Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Swoop on September 11, 2003, 07:37:09 AM
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/32765.html
The short version
Two kids got bored and went out on the freeway shooting a .22 rifle at cars, killed some guy and now his family is blaming the producer of the kids favorite game, Grand Theft Auto. Argument against: The game is 18 rated, these two were both under age and what were the parents doing leaving a rifle and ammo lying around?
The long version
Grand Theft Auto in the dock over US road killing
Videogames are on trial yet again in the US, as the family of a man killed by teenagers who shot at passing cars on a freeway file a lawsuit against Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two.
The two teenagers - William and Joshua Buckner, 16 and 14 years old, respectively - opened fire on vehicles on the Interstate 40 highway in Tennessee with a .22 calibre rifle, killing one person and injuring another severely.
They told the police who arrested them that they were bored, and decided to mimick their favourite videogame, Grand Theft Auto. The family of the victim, 45-year-old nurse Aaron Hamel, have now filed suit against Take-Two Interactive, claiming that the company should take responsibility for his death.
"The industry needs to cough up money so victims and their families can be compensated for their pain," the family's attorney, Jack Thompson, told ABC News. "The shareholders need to know what their games are doing to kids and their families. They need to stop pushing adult rated products to kids. These products are deadly."
This isn't the first time that videogames have been in the dock over youth violence in the US. Following the tragic school shootings in Littleton several years ago, the parents of several of the victims attempted to sue a host of games companies - including id Software, creators of Doom, and Nintendo - creators of such blood filled orgies of violence as Mario and Pokemon.
In fact, it's not even the first time that Grand Theft Auto has been connected with a crime - the game, whose first incarnation was launched into the UK with a finely tuned campaign of media outrage orchestrated by relentless publicist Max Clifford, was named as a key influence on a group of teenagers who plotted carjackings and murder in California, and also on another group who are facing charges for dozens of robberies and five killings.
Of course, in the rush to blame GTA for the killing and sue a cash-rich media company, certain aspects of this case seem to have been forgotten. For a start, Grand Theft Auto games are rated M (similar to our 18 rating here) in the United States, and while the country has no legislation to prevent M-rated games from being sold to children (in fact, legislation attempting to do just this was recently overturned in Washington state), the assumption is that parents will control access to content unsuitable for their children.
In this case, this clearly not did not happen. Perhaps even more worryingly, the parents of these teenagers not only failed to control their children's access to violent, adult media, they also failed to control their access to firearms - enabling them to take a fully loaded rifle on the night of June 25, and end an innocent man's life for no other reason than that they were "bored". Naturally, though, nobody seems prepared to question the access to a rifle in this case - this being something of a touchy subject in American politics - but instead the blame is being laid at the door of the games industry.
Compare and contrast with the situation here in the UK, where despite massive sales of Grand Theft Auto and Vice City (over a million copies each in a country of only 60 million people), we've yet to see a single case like this emerge. With games on trial for causing juvenile violence in the US, and the family of Mr Hamel calling for Grand Theft Auto to be removed from sale, that's something to consider very seriously.
Or perhaps the answer to the perennial problem of delinquent teenagers dropping bricks from motorway and railway bridges is to sue the creators of Tetris.
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"the assumption is that parents will control access to content unsuitable for their children."
Arrest the parents for murder.
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Those parents have huge cojones blaming somebody else for their kids going on a murderous rampage.
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My bad. It's the family of the victim that's blaming GTA.
(http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/extern/640697.jpg)
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I see. But its still retarded.
Like blaming comic books for kids jumping from rooftops.
You cant blame GTA3/love muffin/Superman for stupidity.
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I remember when the video was realesed early 80`s and the zombie movies was all over us.
That was a threat for the communtiy, the older said :)
well it did not happend and I guess that was cause most of us did have somebody slapping our ears, and draw the borders for behaviour.
Thing is now we are the parents, and are we able to do the same job our parents did ?
90 % of the trubble when kids doing wrong is slappy and non awake parents, the rest is a job for the shrinks .
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Originally posted by Animal
You cant blame GTA3/love muffin/Superman for stupidity.
You can't blame them, but kids are definately "Monkey see, Monkey do". My kids will never watch crap like love muffin until they're in their own home. (And even if they do, they'll know better.)
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Damn...this is like blaming McDonalds for making people fat.
I bet in the near future we're going to start seeing "Warning, this game contains violence and should not be imitated in any way." because some kids are going to be retarded.
"We were mimicking our favortie game!" they cry. And? My favorite game is GTA, but when I'm bored I actually, uh, fire up the game? These kids must be removed from the gene pool, and so should the parents.
Video games are not the cause of violence. No matter how many parents say they are, then aren't and never will be. Those that cannot distinguish fact from fiction should not be playing them. The parents in this case shouldn't blame Take Two or Rockstar...they need to be blaming the parents of the young lads who decided to act stupid.
