would have been a completely perfect descripition. And, yes, it's about the same difference between a six and a half-dozen.
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:31am
DarkSaber: My god, that description makes them sound almost Republican. Still what did you expect, Obama is only marginally more left than republicans.
DarkSaber: My god, that description makes them sound almost Republican. Still what did you expect, Obama is only marginally more left than republicans.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:07am
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:06am
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Posted 11/08/09 at 12:24am
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
Posted 11/07/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
This being said, are video games blamed ? After all, only "violent" ones are mentioned, and even though MP Ron Mark refers to them along with alcohol and drugs, he never said they were the cause of gang membes' bad behavior. He just said that their main entertainment was playing these games, which may be true.
A life of bigotry leads to an interest in things that deal in bigotry.
A life of pride leads to an interest in things that fuel that pride.
A life of depression leads to an interest in things that fuel that depression.
A life of solitude leads to an interest in things that are for the solitary.
A life of being abused tends to lead to an interest in being dominated (willfully or otherwise).
And so on.
And, yes, there are variants as we are all individuals. And, contrary to popular belief, individuals CAN and DO change.
This idea that playing anyone who plays violent video games must therefore be "bad" is the usual misinformed ignorance of the incompetant and/or Tin-Pot-Dictator-Wannabe.
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
If it wasn't for the games, I"m sure the Drink and Drugs would have no influence whatsoever....
It's just the mindset in this part of the world, it seems - find a scapegoat to blame and regulate - forget blaming PEOPLE.
I suppose that's my problem with the comment, it seems to point a finger at violent gaming when the actual the method changes. Back in the 50's and 60's youths used to Street Race for the adrenaline rush, and I'm pretty certain that they hadn't played Need for Speed. That's what it's all about, the adrenaline rush, not the method used to achieve it.
You know what they say "Idle hands are the devil's playground." Give them something to keep themselves busy and they won't be out doing this crap, at least not nearly as much. FBI studies show a decline in youth crime since the popularity of video games began to rise. It all probably can't be accredited to video games, but it's obviously not what's causing the violence as people like to claim.
These teenagers are thriving on a diet of alcohol and drugs and their main entertainment is playing violent video games before they head on to the streets looking for trouble."
If they impose the said curfew, wouldn't this just encourage the said teens to stay indoors more, leading up to more time spent playing video games?
But one thing is for sure..this guy must share the same Motel 6 room with JT, Keith Vaz and Gordon Brown..
"These teenagers are thriving on a diet of alcohol and drugs"
Let the gang members keep doing that, but take away the video games cause certainly therein lies the problem!
/sarcasm
I don't see it as pointing a finger at all and I disagree with your assertion that the importing thing is that they get hyped. It's also important what they get hyped on, be it violent games or violent movies or old episodes of Smurfs. Besides, it says something about a group of kids if they commit violence, drink, do drugs and play exclusively violent games.
They guy never said that violent games were at fault and he never suggested that decreasing the kids access to violent games would solve the problem - he said that a curfew was a solution which would, as people have already pointed out, make it easier for them to play violent games more often.
As much as I respect GP he jumped the gun when he said "Mark also blamed video games." Nowhere where violent games, or games of any sort, blamed.
I do as well, weird eh?
Guys just disregard this maggot, there's a very real chance that his party will not survive this year's elections.
OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The point I'm making is that we all enjoy getting 'hyped', ever been on a Rollercoaster, or watched Jurassic Park? That's not the danger any more than computer games are, if it were, we may as well make 'fun' illegal.
What I'm saying is that they weren't worth mentioning at all. Whether [i]he[/i] is pointing a finger or not is irrelevant, it's not the meaning that people will care about, it is the content, quoted out of context, that statement is as usable as the famous 'danger to the public' comment by the BBFC.
It isn't the fact that these kids are getting hyped in any way whatsoever that is the problem, we all seek out a little excitement from time to time, in sports, or video games or Fairgrounds etc, and theres no doubt whatsoever that Drink and Drugs play a role in affecting their [i]reaction[/i] to that hyping, but if these kids went to the fairground every night whilst drunk and out of their faces, they would have grown up to be nice people? I'm not certain that it [i]is[/i] important that they are violent games, any more than it's important that people who like to drive fast like fast driving games, it's putting cause before effect. They play violent games because they are violent people, not the opposite.
I hear what you're saying but you can't argue that the fact that they play specifically violent games is newsworthy because it reflects the type of people they are. How we choose to spend our free time speaks about who we are. That these kids play violent games along with the other issues mentioned is relevant.
