March 9, 2008 -
A Canadian legislator has weighed in with support for a teachers' group which is seeking to regulate Rockstar's controversial Bully: Scholarship Edition.John Nuraney (left), a member of British Columbia's Legislative Assembly, told Burnaby Now that he "totally agrees" with the British Columbia Teachers Federation's call to boycott Bully:
The dangers are known to all. I think it's a question of jurisdiction. The only thing it seems right now is to bring more awareness.
Nuraney recently spoke about video games in the Assembly, saying:
It may be of interest to this house to know that one of the top video games for boys in grades 3 to 6 is Grand Theft Auto. While it is admirable that our children of today adapt very quickly to this technology, it is also alarming that without proper guidance and supervision, they can fall victims to the unscrupulous predators.
The basis for Nuraney's comments about GTA is not known. GamePolitics has a request in for more information and we'll update if a response is forthcoming.
Comments
I probably should have been more specific than 'legislation'. I meant, that if these parents are letting their kids play these games, and games are harmful, it's child abuse and the kids should be removed from their parents for their own protection.
Games aren't, of course, because children are smarter than that, but if they were, and educating the parents to be responsible didn't help, it'd be the only option.
If nothing happened when the original Bully came out why should the special edition be any different?
People should be informing and educating their children, rather than just stunting their emotional and intellectual growth. I've explained to my nephew *why* it's OK to do things in a game, but not in real life. I've given him examples, we've done some roleplaying and role-reversal, and he's even had a painful lesson or two. (He learned quickly not to play with fire, after he picked up a match that I just blew out. He's also aware of the horrible consequences of playing with fire, aside from just hurting himself. However, he knows how necessary fire is to survival. He's a good learner.)
I think most parents should be charged with dereliction of duty. A parent's job is *not* to protect their children from negative influences and situations, unless those could prove fatal. A parent's job is to educate their children as to why these influences and situations are negative, what outcomes there are to be had, what alternatives there are, and the outcome of the alternatives. You're supposed to be preparing your child for life on their own. You're supposed to be preparing them for many of the good and bad things that they'll encounter in life, and you're supposed to be teaching them how to make well-informed decisions. You're supposed to be shaping your child into a strong, intelligent adult.
Stupid kids will grow into stupid adults. These kids are our future, and the brightness of the future is in the parents' hands. Personally, this scares me. I hope I don't live long enough to see today's kids grow into tomorrow's leaders.
"Personally, this scares me. I hope I don’t live long enough to see today’s kids grow into tomorrow’s leaders."
I take offense to that if you were referring to most kids being stupid.