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[baphomet]

Well, this new and THIS ONE probes how wrong is some people in USA.

I mean, seriously:

Age 13+ ???

But, hey... videogames are guilty here, right?

It doesn't matter this kind of thing mostly happens in USA, right?

Well, it doesn't matter, I'm pretty sure your politicians will approve a guns regulation law pretty soon, right?

Obama attacks senators who rejected gun sale checks

Good thing that's entirely acceptable here. And no, they will never even attempt to ban guns.

 

[Bedlam]

Except that you can do it with a claw hammer?

Not really. A claw hammer is not nearly as effective for killing as a gun.

 

[Ocaso]

Doom deathmatch was massive. The entire industry was a fraction of what it is now so of course not as many people played it. That doesn't change the fact that Halo, at its core, is just a fresh coat of paint on something that has been around for a long time..

You didn't address my last comment so I'll say it again here. It's not the visuals, the genre, and probably not the violence. This kid was almost certainly mentally I'll prior to this, but FPSs as well as other genres have their multiplayer portions SPECIFICALLY designed to foster compulsive play. They use techniques inherent to gambling like random and semi-random rewards to do so and thus are not comparable to multiplayer games 20 or even 10 years ago.

I know that compulsive gaming or gaming addiction are not yet officially recognized by the scientific community, but we KNOW some people develop compulsive and unhealthy gaming habits. People in withdrawal do irrational things. Whether that happened here or not is impossible for me to know, but I for one am wary o the techniques developers sometimes use to keep people playing and believe they do deserve further discussion and scrutiny b

 

[SniperHunter]

kid must have suffered a traumatic head injury to act in this way

 

[Clockwork5]

You'll shoot your eye out!!

 

[dark_prinny]

As somebody who played Doom as a kid, strictly against his parents' wishes, but has never lashed out, I think it's reductive to downplay the psychological implications of violent video games just because they apparently affect only a particular subset of society. Is it incorrect to consider that games that place such a strong emphasis on the player being in control of a combative situation can cause those with a weaker mental constitution to "snap" when this sense of power is directly subverted in real life? That's not to say "violent video games are bad and holistically unwholesome", of course, but to deny that they can be a trigger seems disingenuous to me.

Incorrect. He could have done that, by having a bad row on Yatzee, or after having an argue with someone. You can't blame a videogame for triggering this kind of behaviour by any means. You have to look after your kids as a parent, including of course, the exposure they have to the media ( in general ) and his mental health ( in particular ).

 

[MisterRoboto]

Kid stabs mom to death with knife. Can we stop having these bullshit arguments now?

C'mon son. "Kid staples mom to death". Of course other means could have been used. A gun is a tool used to kill, cause harm, or impair another living creature. What other purpose do guns have? A knife is a tool but it serves other purposes...like cooking/eating. I would assume it would be a little easier for a grown woman to defend herself from her 14 year old son coming at her with a steak knife than with a rifle..

 

[PairOfFilthySocks]

Good thing that's entirely acceptable here. And no, they will never even attempt to ban guns.

Shame the gun nuts will never get this through their thick bloody skulls.

 

[hillsighed]

OK, look if you want to give your kid a gun, that's on you. I don't think it's very smart myself but people do it. But if you're going to give a gun to your child, lock it the fuck up somewhere they just go and grab it anytime they want. That's just fucking silly.

 

[Speedy Blue Dude]

There wouldn't be a trigger to pull without the gun.

There wouldn't be a reason to pull the trigger without CoD. See how this works?

It's funny to me, some people like guns, so they're going "It's not the guns fault! You can legally give anyone of any age a Rifle. It'a that darn video game's fault! Don't even consider banning my guns!" while video game fans are in the "It's not the game fault. That's ridiculous. It's that darn guns fault! Don't even consider banning my guns!"

In the end, the fault lays on the kid, and his mental issues.

 

[Bilix]

Rather then blaming the game itself or gun ownership, I wonder if this behavior comes in part by the community behind the game. The fact that the kid had thought of raping his mother, not from a sexual desire, but from hatred could come from the "rape culture" that's pretty prevalent in CoD and other games. There's so many terrible things that come out of voice chat that enough exposure, especially at a young age, could alter behaviors. I feel like that should be examined more then the violent nature of the game, though the two probably go hand-in-hand in some part.

It's just a terrible story overall. The kid knew what he did was wrong and that his life is basically over from his actions. I feel bad for everyone.

