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8 year old kills Grandmother after playing GTA IV
- Thread starter Stealth_Cobra
- Start date
Not in my house either. But I still could get access to them at a friends house, arcade, school, whatever. I just kind of bristle when people assume what the parenting situation is like when we see end results like this. I live and grew up in Texas, all my friends had gun cabinets in their houses. I knew their parents did all the "right" things when it came to gun safety. Didn't stop us from almost habitually trying to get into them. It wasn't anything close or an obsession or anything, its just what kids do. Disobey their parents. I can see how this line of thinking would get you to more gun regulation. But in general, this default "its the parents fault" stance is too big of a leap in most cases (maybe not this one though).
Unfortunately the news industry doesn't have the balls to call out bad parenting so they blame a game instead.
I tend to agree with you that there is more to this story. I find it hard to believe that an 8 year old has such a warped sense of reality that he wouldn't know that shooting someone with a gun could kill them. According to the story he shot her in the back of the head. That just screams premedition to me. For whatever reason this kid wanted to kill his grandmother. GTA may simply have shown him the most efficient way to do it.
But the larger point you bring up is knowing what your kids can handle. Not all 8 year are created equal. Some can handle games like GTA and scary movies, while there's cant. A good partent knows their kids limits and adjustes what they're exposed to accordingly.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Hahaha you know how many copies of GTAIV there are in the world, and how many people (and kids) played it?
"8 year old kills Grandmother after drinking water".
Water kills!
"8 year old kills Grandmother after drinking water".
Water kills!
cormack12
Gold Member
Kid shoots grandma after unrelated activity.
For ages, little boys have ran round fields playing soldiers and pretending to shoot each other. If you're going to be a moron and leave guns and ammo lying round, expect to be shot. That element of danger is appealing to kids, just like the common childhood phase of getting matches and burning stuff.
The media today is a joke. Desperation to make each headline alarmist and sensational and completely ignore the wider social and political root causes.
For ages, little boys have ran round fields playing soldiers and pretending to shoot each other. If you're going to be a moron and leave guns and ammo lying round, expect to be shot. That element of danger is appealing to kids, just like the common childhood phase of getting matches and burning stuff.
The media today is a joke. Desperation to make each headline alarmist and sensational and completely ignore the wider social and political root causes.
Square2015
Member
Americans have always had guns, in fact surveys show American households are less armed today than in the 1950s (40% today compared to 50% back then), yet this stuff didn't happen in the 50s, and violence and crime was much lower...so the problem is not guns since we have less guns today (per person) than a few generations ago, so let's look at the other factors...
1. Have we always had households with guns? Yes, more so in the past
2. Have we always had bad parenting? Yes of course, if he was raised by his grandmother then this can't really be considered can it?
3. Have we always had violent media/TV/movies? for the most part Yes, though it was more just Cowboys vs. Indians shows/movies back then, much milder.
4. Have we always had violent video games or gun simulators? Um...no
5. Have we always had medication that affects the psyche? No, although we don't know if this 8-yr-old was on anything, so this may not be a factor.
Just trying to look at things from a logical viewpoint to find the common denominator...
1. Have we always had households with guns? Yes, more so in the past
2. Have we always had bad parenting? Yes of course, if he was raised by his grandmother then this can't really be considered can it?
3. Have we always had violent media/TV/movies? for the most part Yes, though it was more just Cowboys vs. Indians shows/movies back then, much milder.
4. Have we always had violent video games or gun simulators? Um...no
5. Have we always had medication that affects the psyche? No, although we don't know if this 8-yr-old was on anything, so this may not be a factor.
Just trying to look at things from a logical viewpoint to find the common denominator...
3rdamention
Member
Bad parenting.....but that's not going to generate as many clicks as saying he was playing a videogame that "encourages violence."
I've seen your spiders. If you don't live in fear you're mental.
Stuff like this, including school shootings, happened in the 50s, and you have to remember that communications tech wasn't as far along as it is now so a lot of incidents would have gone unreported. Also, the 50s were probably the most prosperous era in U.S. history; by comparison, the current economic situation in the U.S. now is quite poor and probably has a lot more to do with increased crime and violence since the 50s than video games.
So much this.
eXistor
Member
The game is the last thing that should be blamed. We get small children in our store all the time wanting to buy GTA and their parents generally don't give a shit, even after we warn them what the games are about. Still, we don't allow guns, so these things never happen. Still, kids playing this kinda stuff with their parents' consent is the worst thing.
Kids'll find a way to play the game anyway, but it's a huge difference if they do it knowing it's bad and not allowed or if they do it with their parents' approval, which just sends a different and wrong signal entirely.
Kids'll find a way to play the game anyway, but it's a huge difference if they do it knowing it's bad and not allowed or if they do it with their parents' approval, which just sends a different and wrong signal entirely.
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
The problem lies with the parenting. Playing violent games or watching violent movies at a young age was something I did. At 8 years old, things like Mortal Kombat were out. Movies like Terminator 2 and everything that came before that were accessible. The difference was that I had parental guidance. I was told what was right and what was wrong. There was education about what I was interacting with and what was not acceptable behavior at home, school, or elsewhere. This particular case sounds like complete negligence on the case of the parents and sadly the grandmother if the gun was laying around with unrestricted access. As a parent you've got to be aware of how your child reacts to different stimulus. Watch your kid and see how the react to that content. It's the parents responsibility to raise them properly.
