Parents To Start a Foundation in Brandon Crisp's Memory
Parents To Start a Foundation in Brandon Crisp's Memory
November 12, 2008
In a just-released statement the parents of Brandon Crisp say that they plan to create a foundation to help unpriveleged children have the opportunity to play sports.
Although it was known that the Crisps would release a statement today, the focus of the proposed foundation is a bit of a surprise. Some believed that the family would target video game addiction, which was initially blamed for Brandon's disappearance by his parents. The oft-repeated game addiction theme gathered much traction in the Canadian media as well.
The 15-year-old gamer will be buried on Friday.
The full text of the Crisp family's statement follows:
The story of our son's disappearance and tragic outcome has touched the hearts of families throughout our community and across our Country.
We are so very proud to have parented such a wonderful, caring and beautiful son who has touched so many hearts.
We take great comfort in our time of grief, knowing that his story has and will continue to have a profound impact on parents and children alike, that more time will be made by families to share precious time together. Life and love should never be taken for granted.
To honor Brandon's name we will be creating a foundation to support under privileged children throughout our community and across Canada to play minor sports they may not otherwise be able to afford. An interim donation account has been set up with the CIBC as the Brandon Crisp Trust Account, Donations can be made at any CIBC branch across Canada.
The support we have had from so many has been completely overwhelming and has made an everlasting impression on our family.
We would now like to give special thanks to the many from our community and throughout Canada who have touched the hearts of the Crisp family and helped to relay this story throughout our great Country.
The Community of the City of Barrie, the Barrie Police dept, the Barrie Advance Newspaper and all of its staff, Family & Friends, Neighbors, clients, employees & sub contractors of Basement Concepts, St Josephs High School, The Catholic school board, The Sweetzer Family, Roosters Bar & Grill (Todd & Suzy), Microsoft Canada, Rogers Television, Metroland Media, Childsave Canada, Childfind Canada, CP24 News, A Channel news, CTV news, CTV National, CBC news, Global News, City TV, Breakfast Television (Kevin Frankish), Macleans Magazine, The Fifth Estate, CBC Sunday Morning, Annan-Bird Graphics company of Mississauga, Indy Imaging of Indianapolis, Strategic Outdoor Advertising of Barrie and Freskiw Farms of Coldwater.
Comments
Thats a good idea. I wish them luck with this and hope that it also helps their family heal after the loss of Brandon.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Seconded. I couldn't have said it better myself.
And thirded. It's tragic, and they've got my sympathy.
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The Mammon Industry
Fourthed.
Sounds like a good idea and something one would be proud to have name on.
fifthed, for once everything went well(even though it was a bad ending for brandon crisp)
Sixthed. Finally, something good after weeks of BS.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
not to be crude or anything but now he's a good kid and not the "twisted game addicted whacko thats lost in his own fantasy world due to a video game made by microsoft kid" anymore?
at least thats cleared up :) time to remember the good times eh?
tis a sad sad thing that has happened and at least some good will come of it in the end i suppose... sucks crappy things have to happen first before someone actually gives a hoot to do something for their community.
I´m really surprised too because they are not making the fundation for "video-games addicts" or sorta. At least they are not touching the subject anymore. But let´s see what is gonna happen next...
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
And it is for this reason I agree with the idea of the foundation and wish them both the very best along with my condolences.
They probably didn't do anything with "game addiction" because they had to come to terms with the fact that their kid didn't run away to join an evil gamer coven or whatever it was they had thought. He just stubbornly ran away from home over an argument and died of an accidental injury.
All my condolences to the Crisp family. Losing someone is always very hard, and losing your own son at such a young age is particularly hard.
My condolences to the family as well, but I wonder if they will be willing to take donations from gaming organizations? Or will they continue to blame the games and gamers for the problems the family was having, instead of bad parenting in some regards? I have no issue making a donation to it myself, but I do want it listed as from a gamer in memory of a person that shared my passion.
Jeremy Powers aka Zen
Panama City, Fl.
i would assume so, they did thank microsoft canada in the list of people/groups at the end.
I don't think that's a good idea. They clearly chose not to push the issue any further, and gamers should probably extend the same courtesy. What would you think if you got a check that said, "I'm donating this even though I think you're a terrible person?"
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The Mammon Industry
I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like I was trying either to reopen an argument or poke at the wound, I was just trying to see if they were still trying to lay the blame on games for this or not, even to the point on turning away help from game charities or groups of gamers. From the comments I'm seeing, I'm happy that it doesn't seem to be the case for laying the blame in one place. I just hope for the best for the family in such a dark time and wish them no ill will on my end. I have 3 children of my own and can't imagine what it would be like for that situation that they are in. I've come very close to losing a child, but even that can't compare to what it would be like to actually cross that boundry. So I apologize to all if I came off in a negative light about this.
Jeremy Powers aka Zen
Panama City, Fl.
I'm sorry too; I didn't mean to make that sound like you were a terrible person or anything. It's natural to wonder what'll happen next, but for now I'm also glad that it doesn't look like the issue is going to be sustained.
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The Mammon Industry
Sports... WTF?? I bet a certain gaming vendor feels pretty lame today. Not to mention how many gamers and game companies that gave time, money and made efforts to help in the case. Maybe it is just me but that seems like a slap in the face.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
A slap would've been if they'd blamed us again. This is more of a cold shoulder (if that.)
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The Mammon Industry
Er, when did sports become synonymous with anti-gaming?
Umm.... Maybe the world has change since I was young. Back in the day the following held true: gamer = nerd /geek & sports = jock/normal . consequently jocks abused gamers for fun and as a cool game.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
Well, to my knowledge then, things have changed a lot since your day -- or America holds true to all those cheesy college movies we see over here… which I highly doubt. My gaming guild, for one, not only was comprised of a number of sports fanatics but our guild leader was actually the captain of our school rugby team at one point too. While I, myself, not only play soccer but have even taught it. Seriously, I can actually say with confidence that an overwhelming amount of young gamers, if not all, are into sports these days.
Yeah, the times have changed. In fact, when I was in high school a large majority of the football team played video games and were members of the honor society. They were fairly intelligent people. Of course, their gpa wasnt as high as us "bandnerds" but it was up there. Generally, the only people who picked on others for being nerds at my high school were the dropouts who couldnt hack it in remedial math.
It is nice to hear that gaming is more socially acceptable now.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
As someone who gave up playing World of Warcraft to go down the gym and now plays 2 sports a week as well, I disagree.
Fair enough, but WoW is like its own full-time sport, and with no off-season to boot. Most kids these days can find time to rattle off a round of Zelda and still hop 'round to the baseball diamond. (Was going to say "cricket pitch" but then remembered that cricket takes about six hours to play per day.)
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The Mammon Industry
So does a baseball game.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Yeah, but in baseball your innings don't take two and a half days apiece.
Although there is something to be said for a sport that's sensible enough to include a tea break.
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The Mammon Industry
We all wish you the best of luck in your endeavours.
---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
I see the parallels here. A sports campaign. It gets kids outside and away from the tv and pc. Makes absolute sense.
You are probalby correct in that they are hoping sports would pull kids away from games, but giving kids a choice they might not otherwise have had still seems like a really positive thing.
When it comes to 'getting people off games', I think the stick approach is reprehensible, but the carrot one is a great idea. If one can convince someone that a differnt hobby is better then more power to them.
Oh, I never said it as a negative thing. No, I fully support it actually. I was just thinking of the meaning behind it. I am a firm believer in kids between the ages of 8 and 15 being pushed outside as much as possible. I was and I turned out fine. :)
good for them, great idea.
Hope it all goes well!! :)
http://www.myspace.com/hermoinefan_420 (and boom goes the dynamite)
It is a nice idea i just dont really get how they couldnt just get him to either play sports or read or do something to get off the system for a while...i still dont see how it could be that difficult but still a nice thing to do in his memory...
Strange, unexpected (given their previous statements) but hey, this is a positive thing they are doing so yay!
A nice effort to offer a solution to some. There are thousands of solutions that many need, and every extra one helps. It's not like they could spread it to several hundred solutions to try to help out everyone who the solution would be useful for. So, yeah, offering this one is certainly worthwhile. And it's a national foundation as it states that the help will be offered across Canada. So there will be plenty of kids out there who would benefit. If it were only a local foundation, not sure how many kids in their city would need the help.
Was this a problem for them in Brandon's case? Them not being able to afford his playing sports early on?
Early on, the reports claimed they didn't know about the technological Parental Controls of the XBox. Another idea which would be "closer to home" would be to set up resources, online AND offline, letting Parents know ehere they can get information about a variety of media products and services. How to set Parental Controls and other settings for VCRs, DVD players, DVRs, cable boxes, video game consoles, computers, and other such devices. A resource center for individuals and Parents to learn about the rating systems that exist (both industry and private). Resources to find out more on individual products (books, music, TV shows, movies, games, magazines, etc), especially for products that are not rated. Resources where individuals and Parents can get both professional and consumer based information. It leaves behind the "these things are bad/evil" vengence thing and actually HELPS individuals and Parents who aren't in-the-know so they can make appropriate choices for themselves and their own children.
Yeah, I know. I go on about such a resource center all the time. But that doesn't make it any less valuable. And, of course, I'm suggesting this IN ADDITION TO, not INSTEAD OF, the foundation.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
A good cause, hope it goes well.
(anyone else wondering that the game addict card may have been overplayed by the media on this one a bit, comments overused and taken out of time, place and context etc)
"A good cause, hope it goes well."