I mean, did they honestly think that because you can snipe drivers in GTA, you're entitled to do it in real life without fear of prosecution? Is common sense lost on these people?
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You can't blame them, but kids are definately "Monkey see, Monkey do". My kids will never watch crap like love muffin until they're in their own home. (And even if they do, they'll know better.)
well Rip that’s called parenting.
it kills me that it's often the very people who launch these big anti- campaigns (anti-games, anti-music,...) are the same ones calling for 'family values', well one of my families values is that my children will not watch/play inappropriate shows and games. they know which ones are off limits and if they get caught with them at friends houses they lose the privilege to go back there.
not that these things could "turn your kid bad", they're just inappropriate for children. it's not the games/shows that make kids act out. odds are though that if you can't even control what your kid watches you don't have control over much of anything.
if a kid can be pushed over into a life of crime by a video game or an Ozzy CD, chances are his choice of music and games aren't his biggest issues anyway.
whats with these people who think that if they could just get the gov't to ban or censor enough stuff, that some how they would then be able to do a decent job of raising their kids.
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I'm planning a trip to Chino or Wright Pat... haven't decided which just yet, but I'm going to steal a Grumman Wildcat and go lone wolfing for some Cessnas.
Who's in?
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I'll be the Cessna! You are on sucka! Fear my skillz.
(the humor of this article is a trip ... sue Tetris!) hey ... that makes me think ... should I suie HTC for breaking my joystick dogfighting waves of Spit/LA7s in a P47?
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Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
I'm planning a trip to Chino or Wright Pat... haven't decided which just yet, but I'm going to steal a Grumman Wildcat and go lone wolfing for some Cessnas.
Who's in?
2 FM-2's at Chino... I'll wing ya!
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That reminds me, there's this proposition on the ballot here in texas on saturday....
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Typical of some of the ridiculous crap going on in the country.
Another case of someone (these two kids) blaming someone else for their misdeeds (in this case murder). They knew what they were doing, they damn well knew it was wrong, and it wasn't because they played some videogame that they did it. They did it because they were irresponsible assess. Maybe they had a poor upbringing, but they should be severely punished.
The other thing that bugs me is the family running out looking to sue someone with deep pockets. "Hey, someone in our family died, lets try to get rich off of it." If they really just want to send a message to software companies and media about the influence of these games, let them donate any and all settlement money to a charity. Then and only then will I not consider them greedy opportunists.
dago
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Well,
Atleast the game gets more publicity, thats good, then we will be sure that an GTA 4 eventually will be here...
Damn good game series! Would be fun to have an online version, like an cross between sims online and GTA3 :D
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Someone say multiplayer GTA3?
http://mtavc.com/
(http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/extern/640697.jpg)
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Didn't that one kid in St.Louis or somewhere get killed after he asked his friend to hit him in the head with a skateboard.
"surprisingly" it caused a skull fracture, which tends often lead to coma and was later on pronounced dead after unhooked from the life support machine.
I wonder what they're going to blame for that one, aside the kids; a) who died after asking to be hit in the head, b) who stupidly did like asked to
Don't watch the movies where people hardly flinches after been hit in the head by a few hefty steel bars, since it might cause kids to think they have heads made of titanium?
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read today that the kid who bashed his friend with the board is charged with involuntary manslaughter
thats going to be an interesting case. witnesses said the victim repeatedly asked to be clonked.
obviously his head wasnt as hard as he thought it was.
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There's a case here in San Diego where some 17 year old kid stabbed his 22 year old best friend to death. The 22 year old apparentely beat the 17 year old in a game of Final Four on the PSX2, as was the norm and then told the 17 year old he didn't have any 'game' and walked out of the house to get some smokes. The 17 year old followed and then yelled out "Who's got game now!" as he plunged a knife into the 22 year old's back and kept repeating, "I've got game!" as he repeatedly stabbed his best friend to death.
I bet you can guess who the parents blame and it's not the 17 year old.
ack-ack
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"I bet you can guess who the parents blame and it's not the 17 year old. "
James Naismith?
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Smart lawyering....
"grand theft auto made me do it....the voices in my head....Marilyn Manson....My Father never told me he loved me....Father McCulhy touched me on the top of my head....Black Sabbath made me do it"
Why take the rap, when you can blame someone else!
Tronsky
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This suit is as stupid as allowing the suit against American, United and the Port Authority to continue.
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Originally posted by Swoop
Or perhaps the answer to the perennial problem of delinquent teenagers dropping bricks from motorway and railway bridges is to sue the creators of Tetris.
Classic.
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Stupid kids/teenagers should be whipped or belted.
Works wonders for personality development :)
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Originally posted by udet
Stupid kids/teenagers should be whipped or belted.
Works wonders for personality development :)
Allways got my attention OUCH:(
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damn kids...its noones fault but there own and im sick of them using the video game industry as a excuse...hang em by the toenails its more than they deserve