If you subscribe to the notion that “you become what you pay attention to”, or “you are what you think” then the repeated simulation of killing, made to seem real with enhanced 3-D graphics, sound, gore etc., then it seems logical that it could, in some cases, cause a person to be more likely to act out on a violent impulse.

Then I will buy the “violent video games” meme.

Why?

Solaratov on February 19, 2013 at 11:54 AM

Because that way he can avoid the more obvious implications.

Its always violence, guns, games – with some bizarre 6th degrees to conservatives – rinse and repeat.

Sort of like Dr Drew sitting back and giving interviews – being his 5th “patient” has died from his TV show.

Now, do you think people on the fringe of what was some sort of celebrity career – being thrown on TV for millions to see their failure and addiction might have a cause and effect, leading to death?

Sort of like teachers – who are the “first notifiers” for a kid to be put on psychotropic drugs – end up blaming everything and anything – instead of the fact they, as non licensed Dr’s – recommended drugs because Johnny cant keep still. That immense 20 year rise of Ritalin really panned out…

Feelings, talking and exposure are always the solution, even when they aren’t.

Extreme resistance to governmental taxation and authority is derived, according to Freud’s theory of anal characterology, from premature and harshly coercive toilet training, in which a child is forced unfairly and against its will to surrender the products of his eliminations (which represent money, among other things, in the unconscious) to parental authority. Among these individuals anal eroticism plays a significant role in the psychogenesis of paranoia and conspiracy theorizing, which may represent a defense mechanism erected against repressed fears of passive submission.
PMID: 21553677
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

J_Crater on February 19, 2013 at 11:41 AM

Well, there you have it. All the left needs now is a famous crackpot psychologist to declare the desire to own a firearm a mental illness. (Don’t think they aren’t working on it.)

Ban [insane Democrats]…for the children.

Christien on February 19, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Redundant.

I blame the mother.

southsideironworks on February 19, 2013 at 11:25 AM

Why?

She was the only one trying to get any help for the kid. (Perhaps she had an idea from things he said of what he wanted to do) She wanted to have him committed so that he could get full-time treatment.

And the state stopped her from doing that…with the gleeful participation and assistance of the ACLU.

Lefties will, because lefties and these shooters all share the same thing: mental illness.

GardenGnome on February 19, 2013 at 11:36 AM

If you please…The way things have been going lately, what mentally- and emotionally healthy people call illness is ‘normal’ for liberals.

My favorite games are probably exactly what this guy played.

I won’t be shooting anyone though. Lefties will, because lefties and these shooters all share the same thing: mental illness.

Ban insane Democrats…for the children.

I can hardly wait to ask my son about the satanic messages in Minecraft though. He and two of his buddies created the world of Beowolf as a project for their senior English class. I’ll have to ask him if he will print out some of his Power Point slides of the presentation they did so I can turn them upside-down and check for satanic messages. I can hardly wait to see the look on his face.

Maybe I’ll wait until they are all at my house and ask him then.

Yup–now I want to go shoot up clones and psychic commanders.

Oh, wait–that’s what I have the game for! It’s not like I can use cheat codes in reality.

Never mind…

See the connection?

There are sick people in this world. Misunderstanding their illness is what leads to their violence, not video games, and certainly not guns.

rockmom on February 19, 2013 at 10:20 AM

Well, now we’re getting somewhere.

Yeah, well, I want to see the list of games. I want to decide whether it is “a trove”, whether it is mainly first-person shooters, and whether it’s value is thousands of dollars. Reportedly doesn’t cut it with me anymore.

Dusty on February 19, 2013 at 10:35 AM

I don’t know why reportedly doesn’t cut it with you anymore. After all, that AR-15 that is the focus of the gun-haters reportedly doesn’t exist, was in the car outside the school, or the primary weapon in the Sandy Hook shootings. Why would that give you pause about media integrity? /

“… but police did reportedly find thousands of dollars worth of violent video games.”

Yeah, well, I want to see the list of games. I want to decide whether it is “a trove”, whether it is mainly first-person shooters, and whether it’s value is thousands of dollars. Reportedly doesn’t cut it with me anymore.

Why not just flip the television upside down? ;0

Happy Nomad on February 19, 2013 at 10:11 AM

Because the LED fluid would leak out.

What are you, ignant?

Same for beer and pot leading to heroin, what heroin user is going to skip beer and pot and go to heroin. I am not a great believer in the gateway theory.

Conan on February 19, 2013 at 10:11 AM

You seem to contradict yourself. The gateway theory is that pot use leads to stronger drugs like heroin, not the other way around. This is the whole justification potheads use for the legalization of weed.

To your larger point, I think there is some cause to link tendencies with opportunity. One may not be a rapist after getting access to porn but it desensitizes the “reader” to normal views on sexuality. Same goes for the constant views of violence in games, on television, in movies, etc. Such activities may not cause a killer but it normalizes violent behavior.