Seconded.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
http://www.myspace.com/hermoinefan_420 (and boom goes the dynamite)
is it really that difficult for parents to find the parental control on the 360 i mean it is pretty easy to find if you actully take the time to look and it does work cause i messed with it one day and blocked m rated games and then put on saints row and hey guess what i coudlnt play the game...seems pretty simple thing to do..Btw nightwing i am loving your posts man
For some folks, tech is just darn scary. :)
I still say who needs tech Parental Control? Just unplug the XBox 360 and hide the plug. Where are you going to find a replacement in the average home? :)
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Hard to hide the damn thing though. But an idea I am quite farmiliar with as a kid lol. Try finding a replacement for the damn N64 back in the day. Not gonna happen.
Jeremy Powers aka Zen
Panama City, Fl.
http://www.myspace.com/hermoinefan_420 (and boom goes the dynamite)
true that could work and would work but still that would mean some parents would have to *gasp* actully get involved??? we couldnt have that now could we? (yes i'm bitter but i think this whole anti game crap has gone way to far then it needed to go)
I'm sure a website for taking donations will come soon. I will be glad to donate $$ to this fund.
Now, it seems that the alleged lawsuit against Microsoft isn't true. That poster named "Gamernonsense" mentioned a lawsuit in the last Crisp story. "Nonsense" indeed...
"YES!!! YES!!!" -Bison, the Street Fighter Show
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Questionable logic (shrug), but all in all, I say more power to them.
I'm supprised but happy for this family. Besides a lawsuit wouldn't bring back Brandon even if they won the case.
They have been through a terrible tragedy and are trying to have a positive impact on the world. Best of luck to them, and hopefully we can all put the unpleasant gamer interactions behind us.
(Edit for clarity: Unpleasantness on behalf of the few gamers who harrassed the family.)
They are doing something that would help kids. It keeps many off the streets, and I know it's true. My concern is the reason why they are doing this? Are they thinking that if Brandon was doing sports instead of video games, he would of never ran away?
Good luck to both of them... nice to see that even though Brandon's death was tragic, something good came out of it after all.
(nice to see that there isnt a single word about video games in this too, looks like they've finally put the video game thing behind them)
Looks like we're in the clear! Nothing about games. This could have turned out horribly, but we got lucky this time.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
A family has loss their dear son and all you guys can think about is yourselves
Looks like we're in the clear! Nothing about games. This could have turned out horribly, but we got lucky this time.
hopefully we can all put the unpleasant gamer interactions behind us.
Sports... WTF?? I bet a certain gaming vendor feels pretty lame today. Not to mention how many gamers and game companies that gave time, money and made efforts to help in the case. Maybe it is just me but that seems like a slap in the face.
Dude, a family has loss their dear son, and all you can do is scold the people who can only think about themselves. Try to be less selfish next time, and more considerate of others.
Cheers
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Internet troll > internet paladin
High five chief. You've earned it.
Wait a minute. You take three statements on this page and go after all of us?
What a callous and selfish exploitation of both the tragedy of Brandon's death and the overwhelming goodwill of this forum.
I'm very sorry to have to take this extremely heartwarming thread and do this, but someone needs to go after you.
There are literally dozens (quite possibly more than one hundred) posts on this page praising this action by Brandon's parents, expressing condolences, heartfelf condolences on this loss, and ever offering their own money to this laudable effort by Brandon's parents.
What is YOUR only statement of this? You grab three statements and attack the community. You do what you can to further your own prejudiced and close-minded attack on video gamers.
I have seen you attack this community for many days now. While there have certainly been comments made by gamers that were worthy of attack, you have not tailored your responses to those attacks. You have instead indicted the entire gaming community, you have treated us as subhuman louts incapable of empathy.
But to come here now, when the community has created a thread overwhelmingly supporting this action, offering our own money to help, to come here now and continue your attack. To deliberately divert this thread in an attempt to bait this community into attacking you so that you can feel vindicated in your irrational prejudice against gamers...
Well nothing says it better than the following:
"Have you no sense of decency...at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?
~Jospeh Nye Welch, Chief Legal Advisor, United States Army to Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy June 30, 1954~
There are 53 posts, not over 100 and I was not condeming the entire community, only those that posted such to make this tradegy all about the gaming community and not about Brandon's death.
You'll note I said there were definitely dozens (last time I checked 53 counted as dozens), possible over a hundred. Additionally, you're general attitude during your time here, coupled with the wording and generalized tone of your post (and I will grant tone can be hard to discern over the internet) indicate that you intend to indict the entire gaming community.
You've never tailored your responses in such a fashion before, so I find it difficult to believe that you are doing so this time.
OH MY you can't be doing this again. who cares dozen's 100's or five million. They still have made this entire tragedy about their friggin gaming.
To be fair, it's only seven posts out of the fifty-something that were up prior to your first comment in this thread. Credit where credit is due please. The vast majority of the posters in here were not making the Crisps press release out to be a "win" for games and gamers.
Andrew Eisen
Well Andrew, it sure looked like that to me... the same ones that were crule in other postings a re now sensitive because they not going after the gaming community. That does not excuse them for their previous postings, and if this is what I see, then this is what I see. I am not being rude or calling anyone names. I am clearly stating facts.
These posts should have been done no matter the outcome. This tragedy was never about gamers and the Crisps... it was aboiut the Crisps loosing their son...despite the reason. but so many wanted to point a finger anywhere but gaming it was pathetic...
Consider, if the parents and the media weren't so quick to point the finger at 'gamers' and the 'internet gambling mafia ring', would people feel the need to point out we had no part in his demise?
Hey, even my post wasn't "win for gamers" and I'm sorry if it came out that way. It was meant as "hopefully we can all move on." I was criticising the gamers who have been displaying grossly inappropriate behaviour when discussing this story.
This is a gaming site. The story wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the (albeit tenuous) connection to our hobby. That doesn't mean that we don't care about the human element of this tragedy, mind you, but given the theme of the site, is it really surprising that we've focused on this particular angle?
Besides, as others have pointed out, there are numerous posts here and elsewhere where gamers have simply offered their condolences. And when people have instead chosen to debate whether game addiction could drive a child to run away, is that really so bad? They're not saying anything bad about the boy, merely questioning what could have led up to something like this.
Oh, and in my opinion, it seems very unlikely that he was seriously addicted to the game or that his running away was any more than a childish reaction to having a favourite toy taken away. I seriously doubt I'm the only one who used to throw tantrums when playthings were confiscated or sources of entertainment made unavailable, even in my teens. Admittedly I never ran away, but I was never all that adventurous, so moping in my room sufficed. Quick show of hands: who here has contemplated running away when grounded, banned from doing something you enjoyed, or otherwise thwarted in your attempts to entertain yourself and/or talk to friends when you were a teenager... and it had NOTHING to do with games?
I considered briefly one time, I forget why, but I never did it.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
I wanted to run away once when I was four because my parents were making me eat cottage cheese.
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The Mammon Industry
*raises hand*
''and all you guys can think about is yourselves ''
''They still have made this entire tragedy about their friggin gaming.
seems to me like you were condeming all of us, or at least generalising in an unfair way...
perhaps you should phrase things better.
Shit dude, did you just bust out Joseph Nye Welch on that guy. Damn.
Also, I am a subhuman lout (we prefer the turn "little people), so he wasn't entirely wrong in his accusation.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Yes, yes I did.
And my heartfelt apologies, I will try to be more senstive to the lout groups in the future...DAMN I did it again ;-)
Look Amen4u,
It's not all about us. Most of us (From what comments I've read so far)) all support the Foundation they started in his honour. We are also happy that dropped the whole 'games made him run off' angle. It is really to start like you are taking this like it's more about you than the family. Like we are insulting you personally. I for one support the foundation they have started and I hope it all works out for them. There need to be more afterschool programs. More kids playing sports, after some parent organizations trying to ban playing tag, and some contact sports becuase they are afraid their children will be injured.
I was addicted to games as a kid. I remember playing Final Fantasy VI (Then named Final Fantasy III)) on the SNES as a kid in high school (1995-1998)) and I would skip school some days, and and I would turn down the TV's brightness and contrast to the point of barely seeing the image on the tv to avoid being caught. The addiction was an escapism from a problem I was having. I was bullied at school. For one, we were assigned seats on the bus and I was put beside another guy, who was bigger then me and he would constantly tickle me. I hated it. I screamed for help. None came. I complained. Nothing happened. I couldn't fight him off at all, and I would get suspended it I was sucessiful. A lose-lose situation. Another, was I was bullied inside school as well as outside on the bus. Again, I made attempts to defend myself and was suspended each time. The offenders, had friends that would vouch for eachother and the vice principal would look at me and say. "They outnumber you. They have witnesses. They have no reason to lie." and I would be suspended and they would be off the hook. So I would go home and get lost in a good videogame. Yeah, my grades suffered. But then again I faked illnesses to get out of school, and that was to avoid the guy on the bus more than it was to stay home and play games. But played games since I was home anyway. As soon as I graduated High School the picking stopped. The playing didn't stop due to problems at home. My dad and I don't get along. I moved out in 2003. Since then, I don't play as much as I used to and I make better grades in collage. They are more interested in getting through their classes than picking on me.
Was I grounded as a kid? Yes. My games were taken away. And I lived without them untill I got them back. I did go off to blow steam. Though I'm too afraid of heights to climb trees. Accidents do happen. And I do think His addiction was covering up for something deeper. Take it from a former game-addict.
- Warren Lewis
I wanted to avoid the drama but I couldn't help but read your post. :( I'm sorry you had a rough time and I'm glad things are better for you now! I remember FFIV(III) for the SNES. Although Mom played it and got me into it with her voice acting of the video games, being that I couldn't read well. Ah the good ol' days.
Amy Levandoski
I still play the SNES verson. (Not as much as I did then.)) I know how to make my players (almost)) invincible. [insert Kefka laugh here.] Yep. good times. My favorite Final Fantasy game. These days I cycle between Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, and Final Fantasy series games. depends on my mood. It's Gran Turismo 4 now.
