Mayor of London Links Video Games to Wave of Stabbings
Mayor of London Links Video Games to Wave of Stabbings
June 20, 2008
MCV reports that London Mayor Boris Johnson has mentioned violent video games in relation to a wave of knife crime plaguing Great Britain.
Former Parliamentarian Johnson, never a friend to video games, has previously linked games to illiteracy. In his latest rant, Johnson writes:
We must show young people that knives are not cool, and for that we need positive role models. I want to counteract the damaging influences drug-addled celebrities and violent video games and the lure of the life in the gang by providing opportunities.
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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?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
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Comments
Out of touch much? Opinion only? Say it ain't so Boris!
Knife crime in London! seems like the knives are to blame for the knife crime. Kids who can afford video games stay inside and play them.
itisnt the video games it iz the peoples fault
it iz who people hang about wiv andhow they been brought up
i am a 18 nyear old and i have played many video games (manhunt)for example that iz a stabbin game i aint gone out and stabbed any1 dnt blame the videogames it there fault.
Alright. A link between violent games and shooting I could MAYBE understand... IF I were drunk. But when is the last time anyone played a bunch of games where the main objective is stabbing someone?
Life begins and ends with Choice. Anything in your life that unlawfully or immorally steals Choice from you should be excised immediately, totally, and destroyed utterly.
Yeah, the standard 'don't blame me!' speech.
I live in North London, and, quite frankly, Mr Johnson, if you want to stop the wave of stabbings on the streets then give these kids a future. The price of houses means that most of these kids are totally excluded from any chance of a future where they live, they know they are either going to end up in council accomodation or moving out of London, because there's no way on Earth they can afford it.
Mr Johnson doesn't know, with his nice comfortable yearly salary, what it is like to grow up somewhere you don't feel like you are welcome, and London certainly does that, they aren't corrupted, they've just no reason to fit in to a society that is designed to exclude them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4120649.stm
Considering my neighbor was the person killed in that knifing spree, I find it vaguely insulting that Igor here is still playing the blame game.
Not to worry the Mayor of London is really a comedy position, I doubt even Londoners will pay much attention to this. ;)
Gift.
He has just a bit more power than that...
Oh he has the power, in London, but I'm talking wider influence. Red Ken has had minimal impact outside of London. Moreover, in the case of both mayors I'm hard pressed to believe voters weren't laughing their arses off when they went to the ballot box. :P Bendy buses are Doomed I tell you!
Seriously, clever shark as Boris may be that's not the way the electorate see him. He's just a bumbling funny TV presenter to most people.
Gift.
Stabbings? Video games? I can't remember the last time I stabbed someone or something in a video game.
Next he'll be blaming waves of explosions on Boom Blox.
I stabbed some things in D&D last night, does that count?
Don't expect much out of this guy's mouth that isn't rubbish. Whichever morons voted him in deserve all they get for the next 4 years in London.
Doesn't he know that the only way to run faster than everyone else is to take your knife and hold it out while running and occasionally swiping the air so you can hear that satisfying swoosh?
______________
You see, I believe in the noble, aristocratic art of doing absolutely nothing. And one day, I hope to be in a position to do even less!
LOL! Counter-Strike reference FTW!
-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
There's a blast from the past, I haven't thought of CS in years.
I don't think anyone takes anything Boris says seriously.
If by "we" you mean parents actually doing their job,and being parents,then I agree 100%!
Come on guys it's Boris.
I love the smell of scapegoats in the morning...
Is it just me, or is the British media & political sphere more opposed to videogames than they are in other western countries? It almost seems counter-intuitive since the USA has more zealots and a bigger culture of fear- but I notice more sensationalist stories from the UK media and political types than anything else...
Well, there's a lot of bluster about it, but the actual response to that bluster is minimal at best. Like the US, we have people in positions of power making comments in ignorance, I don't really think the situation is any worse, just taken from a slightly different context, we are a much smaller country, and so everything that happens here is a lot closer to home.
