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Given the alarming number of school shootings taking place in recent years, we as a nation are asking ourselves, "Why?" Why has our society become so violent in general? Why would anyone want to walk into a school and open fire? There are many plausible answers to these questions. Maybe the people who do this kind of thing grew up in an abusive environment. Maybe they were never taught right from wrong. Maybe they are mentally disturbed and can't tell the difference between what's going on in their head and what they're actually doing. Maybe they can choose to do such a thing on a whim because they have such easy access to guns and explosives. These are the roots of the problem, and yet as a nation it is far easier for us to ignore them, pick out a seemingly easy target, and say "Video games did it!" despite the fact that there has never been any research whatsoever that proves video games cause any kind of real-world violence. Video games are already being blamed for the recent tragedy in Colorado, as one of the shooters liked to play such "Internet war games" as Doom and Duke Nukem. What about the millions of people who play violent video games every day and never commit any violent acts as a result, much less kill anybody? In addition, the parents of a slain child in a 1997 Kentucky school shooting are suing every company that ever had anything to do with Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, Mortal Kombat, Redneck Rampage, Nightmare Creatures, Resident Evil, MechWarrior, and other games. Even Final Fantasy was cited in the lawsuit, which is absolutely absurd. Blaming video games like this is not going to resolve anything. The sick truth of it all is that school shootings will continue to take place throughout the country until we, as a nation, address the roots of the problem described at the beginning of this article. But regardless of why they did it, it is the people who pull the triggers who are ultimately the ones responsible. Everybody in this world is responsible for their own actions, and it's time for the video game industry to stop being blamed for all the world's problems. Share your thoughts on this issue by e-mailing me at ivan@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com