Edit: And thanks for your concern. I get angry looking back at how I was treated then. :( And think, these days they want to blame a game called Bully for this kind of stuff.
- Warren Lewis
They probably didn't do anything with "game addiction" because they had to come to terms with the fact that their kid didn't run away to join an evil gamer coven or whatever it was they had thought. He just stubbornly ran away from home over an argument and died of an accidental injury.
No they still are very much in belief that gaming is addicting, and they do not want their son to be remembered as a Kid who had a gaming addiction. Brandon loved sports before he was told he could no longer play Hockey due to his size.
What a misrepresentation of the quoted statement.
He did not say the parents no longer believe gaming is an addicting. He stated that the parents did have to come to terms with their reported original belief that Brandon was lured away by someone he met online. That his running away was tied to his gaming.
That was clearly not the case. He ran out cause of an argument. The most likely explanation was that he intended to blow off steam. Brandon was 15 years old, 15 year old often act irrationally (I know I did...) He ran out, intending to come home relatively soon, but tragedy befell. He most likely did NOT run away to meet a fellow COD4 player.
You took the statement you quoted and AGAIN used it to launch another attack on videogames and gamers in general.
Brandon may have ran out because his XBOX got taken, that's certainly possible. But I threw a FIT when my parents once took away my SEGA Genesis. Does that mean I had a gaming addiction? I doubt it, it meant I was a irrational, young teenager (god I'm old enough to have had a Genesis as a teenager...) who had his favorite hobby taken away. It sucked...so I blew up. I stormed out of the house, came home a few hours later, got grounded. It's not a sign of some deep psychological problem. If that was the case every teenager who's ever been punished has some deep psychological problem or addiction to whatever they're no longer allowed to use.
Have you ever seen a 16 year old blow up when they're told "no cell phone..." my god...it must be an addiction!
The no cell phone argument is one of my favorite to watch. Seriously, kids today are addicted to those things. I have mine with me all the time, and I only take it out when I get a call. I see these kids walking around texting and typing and doing all other sorts of ridiculous shit on them non-stop. Sounds far more addicting than videogames to me.
Second that one. Who needs a cell phone that plays music, videos, etc... I need it when I need to make a phone call. Maybe internet, so I can read up on the news while on the go(I love mah news) but that's it. Kids don't need this texting, and all that. I do that when I use a computer!
Amy Levandoski
"No they still are very much in belief that gaming is addicting, and they do not want their son to be remembered as a Kid who had a gaming addiction."
Oh, you speak for them now? What a privledged position you have. *rolls eyes*
Brandon may have ran out because his XBOX got taken, that's certainly possible- no it was fact.
Tell me the last time you heard a headline----Boy missing--ran away because parents told him he could no longer read books!!!!!
I was going to post leaving my condolences to the parents and wishing them the best of luck on their charity endeavor, but since you made it obvious I am incapable of empathy, since you somehow know me better than I know myself despite you having never met me, you've convinced me not to bother as those words will fall on deaf ears or blind eyes, whichever you prefer.
Do you really think that they will just forgive that fact that many of the members here accused them of being murderers, idiot parents, and so on... Oh ya they will just put on their rose colored glasses and only see the nice posts.( few and far between) and just be thankful you don't hate them anymore because they aren't sueing Microsoft or making a foundation against video games..Now all of a sudden they are great and you want to be their best friend.. Give me a Break
No, nobody thinks that. Nobody thinks that these people will see any of the posts because nobody thinks they will read the gamepolitics comments section. Even if they did, they wouldn't give 2 shits about what some random people are saying on the internet, due mostly to the fact that their son just died and they have bigger things to worry about.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
You know what----these posts are here to stay, there will come a time that they will scan the internet to see what has been said. go over old media, and so on, Trust me they will see all the terrible things that not only was posted here but on many other sites. Whe you type in Brandon Crisp, several hits are to GP Site right at the top. So not knowing what this site is about, they will be in total shock to see what has been posted.
Well, hopefully they'll also see that over 80% of the posts (prior to this particular discussion) are heartfelt condolences for their loss and kind words of encouragement towards the foundation.
Andrew Eisen
Maybe so, but god forbid that somebody somewhere is upset about something said on the internet. I'm sure they'll get over it.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Hey whats is your childs name..??? Maybe I will start a ""make fun of your child blog ""on the internet and call you a bad parent and see how you like it.
EZK: That was completely uncalled for and I again request you knock it off.
Her name is Amen4u. Knock yourself out.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
No its not, She is claiming that it is ok to post whatever you want on the internet because nobody cares anyway...And I refuted in a round about way to say that if its ok to post anything, then she wouldn't mind me saying things about her and her children..
Not being Canadian myself, I don't know if these conversations are had in Canadian politics. But over here, we (for the most part) have an image of the internet as this wondrous place where ideas are exchanged freely, even if you don't like what they are. Here the skinhead, black panther, religious zealot, and the average jackass can all exchange ideas on an equal playing field. Even if what they say offends you.
Luckily most of them NORMALLY stick to their own little corners too, which is what we all appreciate, and would like certain other people to do.
---
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
"Hey whats is your childs name..??? Maybe I will start a ""make fun of your child blog ""on the internet and call you a bad parent and see how you like it."
You said that. Not us.
- Warren Lewis
Madam. I am posting as a moderator here. This thread was rather civil and the overall demeanor of the conversations were in support of this charity.
You were the one who came in here flame throwers blazing and derailed this thread. Please knock it off. If you have condolenses to share or support to Brandon's parents, feel free to leave those. But I will not have you attacking the people of this site the way you have been.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
LEGENDARY WIN.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Stop that.
Make me. I use 24pt now so go away if you're gonna post comments like that.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Suit yourself, but it makes you look pretty stupid.
I noticed she changed her nick from the original. Ban her ass again.
She was never banned. She was commenting under Yahweh and when that Brandon article reached 300 comments a second page started up and she thought her comments were blocked and created a new account. She has just been posting under the newer one since then.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
I wasn't thinking that, but the lizwolley one.
I have never been banned...Changed my name because I couldn't figure out why my posts were not showing up on the screen. Dennis advised the page turned and I had to click previous.............
Then why the name change Liz?
She's not Liz Wooley as far as I can tell.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Check my friggin IP ...............................
But could we please?
Amen4u = 31337 72011
---
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
OK Zack, explain to me what exactely I did to throw a flame.........
In a story discussing the charity that the Crisp family is starting, rather than coming in to congratulate them or offer support, you came in and immediately attacked the other posters.
You could have complemented the many posters who were actually showing support, but you instead focused on the few that were less agreeable.
That is the definition of Flaming the comments. Deliberately insulting or posting negative comments with the sole purpose of derailing the conversation from its original intention.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
So what do you call the jerks on here that post to get a reponse like mine... flame seekers.
Considering you started this one, I would call them tender.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
I didn't start this one... I don't freak out for nothing....
Suit yourself.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Few and far between? I can guarantee that if you count up the posts you will find the posts expressing concern, condolence, and suggestions for finding this young man alive will outnumber (perhaps vastly) the negative posts.
Many of the negative posts (the truely vitriolic) were directed at persons, such as yourself, who came here on the attack looking to spout anti-gamer rhetoric and insult us. Criticisms of Brandon's parents were based on logical and heatfelt wishes that he be found or answers gotten.
There were posts that went way beyond any kind of intelligent, reasonable discourse. There were posts that were far beyond the bounds of deceny, these came from both sides. But to suggest that postive posts were "few and far" between is just ridiculous. The majority, vast majority, of posts were concerned for Brandon's safety. Things got heated, they always do, but we don't condemn people for passion. But there were not that many users calling Brandon's parents "murderers" or "idiot parents."
You seen to be looking out for the welfare of Brandon's parents. That is fine and good.
Stop for a minute and consider that the suggestions (when Brandon was still missing) that his parents we considered (which is the first logical step of almost any missing child...you look at the family...statistically they are most likely to be involved) were coming out of concern for BRANDON. We wanted him found, we wanted the answers. We wanted to know what happened to him...we were WORRIED about him.
Brandon's parents have suffered a great tragedy. They certainly were not murderers, they were not bad parents. It may have been irresponsible of them to let Brandon storm out without going after him, especially given that he only had about 3 hours of daylight according to published reports. But that doesn't make them bad parents
They are not to blame for their son's death, but neither is the XBOX, neither is the video-gaming. There is no single way to place "blame" in this situation. Many things all bear small parts of the blame.
Many of the negative posts (the truely vitriolic) were directed at persons, such as yourself, who came here on the attack looking to spout anti-gamer rhetoric and insult us. Criticisms of Brandon's parents were based on logical and heatfelt wishes that he be found or answers gotten.
I call bullshit. I read many posts of the sort the day I trampled into this site. You just attack anyone new and doesn't share the same passion for gaming.
Think about it ---I was defending a loss boy, now deceased, and his parents, you were defending a fucking video game and console DUH>>>>
Ok, seriously, what difference does any of that make now?
Since no one can ask him, all we can do is speculate on why exactly he ran away, and none of that does any good as he is sadly no longer around to confirm anything.
The point is a young man's life was tragically cut short, and his parents, out of the goodness of their hearts have started a chairty in his honor for underpriveledged children who are unable to enjoy the sports Brandon loved.
And it is a great thing for them to do.
You can call bullshit if you want. You read many posts the day you came here. Did you check the archives? Did you count them up? Did you read every single post? Or did you just read some (like most of us) and post your own thoughts.
You were defending Brandon and his parents...you claim. Were you defending Brandon?