Delicious Waffles
Member
My initial thoughts as well. Shame what happened to the grandmother but the game shouldn't be blamed.
Zatoichi's Cane
Member
Also why doesn't an 8 year old know the difference between video games and real life?
Square2015
Member
School shootings happened in the 50s? Can you find a link? From recollection I think the first was a school shooting was at a university, Texas University 1961, and the shooter was of course not 8-years old. Would be interested to find anything on school shootings in the 50s if it happened...
HawksWinStanley
Member
Can't blame him, GTA4 was so boring it made me want to kill my family too.
News article from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/25/us/louisiana-boy-kills-grandmother/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
And for those of you Gaffers that are Monday (Sunday?) Morning Quarterbacking, you should all read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Monsters-Children-Make-Believe-Violence/dp/0465036961/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377447686&sr=8-1&keywords=why+children+need+fantasy+violence
Whether it was an episode of Power Rangers, or GTA III, violence excites children, and it makes them want to act it out in order to understand it better. In a structured environment, this is actually GOOD for them. Obviously the structure part was lacking here.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/25/us/louisiana-boy-kills-grandmother/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
And for those of you Gaffers that are Monday (Sunday?) Morning Quarterbacking, you should all read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Monsters-Children-Make-Believe-Violence/dp/0465036961/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377447686&sr=8-1&keywords=why+children+need+fantasy+violence
Whether it was an episode of Power Rangers, or GTA III, violence excites children, and it makes them want to act it out in order to understand it better. In a structured environment, this is actually GOOD for them. Obviously the structure part was lacking here.
Well I let my 9yo daughter play the original Manhunt, but hide the Plastic Bags, shards of Glass and Baseball Bats safely away...just in case.
I'm recommending you read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-Effect-Understanding-Good-People/dp/0812974441/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377447973&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+effect
Environmental conditions play a greater role in deviant/criminal behavior then individual motivations. The question we all need to ask ourselves is: what environment is fostering this pattern of behavior?
I have read some of it, and I agree. I was actually considering editing out the "natural" bit since I just realized it didn't sound quite right.
You should finish it! It's really insightful, especially when examining these instances of violence. Coupled with the Killing Monsters book, it's really easy to see where the parents failed this 8 year old kid. Play is a child's chief means of understanding their environment, and when they're ill-equipped for play, unfortunate events like this happens. It's intellectually dishonest to blame the games or even the guns. Fault lies solely with the parents who are directly responsible for the environment their child is fostered in.
careless mango
Member
Yep, it's so incredibly stupid. "Here little Johnny, you can play with this loaded handgun while I watch some shitty TV."
SuperAngelo64
Banned
I'm more disgusted that 20-something years after the golden years of arcades the majority still thinks the objective of all videogames is "points".
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Kid had problems that went beyond looking at BEEG AMERICAN TITTAYS. Having access to weapons and ammunition being one of them.
Nope. I think GTA3 was the last game to have something close. In 3 you got extra money for causing damage to cars, but that's about as close as it got and not really points.
Nope. I think GTA3 was the last game to have something close. In 3 you got extra money for causing damage to cars, but that's about as close as it got and not really points.
Triggerhappytel
Member
All that needs saying on the matter. Such a sad state of affairs when the proliferation of firearms is never blamed or investigated.
Well you do get money after every mission which often involves killing someone. Those are pretty much points. Still pretty funny to hear that statement though.
Andronicus
Banned
fixed
Star Falcon
Member
Gun Laws
It shows a massive (probably intentional) disconnect between what the media claims about Video Games versus what they actually seem to know about them.
It seems that all of the news channels tend to try their hardest to not blame parents for anything these days.
FloppyDelux
Member
Why is a 8 year old playing a M rated game? Hell why are kids playing M rated games anyway?
nailbombxx
Member
This.
Mobius and pet octopus
Member
Square2015
Member
Thanks for the link, I should graph homicidal deaths in schools by year and we'll see any patterns.
A whole lot of reaching in this thread.
This is how restrictive content laws are made. Of course, anyone with common sense would know who the blame lies with (HINT: Parents). But any American knows that people can't see the forest for the trees with this kind of thing.
You would think there would be a School House Rock song on "Accountability" somewhere...
FFS
This is how restrictive content laws are made. Of course, anyone with common sense would know who the blame lies with (HINT: Parents). But any American knows that people can't see the forest for the trees with this kind of thing.
You would think there would be a School House Rock song on "Accountability" somewhere...
FFS
phosphor112
Banned
Blame the game and not the gun he had in his hand that killed her.
I hate people.
I hate people.
They were safe, they had a gun.
Pretty much this. Also, anyone else find it odd that "Play" and "Station" were separated in there?
NEOPARADIGM
Banned
Correction: actually, when you get killed you don't lose your weapons, whereas you do if you are arrested. So that part is kinda fucked up: technically dying in GTA is better than getting arrested. They should change that somehow.
CreateNowSleepLater
Member
I am going to disagree with you that an 8 year old can't differentiate anything. I have an 8 year old and a 6 year old and I assure you they know. Not that either of mine play GTA but my 8 year old plays Halo with me sometimes.
He doesn't think the world is full of aliens and that he is this indestructible spartan. Either way, something else going on with that kid I think.