Gaming Teen convicted of killing mom

[Rachmaninoff]

Yes I'm kind of starting the old discussion of video games and violence. It's kind of hard not to when you consider the article that is the focus behind creating this thread in the first place. Give it a read and you'll understand.

[URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28623160/"][U]Teen convicted of killing mom over video game[/U][/URL]

Now I personally don't believe that video games drive kids to commit violence. Rather I believe that there is far more going on and based on the article this kid used the game as an excuse. Apparently he was mad since they wouldn't let him play Halo 3 since he had a habit of literally playing games 18 hours a day. o_O

If I was a parent, I'd probably want to try and do something about an unhealthy obsession like that. If you're playing a game that much, you don't have time for anything else. I'm not sure where things went wrong and I find the whole thing sad.

It really gives the wrong impression about games when I'm certain that if it wasn't the game, it would have been something else. But wow, to plot to kill your own parents? That's just sick.

[The Spectacular Professor]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I don't even-

I can't-

There is nothing to say. What the everloving hell was wrong with this kid?

And I find it disgusting that his defense tried to justify this premeditated murder by claiming that the video games made him do it. That's like saying Hitler caused the holocaust because a Jewish man took his donut. This kid is either seriously sick in the head or just not human. Video games don't do that to you.[/FONT]

[Doc Holliday]

Kid's a goddamn psycho, that's the problem.

Lawyers who blame aggression on video games are looking for a quick excuse to explain a serious problem. If this kid shot his parents over a game, there obviously was something psychologically wrong with him in the first place. This is like trying to blame a school shooting on song lyrics. Absolutely retarded.

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]So can I shoot my family, too? I mean, I read the James Bond and the Bourne novels. What if they were conspiring against me?

Oh, and I listen to heavy metal. It's aggressive music, right?[/FONT]

[chibi-master]

This is a serious case of "WTFISWRONGWITHYOUREMPTYHEAD-itis". :animedepr

See, it's psychos like these, blaming their decisions on other things (ex. games), that make parents and other authority figures nuts about what kids do and what they are exposed to every second of every day. And while I admit that there ARE some things to watch out for, video games are NOT one of them.

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"]I think there's no doubt that the kid is just nuts. If not video games, it would have been something else I'm sure. I agree with the sentiment that he's crazy for plotting to kill his parents and make it look like a murder suicide.

I have to wonder how he thought he was going to manage to continue his lifestyle of gaming all day long with no parents to support that habit. I sincerely hope they try him as an adult and put him away for a very long time. With no games of course. [/FONT]

[Sangome]

[SIZE="1"]I had the perfect image macro for this, but I seem to have lost it. So this will do nicely:
[U]
[URL="http://i40.tinypic.com/2wptqpv.jpg"]Click.[/URL]
[/U]
Seriously, not this crap again. Yet another case in which someone pins video games as the cause of a homicidal maniac's behavior. But once again, the child was already effed up enough...but no, people just [i]can't seem to accept that.[/i]

Makes me thankful Jack Thompson's been disbarred. [Though that seems too late, in this case]. [/SIZE]

[Manic Webb]

Like Chris Rock said, "What happened to crazy?" There was a time when a kid would snap and kill his whole family, and they'd say the kid was simply off his rocker, then lock him up. Now they want to blame the heavy metal music, the violent video games, the action movies, and the boobs on the Super Bowl.

The ironic part here is that he killed his mom because supposedly his parents [i]wouldn't let him play[/i] the violent video game.

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]*Headdesk*

All the can sensibly be said about this has already been said. Videogames do not lead to violence unless there is a pre-existing tendency towards it within the person.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Daniel Petric']"Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you."[/quote]

[SIZE="1"]That is possibly the most disturbing statement of murder I have ever heard.[/SIZE]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][COLOR="Indigo"]While this is certainly a tragedy to hear and sets people who actually play games into an even deeper negative stereotype, I echo the sentiment shared by most who have posted here.