Think about it. You're responses have been about Brandon actually having "game addiction" ok...let's go with that.
How does that defend BRANDON? It doesn't, it defends the focus of the investigation on his Xbox. It has nothing to do with Brandon, it is a defense of his parent's claims and the investigations focus. It doesn't defend Brandon in any way. People weren't attacking Brandon for playing games. People were attacking the focus on the game angle as improper in light of the fact that, regardless of why he's missing, there's a missing child to look for.
Those arguing in the alternative argued that it was unlikely his XBOX would lead to anything concrete (unless the intent was to hunt down and question every person on his friend's list). The argument was that statistically there was a solid chance his parents might be involved. The argument was also that, regardless of WHY he left home, the focus on the XBOX was taking away from the actual search for him.
The media was focused on the "sexy" angle of "game addiction" which Brandon's parents and the police were feeding into by constantly talking about his "obsession" and his "addiction" and this idea that someone "internet gambling" was involved.
We actually suggested that, if Brandon was so compelled to play, that his gamertag (XBOX live ID) be released to that other XBOX users could add him...if he came online they could then notify the police. If Brandon was so compelled he would be trying to find a way to get on. Or, people who might have played with or communicated with Brandon.
Dennis put out a call to solicit suggestions on how the gamer community could help find Brandon.
There are certainly some gamers who attack. But there are such people in ANY group. You cannot (and in most cases I imagine would not) automatically assume that the immature attack dogs were emblematic of the group as a whole. That's called generalizing at best, stereotyping or prejudice at worst.
They never were suing Microsoft, and I highly doubted they would have in the first place giving that Microsoft did all they could to help.
Also, my hope is they would at least see and read the comments showing genuine concern for their son's safety and prayign he would be found, as I was doing, yet soemhow accordign to you I was only concerned about Microsoft or something.
I coudl have cared less about Microsoft so long as Brandon was found, and, very sadly, he wasn't found alive. That pretty quickly ruined my day when I found that out on here.
''Oh ya they will just put on their rose colored glasses and only see the nice posts.( few and far between)''
a) better than having anti-rose colored glasses and only seeing the nasty posts?
b) in case you havent noticed the MAJORITY of posts are condolances and well wishers. what i cant stand is that when arguments do start (look at the longest argument threads here) who is heavily involved in the argument / aggrivation each time?
YOU.
perhaps you should accept that since you are a common factor in all the arguments, you should stop posting if you cant post nicely. This thread should be a place to post your wishes and support. thats it. Instead, it continues to devolve into this. And each time you are involved.
Strange how us 'gamers' are all 'heartless' yet its not us hijacking the thread.
So you are saying it is bad that the gamming community is trying to be adult and actually put forward the olive branch?
The parents started this mess by jumping to some pretty increadable conclusions and slandering a whole group of people who, frankly, are tired of it.
Think about how it would have gone if the parents said 'we think some mexian guy took our kid! mexian guys are responsible! we should restrict imigration!'.. and then someone like you showed up on an imigration law site and started complaining that we were *gasp* offended by the slurs?
The parent murder theory was wrong, but looking at crime statitics it was FAR more crediable then the 'video game mafia' one. And given thier behavior they have no room to critisize anyone (esp people they have attacked) for jumping to saner conclusions then their own.
The parents started this mess by jumping to some pretty increadable conclusions and slandering a whole group of people who, frankly, are tired of it.
Oh Ya I remeber now, " they Said" " Brandon has been taken by the entire gaming community, we hate gamers and they are going to pay. Please please gamers everywhere please give us back our son...
You are paranoid and generally putting words into their mouths, not to say starting a hate thread...
Whoh, whoh...
I've tried to stay quiet, I really have, but I'm not asking for anyone's forgiveness and frankly, they aren't either. Well they shouldn't be. Why is it so difficult to understand that people are sometimes going to be judgemental. Doesn't even have anything to do with games, forget about the games. Pretend Brandon was playing tetherball and got knocked off his feet and hit his head on a rock or something. I don't know how it is Canada, but I know here there would be a sect of people wanting to use that as evidence that kids should be required to play tetherball with helmets.
Amen,
I don't know you, and I don't know the crisps. You probably won't believe me when I say this, but frankly, I'm not particularly interested in judging either of you. Pity you sure seem willing to judge us. I suggest that it doesn't matter what we think. We can build a temple to the crisps and it still wouldn't bring him back, nor would it necessarily make the crisps bad parents.
What I'm trying to say here is actually quite simple. If we believe that monkeys in rocket packs abducted Brandon, that doesn't make it true. It's just an opinion. If you believe that gamers are jerks, that doesn't make it true, it's just an opinion. If your problem with us is that we judge the crisps based on what we have available, well, guess what. Isn't that what you're doing to us? Let it go, go on with your life. Help the crisps with their foundation. We'll be going on with our lives.
Are...are you serious?
I think you are. What the hell is wrong with you?
Fine, he ran away because his XBOX got taken away. What exactly is your point?
I once got pissed because my parents took my copy of the Lord of the Rings away because I was reading it too much and they thought I wasn't doing my school reading.
Does that mean I was addicted to the Lord of the Rings? Maybe we should ban that.
Any activity is potentionally compulsion forming. Stamp collecting, a particular sport, video games, and yes, even reading. People can get lose in just about anything to the point where it takes over their lives.
That doesn't mean something is wrong with the activity. It usually means something is not right in that person's brain. It means there is some underlying psychological or chemical issue that is causing a fixation. People get hooked on many, many things. Blaming the thing is a disservice because it ignores the underlying problem.
Brandon's parents took his XBOX, fine. I can guarantee you (having seen it many, many times) that he would have, in short order, moved on to another fixation. Brandon was 15, that is the prime age to see the emergence of these kind of phsychological/chemical issues.
Tell me the last time you heard a headline----Boy missing--ran away because parents told him he could no longer read books!!!!!
I actually read that, sometime around when comic books were under a lot of controversy
岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」
Actually it still happens.
Many ultra-religious households can be very, very strict about their kid's reading habbits and I have seen conflicts over such things. And just like this case, the book becomes the 'straw that broke the camel's back' compared to all the other problems in such repression.
Tell me how many kids today enjoy reading books? Hell, I read about 500 pages of books, research, and news a day and I don't like reading books.
Taking away something you don't like isn't a punishment, and isn't going to start an argument. That's like telling a kid he can't have broccoli. Oh no, I can't eat a disgusting vegetable, what ever will i do?
I doubt very much this 'addiction' line and have the whole time. If he was addicted, he wouldn't have walked over to a tree, he would've walked to a friends house who had an Xbox 360.
Of course, I'm sure you know better.
No I do not know better, and Suicide and Murder have not been ruled out. The police are still investigating. A short time ago a young girl went missing here and they thought that she left on her own accord, the police said that all fould play was ruled out in her dissapearance.. low and behold.. they found her body severed and scattered in three different places.. They now have a two suspects and have confiscated their computors for evidence in the case...
Sure throws out the statement earlier right.. NO FOUL PLAY in missing girls dissapearance. Brandon had injuries that the coroner stated could have resulted from a fall from a tree. Well they could have resulted from other things as well. His chest was crushed. Hard to beleive that a fall from a tree would crush his chest.. but I do not know i have never fallen from a tree. Got stuck in one once, from bullies chasing me up into it. Then got my foot stuck... My parents came looking for me and helped me out...
Well lady I HAVE fallen from a tree, fractured 3 ribs hitting a branch on the way down trying to slow my fall, so yes, you can crush your chest falling from a tree.I'm not saying that that IS what happened, but I know from my own expierence that it is possible.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Few and far between? I can guarantee that if you count up the posts you will find the posts expressing concern, condolence, and suggestions for finding this young man alive will outnumber (perhaps vastly) the negative posts.
Fine I will go back and check... how about that.?????
Madam. I am posting as a moderator here. This thread was rather civil and the overall demeanor of the conversations were in support of this charity.
You were the one who came in here flame throwers blazing and derailed this thread. Please knock it off. If you have condolenses to share or support to Brandon's parents, feel free to leave those. But I will not have you attacking the people of this site the way you have been.
E. Zachary Knight
Who's atacking, I make one comment on how some have insensitive and every attacks me for my comment... Face it... I could have written the Lords Prayer in a post and they still would have attacked. And I know you don't like me either ...
As I said. The overall demeanor of the comments was in support of the Crisp families charity and you chose to focus on the most negative comments.
I don't understand why you assume I don't like you. I have said nothing to you until now. When you first showed up, I was fine with you comments, but you quickly escilated to attacking those who didn't see eye to eye with you. There were many civil and well thought out counter arguments to your claims of gaming addiction, with a few crass remarks dotted within and yet all you had to come back with were insults and attacks.
I don't care if you post as long as it is civil and on topic. You can disagree with others all you want. You can even post those disagreements. I don't care.
But when you openly attack the majority of people here by taking the words of a few and implying that it is the majorities opinion. That is going to far.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Well what's the old saying you guys are alway pushing down my throat....the minority and negative stands out the loudest...
But when you openly attack the majority of people here by taking the words of a few and implying that it is the majorities opinion. That is going to far.
Going to far-- so it is ok for the members here to call me anything they like, because I am the bad one for responding to the so called few for being so far opinioniated up the ass that they only see the crisis as a backward step in the so called fight for their hobby.
Like I said before, my husband plays games, he also searched for Brandon.. did he ever make a judgment on their statements about their sons's gaming obbession, did he stand their and tell Steve right to his face that he was an idiot for making that claim and that he didn't know his son at all and that he was in poor judgement to blame gaming addiction and that he ran away because he was a bad parent, and he should be the one under suspicion because, 80% of the time it is the parents that murder their child and nothing else.. And maybe we should tell them at the funeral tommorow that they should make a public appology to all the insulted gamers out there that have been so deeply affected by their claims of their child being addicted to gaming..and spent so much time and money in the search for your son.