 

[Lysander91]

Do we know if this kid was on psychiatric drugs? I would be willing to bet a good deal of money that he was.

 

[Mzo]

You can play video games all day every day for years and be completely desensitized to virtual violence, but when you encounter real-life violence your butthole puckers up and fight or flight kicks in.

Maybe it's just my brain but that's been my experience.

 

[SDBurton]

I'm more shocked about the attempted rape of his mother then killing her. Both crazy, but one takes it to surreal creepy land.

Same. I mean, holy shit.

 

[CrazyDude]

Kid stabs mom to death with knife. Can we stop having these bullshit arguments now?

You have a harder time killing someone with a knife than a gun. You much more likely to survive from a knife attack then a gun attack.

 

[Alienous]

Incorrect. He could have done that, by having a bad row on Yatzee, or after having an argue with someone. You can't blame a videogame for triggering this kind of behaviour by any means. You have to look after your kids as a parent, including or course, the exposure they have to the media ( in general ) and his mental hellth ( in particular ).

Yes, but you can't dismiss the possibility entirely also.

Perhaps owning a gun made the kid take an interest in Call of Duty. Perhaps, and more likely, Call of Duty caused the child to have an interest in firearms. The same could happen with a movie, or a book. Needless to say, a child who has no experience or idea of shooting a gun might not have committed the act. This ignores the core underlying problems, but guns are certainly a part of it. Easy access to guns, and a relaxed nature towards them, are likely the major contributing factors to this murder.

Now, the attempted rape is an entirely different thing. A confused idea of sexuality, bullying or teasing could be to blame for this.

 

[Bedlam]

I understand where you're coming from, but what if that time did come and you had to hand your 14 year old a gun solely for survival. It will be something they've never done before. I'd rather them know exactly what to do in a situation like that. Coming across a mountain lion or bear while hiking, you want to be able to defend yourself. I'd much rather have my kid be able to fire a gun accurately in situation like that.

So you create a potential for dangerous situations that is remarkably higher than the chances of one your concocted "survival" scenarios becoming reality? How many kids have been slain by bears recently because they couldn't handle their gun? How many people have been accidentally shot by kids in the USA recently? I believe there've been at least three such incidents within the last two weeks alone.

 

[fabricated backlash]

What about armed men breaking into your home, and the 13 year old is smart enough to grab the family gun and shoot the intruder? If you don't want a gun in your home I hope nothing happens to you where you would actually have to defend your family from an armed intruder.

I wouldn't want a 13 year old to have access to a gun. No matter what hypothetical situation. A 13 year old is in no mental state to wield and use a gun responsibly. Even if I would feel the need for a gun in my household I wouldn't let a kid use it at all.

And even if it came to it, training a kid on a firing range is enough. If you feel the need to teach your kid to be responsible, you should also teach it to understand that he isn't yet fit to have all the privileges of an adult.

Mind you, were I come from, (northern Italy) and where I live currently (austria) intruders usually don't have guns, mainly because guns are effectively regulated and registered... well outside all the organized crime and human traffickers that operate here.

The US could easily regulate Guns. The administrative challenge would be the easiest part. But to change the cultural meaning of the gun in the US is almost impossible. It's intrinsically connected to personal freedom and security. And I get that many are afraid that they'd lose their personal safety and rights, but everyone serious about this debate doesn't want to eliminate guns, but rather have people be more responsible and to lay a better social groundwork and guidelines for safe and responsible gun use and ownership. Something that has been done with alcohol, cars, and recently even Marijuana.

 

[Goldenroad]

So you are saying the childs behavioral problems had nothing at all to do with his upbringing?

Not like thats a common case with mental illness or anything..

No...all I am saying is that the child was fucking crazy and that's why he did this. A well-rounded, sane person, who plays video games all day and owns arsenal of guns would never kill and...rape their own mother. I'm not saying that taking away the guns and the video games, or preventing the kid from having them in the first place, might not have helped prevent this crime, but the fact is, the kid did it because he was crazy.


I'm completely pro-gun-control...in fact I'm pro just banning guns completely. In this day and age they are unnecessary and cause far more harm than good. But I'm just saying you put a sane kid in that kids same situation and this event never occurs. That's just my opinion...there's no proving anything. I only wanted to express what I was feeling when I read this OP.

 

[MrDenny]

Some people develop a rage issue playing COD online.
Sad story overall, boy shouldn't have had access to a gun in the first place.