Believe me, I am in no way a proponent of censorship and I in no way believe that violent games cause violent behavior but I do believe that if somebody chooses to play GTA and consistently elects to act in the most violent and psychopathic way the game allows then it says something about that person. If that person then goes out, gets drunk and acts violently it is relevant that he spent his spare time fantasizing about being a psychopath in GTA because it speaks to the person who committed the acts. GTA isn't in the wrong and the creators are not in the wrong any more then the creators of LEGO are at fault because some kid acts out a violent act with little block people and then commits it in real life - but that he did it in the first place is important to note.
As IHM pointed out they'll be lucky if there party gets enough votes to get back into parliament in the next election.
Yeah, but I still don't understand why Helengrad even offered him his bauble of office. And besides, we still haven't stamped out Destiny completely.
Besides, video games would still be consider uncool to gangsters. The most criminally inclined tend to roam outside more often, as the article suggests. Because let's be honest, teenage crime is not efficient and it takes more than a few minutes to just rob a store and getting it done right the first time.
In fact spending any time reading through GP.com would show anyone that.
This is just another politician attempting to get more attention by jumping on the video game bashing bandwagon.
Because without NZF she wouldn't have been able to cling to power.
As for Density, please don't bring them up. I have enough trouble trying to believe NZ is a sane place without thinking about them.
or is that just austraulia?
Nope just those dirty aussies :D
We're just imperial oppressors or whatever the current term is...
Nope, just the Aussies.
@ ConstantNeophyte
Aww... but they're so lulzy.
Yeah I guess so, with Bishop Brian Tamaki and their marches when their all in black, actually that reminds me of that bit in The Wall...
I distinctly remember hearing state television in my home town of Leningrad blaming Capitalism and the West for all of societies' ills... and that communist is the best thing ever...
As for communism, I am pretty certain Americans(not USSR) were correct on that one....
I guess in the absence of true evil, you have to find something else to blame...and since games are apparently the closest thing to true evil(because they are new and shiny) they must be blamed for all things...
This Kiwi has done exactly what every ignorant person seeking a bit of face time has (including McCulloch), created a lovely fantasy demonising video games backed up with zero evidence.
Seriously, all criminals breathe air, drink water and go to the toilet. Does this mean that breathing, drinking and sh#tting should be banned? For every punk gang member that plays video games, I bet there are hundreds of well adjusted ppl playing happily without getting a bloody parking ticket let alone committing a serious crime.
This will pass though, eventually the old guard who are still largely ignorant will be moved on and people of the younger generations will start taking positions where they can shed some light on the ignorance.
I mean, since the invention of the written word, various factions throughout history have tried to outlaw certain books or books in general, and yet here we are today with more books than we can poke a stick at.
Completely agree with you. He is no more placing blame on vid games than drinking. He was merely describing the lifestyle of the 'gang' members in general.
He is essentially saying something is wrong if all these kids do is drink and either be violent or play violent games. Not the healthiest lifestyle choice. Besides who is to say that the drinking has anything to do with the 'gang' problems...
The problem is a curfew wouldn't actually change the lifestyle he describes just attempt to keep it off the street i.e. a band-aid solution.
@twixn
As an Australian Australian, I agree
and to Mnementh2230 'people in glass houses...'
and yes I am probably in some way related to a convict...
@GP
normally I completely agree with your sentiments. However, you jumped the gun on this one a bit. We can't blindly bash anything that mentions vid games and violence in the same sentence. In fact numerous times it has been stated on these forums that violent people are more likely to be attracted to violent vid games. Hence you could argue that he is merely presenting a social profile of the select group he refers too.
I mean, in the US, we've got Jack Thompson and a few ineffective politicos who try and fail. Here in Australia and in the neighboring NZ, the laws have passed and are standing.
A gang of teenagers have been free-roaming the streets of America at night. they enjoy doing drugs, drinking alchohol, and eating fatty foods. It is clear, with this evidence, that fatty foods are the cause of all gang violence.
(sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm)
Seriously though, just because a bad gang plays video games, it doesnt mean video games cause them to be bad. There are MANY other VALID reasons why they comit crime, like alchohol, drugs, need for money.
Not a lot of room for playstations in that picture, certainly not as an engine for violence, drugs and booze have that side sewn up properly!
He basically just made up the video game thing based on what he saw on TV. And the characterisation of his party by others above is 100% correct. In the UK they would be the daily mail party.
\FUCK OFF
I saw few little videos with teens on the streets and I was terrified to see they have a really ignorant way of living: addicted to drugs, and involved in crimes and violences. How can a parent control his kid to avoid this entourage? I wonder if drug treatment would have any effects on them...