I play video games, a lot. I'm not going to lie, cheat or swerve around that. I play games almost on a daily basis, for more than 4 hours. While this isn't on a consistent basis, I do take my games pretty seriously because I play mostly competitive fighting games and I try to perfect little things. For me, that's a challenge and that's my anti-drug. Some people say it's an unhealthy habit. I say this to them.

"Know any other second-semester sophomores with a 4.0 who are sports reporters for their local newspapers?"

I grew up in the "gangsta rap" era of hip-hop and the sex-infused, vice filled world of rock and roll (with some grunge mixed in). Yet I never shot anyone, rampaged through a school or anything of that sort. I always keep myself in control of my mind and realize that while I play video games, they aren't real and this is just something I do for enjoyment.The kids who did Columbine were mentally unstable kids, as was this one. The bottom line is this. The kid made a conscious decision to kill his parents. Master Chief, Duke Nukem or Ryu Hayabusa had nothing to do with it.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Drizzt Do'urden]

Is it wrong that I find this amazing in a sense? Of course I find it sad, but sociology is an interest of mine and this fits right in.

With so many things that were 'immoral' becoming second nature, it's so funny they go back to videogames as the cause. There have been crazy happenings for this for years, and it's just a case of people snapping, but yet they want to blame the kids one vice for the killings.

I guess people have been bashing videogames and violence in every aspect of today's media since Jerry did everything but shot Tom in the face 50 years ago. Maybe it's just those same people trying to find a reason for all the screwed up crap in the world, but it's always been there, and sadly it's always going to be.

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][COLOR="Indigo"]While this is certainly a tragedy to hear and sets people who actually play games into an even deeper negative stereotype, I echo the sentiment shared by most who have posted here.

I play video games, a lot. I'm not going to lie, cheat or swerve around that. I play games almost on a daily basis, for more than 4 hours. While this isn't on a consistent basis, I do take my games pretty seriously because I play mostly competitive fighting games and I try to perfect little things. For me, that's a challenge and that's my anti-drug. Some people say it's an unhealthy habit. I say this to them.

"Know any other second-semester sophomores with a 4.0 who are sports reporters for their local newspapers?"

I grew up in the "gangsta rap" era of hip-hop and the sex-infused, vice filled world of rock and roll (with some grunge mixed in). Yet I never shot anyone, rampaged through a school or anything of that sort. I always keep myself in control of my mind and realize that while I play video games, they aren't real and this is just something I do for enjoyment.The kids who did Columbine were mentally unstable kids, as was this one. The bottom line is this. The kid made a conscious decision to kill his parents. Master Chief, Duke Nukem or Ryu Hayabusa had nothing to do with it.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]
[FONT=Arial]Amen, brotha. Amen.


Yes, I quoted the whole damned post. Yes I left the link to it. :p My man speaks truth there. Pay attention.[/FONT]

[Dagger]

I'm not sure why people try to suggest that video games had absolutely nothing to do with it. They were clearly an influence in this case, and doubtless in others as well. Does that mean they were the direct cause of what happened? Hardly. But I'm also not sure that I see the need for gamers to react defensively about news pieces of this sort in a day and age where video games aren't a creepy niche thing anymore. If the kid had been into slasher flicks or whatever instead, no doubt his lawyers would have used that as a defense. It's their job. No one's singling out video games here as an influence somehow more potent or poisonous than any other; they're just what happened to be involved with this particular tragic case.

Besides, his defense was rejected.

~Dagger~

[Korey]

[quote name=' Dagger']But I'm also not sure that I see the need for gamers to react defensively about news pieces of this sort in a day and age where video games aren't a creepy niche thing anymore. If the kid had been into slasher flicks or whatever instead, no doubt his lawyers would have used that as a defense. It's their job.[/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][COLOR="Indigo"]I do see it and maybe it's not [B][I]as much[/I][/B] of a creepy niche thing anymore, they are still seen as a sedentary sort of lifestyle for those who play games more than casually. I'm not trying to defend my status as a gamer, simply because I know the difference and I'm not as immature and childish as this kid was to blast my parents over an obviously unhealthy habit that he had.