 

[Silver_DNA]

You have a harder time killing someone with a knife than a gun. You much more likely to survive from a knife attack then a gun attack.

Not only is stabbing someone more intimate than shooting them it also burns more calories. If you want to knife someone to death then you are really going to want to kill them.

 

[bakedpony]

I'm just shocked on how prevalent giving guns to kids as gifts seems to be in America.

 

[JaseC]

Incorrect. He could have done that, by having a bad row on Yatzee, or after having an argue with someone. You can't blame a videogame for triggering this kind of behaviour by any means. You have to look after your kids as a parent, including of course, the exposure they have to the media ( in general ) and his mental health ( in particular ).

You've misunderstood me. I'm not saying it wouldn't have happened otherwise; I was disagreeing with your implicit assertion that the video game didn't play a part.

 

[baphomet]

You have a harder time killing someone with a knife than a gun. You much more likely to survive from a knife attack then a gun attack.

Actually the mortality rate is not significantly different between the 2.

 

[Hale-XF11]

Letting your underage kid own a gun and play CoD is no way to go through life as a parent.

 

[maltrain]

There wouldn't be a reason to pull the trigger without CoD. See how this works?

It's funny to me, some people like guns, so they're going "It's not the guns fault! You can legally give anyone of any age a Rifle. It'a that darn video game's fault! Don't even consider banning my guns!" while video game fans are in the "It's not the game fault. That's ridiculous. It's that darn guns fault! Don't even consider banning my guns!"

In the end, the fault lays on the kid, and his mental issues.

That's a really stupid argument. My kids always played violent games, but always understood that were that... GAMES. And even me, when I was a child, 35 years ago, played with toy guns with my friends.

BUT I never wanted to shoot a gun, never had one and maybe never will. And my boys are two good teenagers, who can understand the difference between killing pixels on a screen and hurting real people.

Problem aren't videogames. Problem is the USA society. Viewed from the outside, I think everything is that you live in a country in a permanent war and that ends up always bad.

 

[Nibiru]

No one wants to take your guns away, but people expect better regulation so that not every nutjob can pick up a rocket launcher or whatever else.

I don't own a single gun. My problem is with opportunists and myopic hypocrites that are so caught up in the theme of the day that they try and attach it to every case so they can revel in group think with peers and feel a sense of belonging. It dilutes the argument entirely and in the end hurts the cause. This goes for the gun grabbers and the right wing video games kill crowd.

 

[Alienous]

Not only is stabbing someone more intimate than shooting them it also burns more calories. If you want to knife someone to death then you are really going to want to kill them.

Ideally, we could replace all guns, knives and blunt objects with wet sponges. Then you'd have to be really, really angry to go through with murder.

 

[sappyday]

Letting your underage kid own a gun and play CoD is no way to go through life as a parent.

Many kids play CoD but not many own a gun.

Still I feel really sorry for the father.

 

[dark_prinny]

You've misunderstood me. I'm not saying it wouldn't have happened otherwise; I was disagreeing with your implicit assertion that the video game didn't play a part.

And it dind't play a part. It was just something in the context of the situation. A really bad situation if you ask me.

 

[Alienous]

And it dind't play a part. It was just something in the context of the situation. A really bad situation if you ask me.

I think that's a rather ignorant way to look at this. No part at all?

Actually, this more than other situations, have a direct possible connection of video games (with them being taken away).

 

[pax217]

I don't own a single gun. My problem is with opportunists and myopic hypocrites that are so caught up in the theme of the day that they try and attach it to every case so they can revel in group think with peers and feel a sense of belonging.

This. Well said.

 

[JaseC]

And it dind't play a part. It was just something in the context of the situation. A really bad situation if you ask me.

An an observer it's impossible to come to that conclusion with absolute certainty. That's the point I was driving at.

 

[Pineconn]

Shame the gun nuts will never get this through their thick bloody skulls.

Shame the anti-gun nuts will never stop making one new thread per incident and making it seem like a bigger deal than it is.

 

[EscoBlades]

I'm sorry, but some of the arguments in this thread are straight up BS.

No child...i repeat...NO CHILD should have access to a gun. Of any kind. If you have to own a gun, and have children under your roof, care and protection, you take ALL necessary steps to ensure that they can't get their hands on the weapon.

It is as simple as that. For your own child's protection (which should be paramount) as well as your own.

And that is even before the issue of how you bring them up.

In case you missed it.....NO CHILD should have access to a gun. Period.

