States Taking Gun Frustrations Out on Video Games

[Prokne]

Well, it's been suggested that video games are a great outlet for anger or frustration, rather than going out into real life and taking out such anger and frustration. I have to agree with that.

Either that or kids spend so much time playing video games they dont have time to think about committing real crimes and even less time to do them. Kids used to go outside and play much more often which sometimes resulted in things being destroyed or vandalized, but now that kids spend so much time playing games at home, it probably more likely kids that have too much time on their hands that are the ones to worry about.

[Bolson13]

Not to play devil's advocate... okay I'm lying I love playing devil's advocate (Disclaimer: I don't believe violent video games are responsible for youth crime)

It also wasn't until the mid 1990s that the whole "anti-bullying" thing became a part of the public persona. Up until that point bullying was considered a part of growing up. "That kid beating you up at school son? Just punch him back, it builds character". It also wasn't until the mid 1990s that people started embracing the whole "it takes a village to raise a child." thing and child welfare spending has also increased since the spike on the chart.

I personally don't believe violent video games have had any influence on that chart what-so-ever. I attribute it to abused or impoverished children having more options available than ever before,

To be more clear, I meant the chart to mean the following:
People for banning/laws against violent video games use flawed logic in their arguments. They over-dramatise things such as "the shooter played CoD" which is the same as saying that "the shooter wasn't a vegetarian, meateaters like to kill". There is no direct correlation let alone causation.

So I did the same thing. The chart is not to be used as evidence that games reduce crime amonst teenager, it is to open the eyes of people using flawed arguments in the debate.

---------- Post added 2013-01-17 at 12:32 AM ----------

Do you have a graph that goes back further? The reason I ask is that violent crimes overall peaked and then dropped pretty much matching this graph for just the 12-17 group. I was curious if the same pattern holds going back to the 60's and 50's because it was in the 60's that violent crime in the US spiked dramatically and then stayed high until the 90's.

As mentioned above, the meaning of the chart is not to make the connection between the youth crimes reduction and the introduction of VG's in society.
If you already got that and are just interested in a chart, sorry but I don't have one that goes back further

[The Riddler]

Frankly both gun and video game enthusiasts should stop eating each other alive because they are just being suckered by Obama the Divider and his sycophants in the media. Both groups should be completely and 100% in alliance with each other that the Constitution and Bill of Rights enshrine vital freedoms and that any attempt by government to infringe on those rights is wrong on a fundamental, primal level.

Parenthetically, that kerfuffle over the NRA Iphone app was idiotic in the extreme. The NRA was not the one who released it at the time it showed up (that was Apple's call), nor was the NRA the one saying it was for "4 year olds" (again, that was Apple's review process). Anyone who got all heffed up on "the doofball" over that app was merely a sucker dancing to the tune of The Divider and his acolytes. Seems criticial thinking only is supposed to be applied when someone is attacking a target you LIKE. Way too many people are far too willing to join the chorus of lemmings as long as the lead lemming is tilted at a windmill they hate.

[Adam Jensen]

Wait, I thought Republicans hated taxes. Why are they taxing my income that I've desired to spend on entertainment? What about my personal freedoms and my responsibilities to spend my income as I please?

[Powerogue]

"Also in Mass, Mayor Robert Dolan of Melrose has proposed an initiative for citizens to donate their violent video games, movies and toys in exchange for coupons such as "get out of homework free" passes or discounts at local stores."

That's insane. No kid is going to give away his video game for something like that, it'd at best encourage the parents to steal the games from the child "for their own good", if it did anything at all.