Video Games Are Not To Blame!
A lot has been happening here in the U.S. So much, in fact, that it's hard to know where to even begin. Personally, I have had a really hard time lately, especially with the most recent school shooting that happened in Texas - And that wasn’t even the last mass shooting I saw on the news - I can’t begin to put into words how the news of young children being gunned down by a psychopath has affected me.
And not only me, but my youngest son - my last one in school who is finishing up his freshman year in high school - has been feeling lately too. His anxiety has increased a great deal.
I can’t possibly describe to you how this sense of helplessness and dread feels. It’s a very negative place to be.
So what have he and I been doing? Playing video games of course. It has been one of the few things that actually helps to get our minds out of that negative head space and honestly, has been a major mood booster.
But according to some politicians, what is the first thing they blame (besides Mental Health which they refuse to fund)?
Video Games!
Am I surprised by this? No. Blaming Art of any kind has been a famous political pastime - at least here in the U.S. in modern times anyway. I can actually go back to the 1980s when I was a kid. I remember seeing something on TV where the heavy metal band, Twisted Sister was sitting before Congress, having to prove that their music isn’t making kids more defiant or something to that effect. The Song We’re Not Gonna Take It was hugely popular back then. Apparently, a lot of adults hated it and claimed it was causing their kids to become defiant.
News Flash assholes: Teenagers are naturally defiant and back then, especially with strict parents, of course, we were defiant. There were kids who didn’t even listen to Twisted Sister who was defiant - dumbasses!
I also remember a few years later, Ice T was under fire by Congress for his song, Cop Killer. I found an interesting article on this very thing dating to June 25, 1992. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/06/25/reaction-to-ice-t-song-heats-up/6d8959c7-173f-4f93-9a26-36935442febb/
I can even go back much further than the 80s and 90s - back to Elvis Presley in fact.
Elvis and His Pelvis
Long before I was born, there was another major controversy with another crazy popular musician - the legendary Elvis Presley. I read about this actually in College while learning about Music History. It was very educational.
Anyway, Elvis and his pelvis got into some serious hot water back in the day because anyone shaking their lower body parts was seen as too sexual and therefore inappropriate. Haha! I wonder what those people think of us now, hmmm.
TV shows also received a lot of backlash for certain things as well. I remember Ellen DeGeneres's first show called Ellen got so much hate towards it when she came out as gay. I was a teenager then and I do remember how pissed a lot of the adults got about that.
“That show is going to turn our kids gay.” That’s what I remember hearing from the adults around me.
Obviously, a show isn’t going to “turn you gay” as they say but it was out there and parents, teachers, and definitely politicians were jumping on the bandwagon that they always seem to jump to rather than facing reality:
Blame the Art!
Blaming any art medium has become a pastime for the U.S. At least since the 20th century anyway. When the powers-that-be feel powerless, this is what they do. Again, not facing reality - and therefore the responsibility they themselves might have - blaming the art seems to be an automatic reaction to tragedies but also to anything that doesn’t fit in with “their” narrative.
Like Video Games!
Blaming video games has also been around for a long time. Since the 80s from my recollection. I talked about my brother and I playing on our first Nintendo and how that was something we did a lot. It didn’t take us away from playing outside but the statements were made about that very thing.
Hell, when TV first showed up on the scene it got blamed with statements like “that shit will rot your brain” and “the television is brainwashing our kids”. Things like that.
Video games received a similar set of outcries and fears when they showed up in households across America.
This is nothing new guys. It really isn’t. The thing is though, I’m so sick and tired of this being the go-to reaction of our supposed leaders.
For real people, come up with a new tagline. It’s just super old at this point.
At the end of the day, all our leaders are capable of is redirection. They choose to cause a distraction rather than face up to the challenges we have all been dealing with. I don’t know if you have noticed this or not but our American leaders don’t like to face challenges. They skirt responsibility at every turn because they are incapable of being coherent, responsible adults.
I don’t know what the solutions are to our current problems but I do know that blaming any art medium is not the answer so please, please, please,
Stop Blaming Video Games!!!
Thank you for reading,