Stop telling me what I am suppose to do and how I am suppose to repond to such idiotic remarks. Stop telling me that I am attacking the majority. I may have generalized in the past, but then again the negative and most idiotic remarks stand out and deserve a response for their comments.
I am not as thick Skinned as others, and I wish you would all just stop telling me how to respond or post. I have kept it civil as asked, but as far as telling me what I comment on and what I can't, that is sensoring or cyber bullying.
Ma'am, with all due respect, this is the internet., since there are no reprecusssion, for isntance getting yelled out or punched in the gut for a comment, people are going to be jerks and are going to be insensitive, though not all are.
Since "I'll pray for you" is generally 'Christian'* for "Fuck you" when it's unsolicited, yeah, we would've attacked.
* For Christians like JT and you, not the ones that actually strive to be Christ like.
I never claimed to be a christian, and you can not make assumptions just because I speak of christianity,,,Just like I can't judge you are living in a mental instituation just becaue you act like a mental patient.......
You never claimed to be Christian, but I'd be willing to place a bet on it.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
there you go again, can't you do anything without placing a bet... probably one of your addictions right? Gambling.
I know where you can get some help if you need it... LMAO...
Where is that? A 12 step program that'll force religion down his throat?
You know, for someone who is actually going to be in the field HELPING those with addictions, I really have to find your gross overgeneralization of all things "addicting" simple minded at best. Of course, since you know more than me, I bet you'd have no problem giving a lecture on how addiction actually takes place, the genetic vs reinforcement debate, the psychology of true addiction, and the ramifications of brain trauma on addictions. I'm also betting you have been published and probably even funded by the hundreds of government organizations who are emphasizing the study of addiction. I'm also sure that you've helped hundreds of people detox, recover from relapse, and know how to handle an alcoholic that is having a seizure during withdrawal.
Please... I doubt you could even adequately define the different base components of addiction, let alone know what they are.
By the by, wasnt this entire thread about how awesome it is that they are using the death of their son to help others? You, madam, are the reason... You know what, no. I'm done with you. I'm done trying to reason with you. I'm done trying to help you understand the folly of your misguided crusade and self proclaimed martyrdom. If you want to continuously throw yourself to the lions and then whine when those in the coliseum cry for your blood, then so be it.
You know, for someone who is actually going to be in the field HELPING those with addictions, I really have to find your gross overgeneralization of all things "addicting" simple minded at best
Has gaming really taken you out of reality that bad... I never said that I was going into the field of helping those with addictions... It was a sarcastic remark... But I am not as uneducated as you make me out to be...Probably older than most on this site and a little more in tune than I let on...
No, I was referring to myself. I should have said AS someone who is going into the helping profession, but it's a wee bit past my bedtime, so I'll let that be my excuse for my typo. Some of us have to be up for work tomorrow morning ;) I'll just leave my post unedited because it shows just how blatantly you are grasping at straws.
''Probably older than most on this site ... ''
really? how old am i then? i mean you DO know dont you? oh.. you dont? ahh right.. you were STEREOTYPING again werent you?
I dont understand why you cant see that this is exactly the same as generalising a whole race, age, gender ..etc. ITs JUST as bad. PLEASE stop doing it.
I'll agree, especially with the use of the name Yahweh and Amen4u (Yahweh is judeo-chrisitan title for God),
Alright I'm shutting down now. E. Zachary Knight, I bear some responsibility for derailing the thread and I apologize. Amen4u I guess just really pushed my buttons but I should have posted my first response and just let it go at that.
It's abundantly clear that she isn't interested in discussion or debate, only in attacking and I don't want to sidetrack this thread anymore. Besides...I have law school work I should be doing.
Again, sorry for hijacking the thread. To bring it back on topic.
Good for Brandon's parents. Athletics are certainly something to get kids involved in and it's a great cause. Nice to see that something good is going to come out of this kind of tragedy. If I had any money I'd donate, but alas, I'm living off Law School loans right now.
I apologize. Amen4u I guess just really pushed my buttons but I should have posted my first response and just let it go at that.
It's abundantly clear that she isn't interested in discussion or debate, only in attacking and I don't want to sidetrack this thread anymore. Besides...I have law school work I should be doing.
Ya it's so nice for you to appologize yet hide a slammer inside for me,,
So typical of a person who is studying law.
And FYI you might want to look up the word "Bear"
Again the question must be asked, why are you here? If it is only to antagonize then you really have to expect the way you are being treated. What you are doing is akin to punching someone in the face and then bitching when they defend themselves.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Are you serious, I think that I have been beat up for 1000 people on this thread, and yu have the gull to tell me that I am being unkind. THEN TAKE OFF THOSE HORSE BLINDERS Its a free world right.. Why are you here?????
i dont know what else you expect..
If i put on a giant sign saying ''All members of (insert a particular race or culture here ) are genetically inferior and (add inults here) " and then walked around an area predominantly habited by those same people.... would i be suprised if i got insulted?
Its narrow-minded, rude, ignorant, and just plain wrong to prejudge and generalise in the ways you have (and continue) to do. As long as you insist on not debating constructively, you wont get anything better back. We are always welcome and open to new members gamer or non gamer, it has no bearing. What matters is that they share a simple respect.
Yes that is exactly what I am telling you. You have no discernable purpose here that I've seen other than to berate the people here. So again I ask, why the fuck are you here?
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Because she is a troll? Too well spoken for a /b/tard but seems to be in it for the lulz anyway.
Probably someone who simply really likes feeling superior over a group of people that she sees as less then human (or at least less then her class) and thus needs to validate her pathedic existance by trolling sites she doesn't agree. You don't go on the attack outside your community like this unless you are getting something out of it.
Esp since her original explination of why she came here doesn't hold water... looking for clues? On a politics site? More like looking for a site that is going to be reporting on the sillyness of the parent's accusations so she could start off with claims of insensitivty. GP was a well choosen target by a practiced troll, nothing more.
Alright, seriously, I'm all for second chances for people and letting forums moderate themselves, but somebody needs to ban this bitch. When you talk down to lawyers in general, that's when you lose all sympathy from me.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
AE: Okay, that's enough. I'm stopping it right here and deleting everything below this point as it's gone off topic and devolved into namecalling.
Why would he have to look up the word Bear?
Its defined as 12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. ``The credit of bearing a part in the conversation.'' --Locke.
It made sense to me.
1) I wasn't apologizing to you. I was apologizing to EZK and this community for being a part of the problem. If I wanted to apologize to you, I would have, and left it at that. I'm quite capable of making two points, to two or more different parties, in one post
2) There are 33 meanings of the word "Bear." The one I was using is meaning number 9:
9. to suffer; endure; undergo: to bear the blame.
3) Thank you for the slam on my chosen profession. Of course, you wouldn't know that I volunteer my own time at pro bono clinics to help people withe landlord tenant disputes and domestic relations issues. You also might be interested to know that I plan to go into JDR (Juvenile and Domestic Relations) Prosecution. Certainly not a big money-maker. But hey, someone has to go after people who abuse their spouses and children. And at least the juvenile system gives a chance of rehabilitiation in my state as opposed to the adult prison system.
And here I was hoping for an interesting conversation about the actual article...
Sorry blame it all on me, it is all my fault, Thought I would say it before someone else did.
At least it's a lot more civil than it was.
If you want to debate, do so without name calling, direct insults, and generalization. Keep the debate factual, structured, and clean. We have debates around here all of the time, but they normally stick to some form of logical progression and dont go toward direct insults unless we are joking around with each other or JT because he is fun to joke around with.
I can see the logic behind jack though. He thinks he is doing something for the greater good. Half of what is going on with you has nothing about any greater good, but just arguing with people, and half the time not even related to the topic at hand. If you need to vent, then by all means do so, to a professional psychologist/therapist or your family to help you through your frustrations.
If you want to vent toward the gaming community, there are better places than here. Some of them are places created for just that even. You are welcome here by all means when talking or debating about the topic at hand, but only if you stick with the rules. If someone directly insulted you and called you a bitch like I believe you stated above, then they were far out of line, but there is no reason to sink to their level. (I come here to joke around [like talking about duct taping and chaining mike up], have fun, and check up on news Dennis has posted more than anything though.)
If we are debating, I might take a few deep shots and question your knowledge, facts, and experience, but that is part of a debate. You did it to me about my knowledge if your situation, it is just how it works. I questioned your Mario Bros addiction due to the type of game it is, and asked for more information about that story even. Maybe I could learn something from it. I would love to discuss further about that if you wish even. How we do so would be up to you even.
My background in psychology is well respected by licensed psychologists and the area I was focusing around was addiction and depression, which every case of addiction I have seen has been linked to depression. I am not going any deep on that here though.
I love to learn and research many different things, sciences, history, and so on. I watch at least 2 hours of video or read different items posted by professionals in different fields of science. I just love to learn, and hate seeing how many people are so far behind in knowing so much about these areas where man kind could progress. (I love how Canadians said pro-gress compared to the US's progress with no emphasis on o giving it an ah sound. I love how Aussies say aluminum too.)
Now that you know a little more about me, lets all just be friends and be civil.
---
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Shit like this always happens with stories like these. People will be talking about it normally for a while, some people will crack an innapropriate joke or 2 (which I'm ok with, it's the freaking internet after all), and then in comes the paly to ruin the thread for everyone. In any case, there's not to much to discuss. It was an appropriate move by the parents, and I'm thankful that they didn't try to direct misguided rage against the gaming community. They could have really fucked us over in the news, but they decided to harness the media attention the death of their son got them and do something productive to help other people. It's an example that more should follow.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
And you calling me a bitch was inappropriate too.