The blame for the end result lies firmly at the feet of the parent(s) that let the kid anywhere near a gun in the first place.

 

[Drencrom]

This is not gaming related

 

[Instro]

There wouldn't be a reason to pull the trigger without CoD. See how this works?

No. The reason for his actions is debatable, the murder weapon is not.

Fwiw though, the gun was a fucking rifle. People should allowed to own something like that anyway, as long as the clip and power are within reason. The real culprit here is parental negligence, the kid was unstable and the parents should have seen that.

 

[CambriaRising]

I was taught how to fire a gun around 11 years old, got my first shotgun at 16. Gun safety was a big priority in my house because my dad owned so many.

It's a shame this happened because of pure negligence.

 

[Nibiru]

Do we know if this kid was on psychiatric drugs? I would be willing to bet a good deal of money that he was.

You will never hear about this because as powerful as the gun lobby is the big pharma lobby makes it look like a 7-eleven. CNN is particularly guilty of this as 90% of their add revenue is from drugs ads. Editors on that network won't touch the anti-depressants but video games and guns are the great devil.

 

[CrazyDude]

Shame the anti-gun nuts will never stop making one new thread per incident and making it seem like a bigger deal than it is.

Yup, people against playing around with deadly weapon like guns for fun are the nutty ones here.

 

[Codeblue]

Ideally, we could replace all guns, knives and blunt objects with wet sponges. Then you'd have to be really, really angry to go through with murder.

People will just find a way to kill other people no matter what. We should just stop having weapon laws.

 

[Silver_DNA]

Ideally, we could replace all guns, knives and blunt objects with wet sponges. Then you'd have to be really, really angry to go through with murder.

It would help with the obesity problem too. We can literally kill heart disease!

 

[PairOfFilthySocks]

Shame the anti-gun nuts will never stop making one new thread per incident and making it seem like a bigger deal than it is.

Yes, it would be so handy if we had a "US shootings involving children" thread so we wouldn't have to deal with all this awful news /headinthesand

 

[MisterRoboto]

Actually the mortality rate is not significantly different between the 2.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/uc...s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8

 

[Davey Cakes]

Obviously it's a problem with the kid and not a problem with CoD.

Such a horrendous story. And yet another example of giving a .22 caliber rifle to someone who is too young for it. We just had that story about the 5-year-old recently.

Just because a gun has less killing potential doesn't mean it's safe. The gun shoots bullets. Bullets can kill. Single bullets have killed on multiple occasions.

They are making NERF guns more and more sophisticated and gun-like, while still keeping them non-lethal. Just give the kid a fucking NERF gun!

 

[RyanDG]

I find it kind of funny the number of people wanting to highlight the presence of the gun in the home as the catalyst for this crime. Honestly, in these cases, it was neither the game nor the gun. The child was suffering from some severe mental disorders. Just like gamers like to argue that he would've snapped regardless of whether or not COD was in the picture, gun enthusiasts can argue that he would've snapped whether or not the gun was in the picture.

There is nothing wrong with trying to find the root causes of violent behavior, but to immediately jump to the presence of the gun is the same sort of knee jerk reaction that people are using to attempt to blame violent video games.

 

[J@hranimo]

What the hell man? This is one of the worst things I've read in a while. Stupid Mom, sick child, damn...

 

[SolidSnakex]

People should be focusing far more on why mental illnesses go undiagnosed or ignored in this country so often. Every time a story like this or a story with a kid being violent pops up it's always groups rushing to blame guns, games, movies or music. As long as that's the focus then nothing is going to get done because those aren't the big issue here. There are stories (you can Google them) about teenagers shooting, beating etc. their parents for taking away their cell phones. So there aren't games involved. And in some cases there aren't even guns involved. What's involved is a seriously disturbed kid that never got any help for some serious issues that they're going through.

 

[Lysander91]

You will never hear about this because as powerful as the gun lobby is the big pharma lobby makes it look like a 7-eleven. CNN is particularly guilty of this as 90% of their add revenue is from drugs ads. Editors on that network won't touch the anti-depressants but video games and guns are the great devil.

Yeah, I know. Anytime that someone brings it up they are marginalized as some sort of fringe lunatic. I don't think that you need a PhD to realize that this type of violence seems to have increased with psychiatric drug prescriptions. It's not a secret that violence is one of the most recognized side effects of these drugs.

 

[Nibiru]

They are making NERF guns more and more sophisticated and gun-like, while still keeping them non-lethal. Just give the kid a fucking NERF gun!

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