However the whole "my kid was into slasher flicks, so that's what spurned him into thinking like this" defense is lucid at best. Just because you are exposed to these images doesn't make it okay to go slashing people on the streets a la Jack the Ripper. The child did have a problem and it wasn't associated with "differentiating between virtual reality and actual reality" problem that arises in most of these cases. His parents tried to limit his video game time, because it was obviously ruining his health. He got mad. He shot them. No amount of quasi-intellectual hob-knobbery or defense attorney chicanery is going to help this kid avoid some serious jail time. Not even Phoenix Wright could defend this guy. This case is pretty much a slam dunk in my opinion.

But onto my point about differentiating reality from video games. If there is an issue with a person who can't differentiate the two worlds, then it becomes readily apparent that the person needs possible psychiatric help, but only BEFORE the issue becomes a problem. It becomes harder to use that defense when the person in question has killed 20 people and is trying to claim that Nico Belicic spurred him on to doing it. Violent video games are no different than any other form of agressive media. They do hold an influence on emotion, but not a significant amount on emotions to trigger someone to do violent acts. This isn't Zoolander. The fact is, people make conscious decisions to do what they do, regardless of what they were influenced by. No amount of violent video games can seriously augment the already violent soul. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[Sangome]

[SIZE="1"]I don't think it's so much as "RAWR WE'RE A MINORITY WE'RE NOT CREEPY" type thing, Dagger, but moreso "Oh for the love of God not this crap again". Whether or not video games were directly involved, there's still the pesky situation where people will assume that games produce brainless homicidal maniacs.

Is it new? Hardly. Is it any more annoying? Frick yes.

But that's just my thoughts. Can't speak for the others.[/SIZE]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][COLOR="Indigo"]Not even Phoenix Wright could defend this guy. This case is pretty much a slam dunk in my opinion.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]To say nothing of whether he would...

But anyway, I agree. The games are obviously part of the problem. I wouldn't argue on that at all. They were involved, or he wouldn't have bothered to kill over it. The thing is, as a gamer, I tend to look at stories like this and think, "and to top it all off, some idiot is going to start preaching the anti-game gospel again." It's not my first thought, but it tends to bother me. I know gaming is becoming more mainstream, but it seems like that's just making the anti-sentiment stronger. The situation is already tragic enough without people trying to lump all the blame on something that's obviously a small part of a very large and complex problem.[/FONT]

[Kyrian72]

I know this is a kind of old thread, but I wanted to respond. Mostly cause I have never had the chance to really see what other gmaers thought of this.

Now granted I don't really play hardcore killer games, I think my Silent Hill games are the "worst" in my collection. But I do play video games, A LOT, and listen to the scary music, plus I got the added affect that I plan on studying people like this messed up kid when I get older. I have actually talked to people that blame video games for kids that kill, and only cause of my weird combo of hobbies, I get a little annoyed and want to slap them.

Granted people are allowed their opinion, but still. Do we blame Ed Gein on video games? And for people who don't know him, do we blame Hittler(ignoring the fact that there weren't video games around when he was alive)?

I personally think that blaming music, and video games, and evil writings, and whatever else you can add to that list is just mean. Granted these things can be a trigger for something that is inside you. But I don't think it can really be a cause.

[axelchaos16]

you know, i have played unreal tournament since i was 8 (or around that age) and i can tell right from wrong. i'm a passifist who doesn't like to fight:animesmil. to tell the truth im the opposite of what their idiotic statistics say i should be. :p

[Haku877]

I would say 18 hours is way to much, but how did he even get the key to the safe?
Plus something I find wrong, he only took the game =P not controllers, the console, cables,T.V, or have a power source for that matter.

Its just crazy, I personally would go with life sentence if I were judge =/