Case in fucking point. Will you just stop already! I don't care if it was inappropriate!
Andrew, I don't usually like telling people what to do if it doesn't directly affect me, but compare the comments before Amen4u entered the discussion to the ones afterwards. Not to hard to identify the source of the problem here, is it?
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Amen4u is welcome to express her opinion as long as it's on topic and civil. No one had to respond to her post but any who want to are welcome to as long as they follow the same criteria. EZK, GP, and I will do our best to keep an eye on things and intervene if things get out of hand.
Andrew Eisen
You're more liberal than I am. That's OK I guess. I rather have a liberal moderator than one who bans the second things start to get a little hairy.
EDIT: Of course, sometimes it's easier to nip it in the bud than to have to keep clipping away at the thread.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
You know we were just having a civilized discussion and you break it up,,,,,,
True, but it was off topic. Still, if I had the ability to clip out the middle portion of a thread I would have left that bit in.
Andrew Eisen
then why did you leave the part where she called me a bitch,,,,,,
Because I want it to be clear why I cut it off at that point.
Andrew Eisen
Well I never called anyone names, and your deleting a portion anly leaves the rest to the imagination...
You're welcome to reply to that post and clarify as such if you'd like.
Andrew Eisen
Are you joking..... why would I do that.... why don't you clarify your reason instead?
I feel my reason for clipping the thread where I did is clear.
Andrew Eisen
Of course you do, why would I think you were any different.
I'm not following you. What exactly are you taking issue with?
Andrew Eisen
You're a gamer, you're a part of the conspiracy. Blah blah blah.
Seriously though, good job Andy (do you take issue with that moniker), I'm sick of Brandon's memory getting fouled up by those who purport to be 'on his side'.
AE: If I told you some of the nicknames my sister has for me I'd have to ban myself!
So yeah, "Andy" is fine.
Now I know exactely why the Crisp family do not want their son's name to remebered as a gamer....
AE: Going to clip the thread here. I understand where you're coming from but not all gamers are as disreputable as you seem to think. Are some? Of course; every group has its assholes. But check out the comments time stamped 7p and earlier. The vast majority of them are from gamers offering their heartfelt condolences for the Crisp's loss and kind words of encouragement towards the foundation.
Also, check out the Gamers Doing Good articles for even more examples.
Yes but would it have been the same if they decided to sue, or make a bigger issue out of gaming addiction. I do not think so, or they would have stepped up right at the first.. Maybe I do have a bias opion on gamers now and maybe I am generlaizing, but what I have experienced here is to blame.. Go ahead and say that we are all human,and defensive over games, come on now, when was putting gaming over a life being human.
Hey, I totally understand where you're coming from. But again, check out all of the earlier Brandon articles. The ones prior to the report of his death were chockfull of genuine hope that the lad would turn out to be okay and the ones afterwards where filled with genuine offers of condolences.
That said, there were a good number of repugnant posts as well. But those posts are representative of the individuals who posted them, not gamers as a whole.
"Yes but would it have been the same if they decided to sue, or make a bigger issue out of gaming addiction."
To directly answer your question, I'm positive we would have seen a mix of posts. Some understanding of where the Crisps were coming from (in this hypothetical situation), some pissy that their hobby is being attacked again, and some whose feelings lie somewhere in between.
Andrew Eisen
I can say with ultimate certainty that I would have been pissy. There would be far fewer condolences offered. I would be able to see where the parents are coming from, but a dick move is a dick move no matter what the (hypothetical) situation.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Is it not a dick-move to place your hobby above anothers life? Believe me, I understand where you are coming from, we're ostracized almost every step of the way, but if we only see our own viewpoint and not others, we are doomed from the start.
Yeah, that's a dick move too. That's not what I'm doing though. The kid is dead, and crucifying gamers isn't going to bring him back, nor is it the right thing to do. What I'm doing is being thankful that the parents chose not to do that. Do I give a shit about the kid or the parents? No. Am and being callous? Yes. Am I being a dick? Probably. But I still see their viewpoint.
EDIT: Incidentally, how far to the right can these posts be indented before we run into trouble?
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Reply to edit: Depends on the browser and screen resolution, I guess, lol.
I understand your reasoning friend, but my point is that you should understand hers as well. Callousness is not a substitute for perception.
Understand whose? The *ahem* distinguished lady's? I understand it just fine. Thing is, I like my reasoning a lot better.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Nor is crucifying him or his parents. Or me for standing up to dicks. And why are you thankful that they didn't crucfy gaming, what personal attack did they represent to you. They said Brandon had an addiction to gaming, not that all gamers were evil.
You took their understanding of why he ran away as a persoanl attack against gamers. They were concerned that maybe, just maybe he was lured by some sick asshole preying on kids..It happens everywhere on the net and on the streests.
Hey "ma'm", don't go putting words in people's mouths. I actually don't care what their understanding of why he ran away is as long as they don't actually turn it into a public attack on gamers.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Okay, let me break this down for you. The original view of his parents (or that portrayed by the media) was that his XB360 gaming was at fault for his (death) disappearance. If you can't see that due to previous statements given by them, then all my time this morning has been wasted, as you will never see reason. Put yourself in our position, every step we take forward as gamers (and there are lots of them, reference the Gamers Doing Good tag on this site for just a small portion) the media and general public knock us two steps back. Yes, there were those being defensive. Just as Brandon's parents were doing. If we are to ever come to a constructive end to the 'gaming addiction problem', there needs to be a fair viewpoint presented. If you let your comments be colored by your beliefs, just as those you chastise have, then there will never be a solution to the problem. I will admit that there can be an addiction to anything, because addiction is a personality trait, it is not the fault of a specific cause. Obsessive people become obsessed with whatever is either accessible or forbidden (usually both at the same time) to them. Brandon may have become obsessed with Call of Duty 4, and when wind came here of the news, mosts reaction was 'Fuck, not again.' and the defensiveness followed. However, and I may just be too optimistic for the real world, most can understand the true issue is the loss of a young boy, whose life meant something to those around him, and due to media coverage, those who have never even met him. I really do feel for and with you, as many here do, contrary to their comments. The entire event is sad, I just wish you could lose the venom and feel with us as I feel for you.
Edit: Holy shit, it's the great wall of text.
But I think most people were on the defense right away..myself I had no opinion one way or another until I got attacked for standing up for what was being so cruely stated here about Brandon and His parents. My husband is out searching for a lost boy, who's parents are devasted.. everything is going through their minds at this point.. They are asked by police.. WHAT HAPPENED. their reply. We have been having trouble with this xbox situation and when we took it away he ran way...For the love of GOD, these parents were not on a witch hunt, they were a hunt for their son. a son they loved very much...
Most people were on the defense right away because that's what we've been trained to do after countless video game witch hunts. You can't blame us for that. You got attacked not because you stood up to people who were berating the Crisps, but because you chastized people who expressed relief that the Crisps chose not to go after gaming in general, under the assumption that they didn't appreciate the fact that a boy just died. In my case you were right, but I doubt those other people felt no empathy for the Crisps.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
This goes way beyond today my dear...
What made you think I was a woman? Was it the frequent use of profanity or my total lack of empathy?
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Internet troll > internet paladin
...wut?
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Right. And if you look at the history of this site, you will realize that for us, it is a beacon of hope. A beacon that one day somebody in your position will read it, and try to understand what you didn't previously. We are the utter and complete minority in EVERY gaming debate, solely because we have a passion for truely interactive entertainment? We embrace the technology of our era, and we are beaten down, censorsed, and accused for what we love. Is it so wrong for those of us who choose to be defensive? For those of us who react instantly with 'Oh no, not again' sentiments? What part of society is free from these ills, I ask you? We try to be understanding, we try to be logical, but time and time again our past-time is viewed as for childen, and insignificant. Of course they loved their son, but for many here, on this site, which you have chosen to voice your opinion on, our daily reality is attack. Defense is a natural mechanism, is it not? Had you worded your arguments more carefully, I promise you would have those who would sympathize with you and Brandon's family.
So in better terms, if my child dies of an overdoes to cocaine, I better not go to a site that people are all cocaine users bcause I am banging my head againts the wall... is this fair to say?
Is this not common sense?
lol! You'd think so, huh. God, I'm laughing so hard. You phrased that comment very well.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Well one would think that when a boys goes missing, and they suspect foul play, and an addiction to gaming, you might, just might get some help form a gaming site. Not everyone is on a linching here.
Help! Help! I'm being compressed!!!
''So in better terms, if my child dies of an overdoes to cocaine, I''
THAT right there is the problem.. you are analagising, but once again you show that you feel brandon died because of an addiciton to his xbox. the whole point was that that wasnt the case!
And to answer your full question..
if a) cocaine had no proven negative consequences
and b) taking cocaine was a socially acceptable, and legal , past time
then yeah.. if you went to a bunch of cocaine users saying cocaine killed him.. then i dont really see your point, you would meet opposition to your view. What else would you expect?
Bad example.
A better one would be if someone commited suicde over breaking up with their girlfriend then going to a feminist politics website and ranting about how women are evil and should never have been given the rigth to vote because this is what happens.
Oddly enough you are also showing why Christians have such a bad reputation. Starting with an offensive screen name was not a good start and jumping in immediatly with 'gamers are insenstive adicts and this is all games fault!' didn't help.
And of course people would react differntly if they decided to sue. Tradegy is not an exuse for injustice and as long as the parents are doing bad things then a site dedicated to tracking and fighting such things is going to react poorly.