Everything about the UK press is sensationalist. Throw into the mix a media they have no money invested in and a chance to slate it, and I'm sure you get the idea. The UK press are largely scum, specifically the tabloids.
Oh, by the way, all our Politicians are like him. You're lucky to have a bloke like Obama who can at least give false hope.
No. They really really aren't. Most give at least a hint of competance or rationality. Boris is a useless waste of space, more suited to appearances on Have I Got News For You.
This is the English Parliament we're talking about here.
Yep Yep! Drunken Celebs and Video Games makin' it all cool! That is the cause of the stabbing problems..
Not things like.. y'know.. Abject poverty.. hopelessness, abuse at home or school, mental instability, alcoholisim, drugs, crime, stupidity, poor schooling or any number of social or econimical problems.. either in seperatly or tegether in a crushing weight of reality..
Nope.. it's Drunken Celebs and Video Games!
What's utterly hilarious is the whole 'Drunken Celebs', when he grew up in the 60's where the Stones, David Bowie and several other musicians who spent almost the entire decade bouncing off the rafters, formed the core of his Media upbringing. I grew up with Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam (Named after the hallucingoenic Jam made by the lead singers Grandmother) and various other bands that experimented with substances.
To suggest it is somehow a 'new' phenomena is as laughable as the concept that it is the cause of the stabbings...
Next up, Jack Thompson telling people to 'get real good at a suicide simulator' is identified as the cause of the spate of suicides in Wales...
Aside from the fact that he looks like Gary Busey(Is that how it's spelled), his arguement is shit. Celebrities have been drunk and high for ages and most kids aren't retarded enough to see videogame characters as rolemodels. Typically they reserve that spot for their parents.
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up:
Jonathan Freedman (2002)
Block and Crain (2007)
Grand Theft Childhood, a book by Harvard Medical School researchers Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson
I find the 'connection' to knives to be tenuous at best. Now an epidemic of sword violence coinciding with some sort of medieval sword-fest game he'd have a better time selling.
then LARPING would be banned.
Who would complain about that?
How many games have you using knifes??? GTA, RE, SOF and Haze are all I can think of.
MGS as well. *holds knife to victim's face* Snake:"speak"
I would blame the parents and teachers on being ignorant about games. There is a reason why ESRB makes an "M" rating on games. There should be something in the school that can teach kids how to properly enjoy games. It seems silly, but it is better than what people are doing now which is banning games and not even learning about them.
Admittedly I'm not really up on celebrity news, but which drunk celebs are encouraging knife violence? If I remember right, about every ten years a drunk celebrity gets stabbed and dies, but that's not very encouraging.
Why do we people elect idiots around the world to run our countries? :S
Because intelligent people have better things to do than politics?
There's knives in most games I have; splinter cell, gta, manhunt, kane & lynch, dawn of war, condemned, neverwinter nights, prince of persia... Most action/fighting type games have knives but if anything those discourage their use on the grounds that they're usually pretty crap as a weapon and only used when you're out of ammo or need a stealthy kill.
No Boris! Don't be taken in by the paranoia of the Daily Mail!!
you seem to be forgetting tha boris johnson is pants-on-head retarded.
The mayor is giving MSM way too much credit for society's shortcomings. I bet he plays the skin flute to the BBC 1 logo...
All I got out of his argument was a new version of "You damn kids get off my lawn!"
Just so we set things straight most of the drugs we are on now were invented when he was a kid.
An out of touch polititcian blaming the ills of society on video games?!?! Stop the F'ing presses *roll eyes*
I would blame gun control.
If he isn't planning to build a colluseum with a nearby oppium den and put on a show with some prisoners and lions i can't possibly imagine how he can replace all of those fine activites with anything better. Maybe he can replace the knives with fully automatic rifles or shotguns with chainsaws attached to them. I would totaly stop using my knife if that was the case.
Good god what console must Hitler have had to drive him to such extremes?Man I need what Vlad the Impaler must have had.Rumours say he found a PS8 in his basement and when he played it he became a crazed mad man that killed all hin his way.Seriously who believes this poop.