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| Enough With The Kids, Already | ||||||
| Ever since the Janet Jackson flashing at the Super Bowl, it seems like everyone is suddenly concerned with the well-being of children. �There is an increasing movement to cater everything from radio to video games to television so as not to "warp the minds of kids" or "expose them to the ills of society," and this movement is being led by our very own government. What I am about to say is what many people think, but have not said for fear of sounding politically incorrect: Nobody cares about your damn kids! | ||||||
| Since when did it become the job of the government to look out for the best interest of children?� I thought it was the parents' job to decide what their kids watch, play, and listen to. �What ignited this "powder keg" in the first place was when U2's Bono said the "f-word" at the Golden Globe Awards in 2003, and the legislation and political ballyhoo has skyrocketed ever since. | ||||||
| Take, for instance, California congressman Joe Baca's bill, H.R. 669, "the Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2003," as his Web site states. �This bill, which Baca introduced in February of 2003, "imposes penalties on those who sell or rent to minors video games that depict nudity, sexual conduct, or other content harmful to minors," and was indirectly in response to a game that revolutionized the game industry and caused mass controversy, Grand Theft Auto III, by Rockstar Games. �Considering the nature of this amendment, I guess Baca does not know the slangy sexual reference that could be referenced to the ending number of his bill, or else he probably would have caused an uproar about that too. �After all, keep in mind that this legislation was brought forth to protect the kids from this kind of stuff. | ||||||
| Anyway, Baca includes on his Web site a hilarious fact-sheet on the effects of video games on children. �One ludicrous claim Baca makes is that "Video games with violent and sexually oriented material are brainwashing and conditioning our kids to violence." �Is he serious? Can you name one person you know that was actually brainwashed by a video game and went out and murdered people? I thought brainwashing was the term we used to describe what Adolf Hitler did with propaganda during World War II? �"Whatever you command, Grand Theft Auto III, mein fuhrer!" | ||||||
| It is clear that Baca, along with the rest of the government, does not understand why kids play violent video games. �I love playing violent video games (as well as non-violent ones) because they are fun! I have been playing video games, looking at Playboy Magazine, and watching violent movies filled with cussing ever since I was about six-years-old and I have not killed anyone! In fact, I've never even hurt anyone, and I'm willing to bet that most guys who enjoy the kind of entertainment I described above are the same way. | ||||||
| On his Web site, Baca cites another game besides Grand Theft Auto III (and its predecessor, ViceCity) that he has a problem with: BMX XXX, which "lets players spend their money in strip clubs, showing live-action footage of naked strippers." �First of all, this game not only tanked because it sucked, but was shunned by many for having this "adult" theme to it. �Since when did America become so offended by things that depict nude women? �Furthermore, when did it become so concerned with depicting violence? �If this was the case, surely the ultra-violent "The Passion Of The Christ" would not have done as well as it has thus far, and made Mel Gibson over $300-million.� Oh yeah, that movie was "educational." | ||||||
| This campaign on violence in video games can be perfectly compared to the current FCC crackdown on "indecency" on the airwaves. �Everybody is so concerned with the kids, and whether they see a bare breast on television or hear the word "booger" on the radio. �Last time I checked, these were some of the only things kids talked about among one another, so why is this so taboo? �Most people who saw the Jackson breast at the Super Bowl probably didn't even realize what happened until the media exacerbated it, replaying the incident over and over again. �More recently Howard Stern was taken off of six radio stations because of "indecency," and because the kids might be listening.� There is one problem, though: Stern's show is broadcasted from 6:00am to about 11:00am, a time when children are supposed to be in school. �How, then, can they possibly be brainwashed by his "indecent" show? If they are ditching school they are already delinquents, so why should Stern be blamed for this? �Music has "Parental Advisory" labels and movies are rated, along with television shows and video games - isn't this enough? | ||||||
| The job of protecting kids from these "ills of society" is not the government's responsibility; it is the individual parent's. �This is a personal issue, not a public one. �That being said, don't inconvenience me because of what your stupid rugrat sees or hears. Nobody gives a damn about your kids. | ||||||
| Copyright Gerry Wachovsky, 2004, and Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | ||||||
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