Well for one, my screen name is not offensive and if you assume that I choose it for christian purposes, then think again. But the entire world assumes so you are forgiven, And I have never once, not once talked about or even metioned religion on here. I also never once blamed the console for anything, never blamed gamers, never blamed xbox, I only stated that the Crisps stated that Brandon had an addiction to COD4 and that is what the argument was about and why he ran away... If the arguement was about anything else then I would have stated that too. But in all reality I probably would not have stumbled in here if the arguement was about him wanting to figure skate instead of play hockey.. I don't know....I have never met so many people in one place so damn defensive about a hobby.
If they decided to sue or make a bigger issue it wouldn't have been the same. They spent most of the investigation blaming 'game addiction' and an 'internet gaming mafia ring' or pedophiles for kidnapping their son, which kept the police from looking nearby for the child, who, if I've been hearing correctly, was 2 blocks away from his home when he was found. As for filing a lawsuit against Microsoft, that's both ungrateful and unreasonable. The parents are responsible for their child, not Microsoft.
How wrong you are, in everything you just said. Brandon was found miles away from his home, not 2 blocks, the police didn't know where to search until they got a call that Brandon was seen in a certain location...whereupon my husband and his search team then had a location to now search...And if you weren't blind you would read the article and not just the damn headlines...
Question: When your local search teams got the information about him being seen with his bike, why didn't they search there? Or are your search teams just worthless?
"...you're a part of the conspiracy."
Do you realize you sound like JT when you say that?
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Her calling me a bitch isn't inappropriate???
It's quite inapproriate, hence why it was left. Like Andrew said, he's attempting to make it clear why the thread was pruned. You don't ALWAYS have to have the last word, ma'am.
I didn't want to have the last word, but I also don't want the last thing read was some bimbo calling me a bitch either, get my point....
This is understandable, but by allowing your follow-up comments, the fire gets bigger. As much as we'd like to please everybody, including you, it's not possible. By deleting the 'bitch' comment, that leg of the thread would appear incoherent, and allow more scornful follow up. It may be hard for you to recognize right now, but it's really for the best. I attempt to be respectful in my debates, and though many of the people here have as twisted, if not more, a sense of humor as I do, I don't believe either side of a debate should lodge any sort of insult. I sincerely apologize if you feel wronged, but please try to see passed the insults to the core of the issue that you're obviously so passionate about. Eloquent arguments far outweight childish insults, do they not?
wow do you have a split personality, because this was not your attitude last night or before. You were quite ignorant to me....Why the change of attitude.
Split personality? Not so much. I am compassionate, while also being quite cynical. We are all products of our environment. Hence why I reference the 'twisted' sense of humor I posess. The humor was at your expense, admittedly, but as I said previously, I'm tired of Brandon's memory being invoked in this argument. Yes, he gamed. To what extent? Only him (rest his soul) and his family know the answer. Now his parents are attempting to turn this wholly negative into a positive, and rather than sit back and watch you and my compatriots (however unintentionally) turn this into another flame war, I'm attempting to exercise my better nature. How long will it last? I don't know, but this has to end, because it's far from constructive.
Didn't you say earlier that you didn't call people names?
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Internet troll > internet paladin
No, all the formatting tools you need should be immediately above the text entry box. Bold, italics, bullets, hyperlinks, emoticons...the works.
Andrew Eisen
lol Apple fails again. Seriously though, maybe GP should expose an RSS backend, because the resolution constraints on this page are most likely at fault. However, let me say you made quite the coherent post, and I hope your screen isn't too smudged that you can't read this. :P
"lol Apple fails again."
Filters fail worse.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
That is why we are different. And no offense, but I wish not to reply to your post.
OMG! This thread turned into a train wreck of epic proportions!
AE: The rest is going a bit too far so I've deleted it.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
For the record I disagree. The thread is a train wreck now and my other comments did not break any of the rules. However I understand you are trying to control the situation nonetheless.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
Upon reflection I've put the first part of your post back. The rest stays gone however as it's merely finger pointing and name calling and won't do anything more than start another flame war which (as you've noticed) this article has enough of.
Andrew Eisen
No worries. Again I understand your intentions. I did not intend the rest to be taken as finger pointing and or name calling statement it was meant in a light humor way. The way we all take JT and his antics. Apparently I clearly failed to communicate.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
I support what they have setup here and I would donate $$$ if I had $$$ right now. I might next month. :) I wish them all the luck with this.
- Warren Lewis
Hah! It's killed your pics too!
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Double facepaln... i like it...
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Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Amen4u, you're a tool. You're attacking the majority of people on the site based on quotes taken out of context and the posts of a minority element. You know what that means? It means you lack integrity.
The vast majority of posts up to the point you came on here were in favor of the Crisp family's endeavor. What the hell is your problem? Do you dispise us because we have a hobby that we enjoy? Do you resent that we have a passion for interactive story telling in an electronic medium? Does it offend you that we wish to defend our choice of hobby from unwarranted attack?
From your posts, it seems you only wish to start a fight. That's a pretty pathetic way to live. In the immortal words of John Bruce "Duuuur, I'm a lawyer... oh wait..." Thompson, "Grow up and get a life".
RE: A prior note about not having heard news stories about a kid running away because they had their books taken away...
No, we may not have heard of such news stories in major news media venues. Maybe not even in small news media venues. Not in present days anyway.
But here are some facts that were ignored:
Decades ago, the evils of rock n' roll, various dance styles, comic books, even very notable literature were blamed for various acts by young people. From violent acts against others to "immoral thoughts" and even rude behavior. It would not be of any surprise that if one did a thorough search (and not all information is on the internet, sadly), one might find various op-ed pieces, or even small local newspaper articles blaming those things for even the disappearance of a child. Indeed, it was very popular to flat out blame the internet just a decade or so ago for children's disappearances without considering that the Parents weren't observant enough or moderating their children enough. The tech was to blame much of the time when the focus went to the Parents. Not to mention that children would lash out when they preceived their personal Rights violated. This also became popular in the '80s and '90s with the ability to "divorce" one's Parents.
Another point is that a great many events occur that never make it into the press, even local events. It would take an entire network devoted solely to children disappearing to report every current child going missing and those that still are. A single 30 minute news report cannot cover every single story that occurs even locally.
Spouse A has been a victim of abuse for all their lives and has never reported the abuse. Now they are abuse victims in adulthood.... yadda yadda.
Child B has been abused in school for the past several years and authority figures tell them to "not be a tattle tale", which will some day make them Adult C who will have been a life long victim of abuse.... yadda yadda.
Homeless person Q has been on drugs all their live and died this morning. Their life experience included... (7 hour montage).
Spouse 12 has gone missing and is thought to have run away from home. Speculations include.... yadda yadda.
Child Purple took a bottle of pills and died late last night. We only ask the people who thought little of them and those who knew them best were Goths and so their viewpoint doesn't count.
Adult Messiah decided that what they had been taught for decades in their religious circle was reason enough to go shoot up a gay bar. But Adult Messiah was just nutty or maybe the gays deserved it because they are "immoral". No reason to look sideways at the religion.
If you've ever heard the old saying that there are a lot of stories in the big city, one needs to realize that 97% of them aren't written down and 99% most people couldn't give a poop about because it doesn't affect them directly or even very close indirectly.
We haven't heard of a kid running away because they couldn't read their books? Who's to say that some "morally superior" Anti-Freedom of Speech twit didn't drive the kid's Parents into believing that Harry Potter, Mark Twain, and Shakespeare were spawns of the devil and the only book they should have in their home should be the Christian Bible (the one with the Hot Sacrament mod that says bigotry, hate, lies, deceit, ignorance, dishonor, and corruption are "moral" acts so long as they are committed by those who follow that particular version of the Bible). Having been "mentally molested" (a term used by another individual) by such obscene ideals, in the child's view, didn't decide to run away to be free of such things? And would any major news venue carry that much detail? Or would there be a nice little spin on the issue, if carried at all?
No, we might not have heard of a kid running away fro that reason.
Doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Is it sad that I have that domo as a plush doll on my bed?
Amy Levandoski
Actually, that makes you the coolest female on the internet!
Yay!
Amy Levandoski
You win the Internet.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
:: Sneaks in ::
In the words of Ray from the movie "Deal Of The Century":
:: Pulls flamethrower out of burned up car's trunk. ::
Gonna give ya a little touch up!
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
In an attempt to get it back on topic!
I think this is a very honorable thing for the parents to do. I know I wanted to be a part of sports as a kid and some things, Mom couldn't afford it. There will always be tragedy but some of the greatest things happen from those sort of things. Perhaps in his death, they will help tons of children get the things their own son missed out on. I give my kudos to them, and I hope for the best!
Amy Levandoski
Unfortunately folks, I think we need to let this thread die. If Amen4U wants to continue to post here she should have to do it in silence with no response. She's a holy warrior on crusade, she has decided we are the enemy and therefore anything we say is completely irrelevant and unworthy of consideration.
It is the refuge of zealot, she dehumanizes, demeans and disregards the statements of anyone who doesn't agree with her. She doesn't have to give any consideration to our opinions, our thoughts, our statements, because we are the evil video gamers who are (in her mind) at least partially responsible for Brandon's death.
Nevermind why a 15 year old (who was at least 14 when he got the game) was playing a game rated for 17 year olds.
Nevermind that we have displayed genuine concern for Brandon and genuine sadness that he is gone.
Nevermind that we have applauded his parents who this worthwhile charity and even offered our own donation money.
We are the enemy, we are evil. It's easy to just attack when you consider your enemy somehow less than human.
She isn't interested in talking, debate, constructive criticism. She's blinded by prejudice, she's taken the statements of a few and decided that we are all addicted, pimple-faced, ignornant, mouth-breathing cave dwellers who are incapable of empathy or intelligent, rational thought.
I've come to realize there is no arguing with her. She lives in her own close-minded world, a world in which video games are a great evil and in which video gamers, all video gamers, are responsible for the death of a 15 year old boy.
So let's stop responding to her, let her post, let her talk to herself. We'll just move on and ignore her posts. She can rant, rave, scream, respond to our posts. From now on, I'll act like I don't even see it.
Talking to her is like talking to a brick wall. So as far as I'm concerned, I'll return the favor. For her, I'll make talking to me like talking to a brick wall.
C... Can I still talk to you? D: You won't become a brick wall to -me- right?
I agree with you. S'why I stopped responding to her in the last thread myself.
Amy Levandoski
Unfortunately folks, I think we need to let this thread die. If Amen4U wants to continue to post here she should have to do it in silence with no response. She's a holy warrior on crusade, she has decided we are the enemy and therefore anything we say is completely irrelevant and unworthy of consideration.
Wow do you think that I want a response....
It is like I posted before (but was removed) but I'll be more expressive this time:
Amen4U is imbued with the self-righteous and ever brimstone and fire breathing game hatin' spirit of JT. Sent here to torment our very souls for all eternity.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
It just clicked... Amen4U is Ms. Thompson! Who else would praise JT, blame videogames and have so many people hate them in such a short time...
And when can we expect the police to press child endangerment charges? Letting the Crisp's get away with this without prosecution would be the true injustice. There are so many things that they could have done better, if they had a lick of common sense.
Why would Mrs. Thompson involve herself?
- Warren Lewis
It just clicked... Amen4U is Ms. Thompson! Who else would praise JT, blame videogames and have so many people hate them in such a short time...
Ya like I said before, you put your own demeaning comments into the post.. just to add to the hate. You are a bunch of cyber bullies.
Was this before or after you questioned my mental health?
Brandon loved sports before he was told he could no longer play Hockey due to his size.
Woah woah woah, back up a second here. He loved sports, but was given a stupid reason not to play and forced to give it up? (Our national sport, no less!) And nobody thought to wonder if that would have a negative effect on his psyche, and maybe cause him to withdraw from social engagements? Nobody's bothered to mention it as a potential theory as to his running away, either in opposition to or in tandem with the gaming addiction theory?
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The Mammon Industry
Woah woah woah, back up a second here. He loved sports, but was given a stupid reason not to play and forced to give it up? (Our national sport, no less!)
It is fact all over the world.. size is everything in the world of sports..did it have an effect, who knows....but probaby.. what youare going to chnage the facts now and back up to when he was told he couldn't play hockey any more..
the fact is he engaged into something that was an obssession in his life. COD4..Go ahead and blame his coach now for not picking him into the draft three years ago... anything to use as a scapegoat to avoid the real cause of him running away.
He ran away because he was spoiled little shit. I know plenty of smaller than average people who play hockey, and they are damn good at it to. Maybe he wasn't picked for his team because he lacked motivation, or maybe he LIED to his parents about not making the team because he wanted to do something besides hockey. Regardless of the what and the who of it all, his gaming uncontrollably was a symptom of deeper issues and not the cause of said deeper issues.
You know what would have fixed all of this? A belt, a knee and his ass.
Just like you and how you beat your kids right..
Spankings are not beatings, so stop your liberal sob story about how kids who are taught respect are abused. Most of the so-called spankings in my life were the simple threat of punishment, and that kept me in line. Oh, and look, I'm older than 15 and haven't fallen out of any trees.
Take that COD4, I win.
Well here in Canada , we don't beat our kids here. And too bad your parents don't lay a beating on you now for you disrespect. Maybe if you had got a few more of those you wouldn't be so ignorant.
Well here in Canada , we don't beat our kids here. And too bad your parents don't lay a beating on you now for you disrespect. Maybe if you had got a few more of those you wouldn't be so ignorant.
My question is this - when are they going to start looking for the real killers? I mean surely they haven't suddenly given up on the notion that this was the work of an X-box stalker who lured Brandon away in order to sexually abuse him. I mean, what gives?
The thing is, there must be literally thousands of X-box and internet stalkers who are getting away scot free just because the police "can't find any evidence". Should a lack of evidence stop an investigation? NO! You go on, you get to the botttom of it, and you find these maniacs! X-box is teeming with crazed psychopaths and no one - not even the parents of a stalker victim - cares to do anything about it.
Find the stalkers! Find them before they strike again! Stop stalkers from stalking via the stalky tubes of the X-box interweb! Won't someone think of the children?
Your parody-fu is strong!
All kidding aside, they need to find evidence of the murderers - manufacture it if necessary. The police could have thousands of these X-box Live players behind bars if only the police would take their jobs seriously and just manufacture some evidence - plant a glove - something that can lead a jury to a conviction of a few thousand completely innoc... oops, I mean guilty... X-box live players.
As I said before, someone needs to think of the children... then they need to find gloves, socks, or preferably underpants of X-box live players and place them near suspiciously dead bodies. I mean what could be the harm?
But REALLY seriously, my point is this - this 'Brandon Crisp Foundation' thing is all well and good, but where is the apology? Why does that accusation that the parents and the police made (the idea that Brandon was lured away by an X-box stalker) get to just hang in the ether, adding to the urban myth that the internet is chock full of maniacs who just want to abduct teens? I realise that the parents are grieving, and I realise that the police are in 'cover-ass' mode due to getting involved in a needless investigation of Brandon's fellow gamers, but they said some harmful things that need to be put right. The parents and the police should come out and admit that their first reactions were based on prejudice and do not reflect any sort of reality.
At this point, is one really needed? They dropped it. Thats enough for me.
- Warren Lewis
Well, the problem is, dropping it really isn't dropping it, is it. The idea that the internet is full of maniac child sex fiends has not been dropped - it's only been boosted by this latest news cycle. No one - not the parents and not the police - has said in public that this stalker notion was flawed. Thanks to this story, more people (the folks who tuned in only to hear the stalker accusations and who tuned out when the story was dropped from the front page) now fear that the internet is a virtual stalker heaven, and that translates into more wackyness, more politicians clamouring for restrictions on games and internet access, and our hobby suffers. Plus, when another incident like this comes up, the police are even more likely to go off on another wild goose chase, responding to completely unfounded public fears and looking for stalkers who don't exist.
The internet can be. How do you know it isn't? Maybe not FULL of them but you know they are there somewhere. Thats why you have all these programs out on the internet that is to keep children safe. In this day in time you have to think this.
- Warren Lewis
They aren't there. How do I know? Because internet gaming is profoundly UNSUITED to stalking. I mean have you ever seen the face of anyone you play with online (except for your IRL friends?) Probably not, and even if you think you have, you could be wrong, as people often use false images and even false ages online. That means there is no way a stalker knows who he's stalking in the first place (or whether he is sexually attracted to him/her). Also, your nearest neighbours in an online game (except for your school buddies) are likely to be several hundred miles away or more. That means that even if a stalker could find out what a fellow gamer looks like (which he can't), he's probably going to be hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of miles away from his target. Trust me, if pedophile stalkers are out there, they don't bother with online games when they have a school two blocks away.
The whole internet stalking issue is a fantasy. It's a fantasy not because there are no stalkers out there, but because stalking via online gaming is about as easy as using London's Victoria train station restroom while inside your car in Los Angeles. It's so unwieldy that it's just never going to happen.
do you live here on earth? There are thousands of online stalkers. The perfect place to befriend a child is a popular online gaming site where millions of children play. The stalker poses as another child, and befriends the other child. A false friendship is created and a sense of safe bonding is established. Offline meets are set up and the child is kidnapped, raped. murdered. A child is so trusting and innocent that something like this is never in the back of their minds. They have established a bond. It happens, might not make headlines all over the world, but it happens everday...
Egads, there are millions of children playing COD4?! Quick, call Jacko, someone is selling mature rated games to kiddies again.
All mockery of you aside, you continuously refer to a childs actions as if they are some autonomous entity that can do as they bloody well please. I couldn't leave my front yard as a child without providing the what-where-who-why-when-how to my parents first. Again and again you completely overlook the responsibility of parents to raise their children. These consoles are not babysitters, they are entertainment centers. Parents who take part in their childrens lives will have no issue with their use, but parents who don't give two frigs what their children do, ala the Crisp's, end up with a trainwreck.
Deviants and whatnot will always exist, and no matter how children flock together they will be present. This is true of playgrounds, shopping centres and online games. Anyways care to post statistics on how many people demanded that playgrounds be taken away after some kid gets snatched? Anyone at all...
Parents who take part in their childrens lives will have no issue with their use, but parents who don't give two frigs what their children do, ala the Crisp's, end up with a trainwreck.
You have no clue Derovius, how much or how little the Crisps took part in Brandons' Life, Just because they didn't and don't share the interest of gaming doesn't mean they didn't partake in Brandons' Life.
There are people out there outside of your little fanatasy world you know. NOT everyone likes video games, or spending all hours of the day on the internet.. Brandon was 15 not 5, He wasn't being babysat by a console.....
He could even walk to school all by himself.. how about that.. You are ignorant of parenting, it is quite obvious.
But REALLY seriously, my point is this - this 'Brandon Crisp Foundation' thing is all well and good, but where is the apology? Why does that accusation that the parents and the police made (the idea that Brandon was lured away by an X-box stalker)
They do not need to appologize for anything.. They didn't say that he WAS lured..they said that they were looking into the possibility.. big difference. Just like they were looking into all other possibilities. Bullies, Suicide, Lost in the woods, picked up by a sick pervert...
Would you like them to appologize to all the sick perverts out there too.. OH we are so sorry for thinking a Sick Pervert may have lured our son.. so sorry to all the sick perverts out there, how dare we think this about you.