What's it coming to?

[jcreamer]

I saw on the news that a group of teenagers beat up a lady for kicks. They did not rob her and just pounded the heck out of her. She still had all of her money on her. If that was my wife or mother and I could find out who did it nothing would hold me back.:--|:--|

[outfishin28]

that is a damn shame, f n punks, and you are right there is nothing that would hold me back as well.

[Southern Man]

Its all part of the conditioning. These video games are part of it its to take the youth at a early age and desenceitive (sp) them. JMO

[SGT.Bunghole]

I detest that statement!

I have and still do play video games. Games of all sorts including extremely violent, funny, realistic..... and im not a bad person. I have been playing games for nearly 20 years. Heck i remember my first atari console. This type of behavior has nothing to do with "video games" It has more to do with a lack of parenting, morals, self esteem. It goes way deeper than some kid playing gta and then going out and mugging people. Your outlook is like blaming Brian Warner-marylin manson for the columbine shootings. Perhaps you have been hanging around joe lieberman and his cronies?

Why is it just video games, Not movies? There are some pretty graphic and suggestive movies out there, heck while we are at it what kind of music did these kids listen to. Lets ban that as well.

http://lesstewart.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/scapegoat.jpg

[J_Lannon]

I detest that statement!

I have and still do play video games. Games of all sorts including extremely violent, funny, realistic..... and im not a bad person. I have been playing games for nearly 20 years. Heck i remember my first atari console. This type of behavior has nothing to do with "video games" It has more to do with a lack of parenting, morals, self esteem. It goes way deeper than some kid playing gta and then going out and mugging people. Your outlook is like blaming Brian Warner-marylin manson for the columbine shootings. Perhaps you have been hanging around joe lieberman and his cronies?

Why is it just video games, Not movies? There are some pretty graphic and suggestive movies out there, heck while we are at it what kind of music did these kids listen to. Lets ban that as well.

http://lesstewart.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/scapegoat.jpg



He might have meant the overall conditioning that kids today are exposed to.

You have to agree that todays kids are exposed to some pretty raw stuff.

Cultures can change rather quickly due to internet and media exposure.

Not trying to argue........... but lets face it........the media that kids are exposed to today is pretty gruesome.

I recently stopped 3 teens from beating on a old man on Victory Blvd. in Portsmouth. I had to spend 4 hours in jail until a store owner came into the station and spoke up for me. She told the cops what went down. She told the cops that I kept the punks off the old man and I got the better of 2 of them. But I still had to be processed. Next time.........I'll just run over them and claim brake failure.

[Al Kai]

Young criminals are brave in groups and attack people that cannot fight back.

When they are placed into a prison, other inmates should be made aware of thier crimes.

They would get a chance to see how it feels to be attacked.

[wolfva]

Hell, this type of behavior has been going on since long before man harnassed electricity. Nothing new about it. Although massive indoctrination towards violence via movies, music, games, etc do increase this type of behavior, it's not the cause. The cause is a lack of discipline in the family coupled with human nature.

[BubbaHoTep]

. . . . The cause is a lack of discipline in the family coupled with human nature.

Bingo.

I used to play the first-person shooter games quite a lot (I'm still convinced that Wolf 3-D for the 386 was the best way I relieved stress in grad school ha ha), yet it has never led me to the conclusion that doing so was ok in the "real" world. For many, though, those boundaries are blurred. What you say, wolfva and SGT, about morals, parenting, and self-esteem absolutely rings true in my book. Excellent posts IMO.

Agreed jcreamer, it would be difficult to hold back on punks who do things like this.

[SGT.Bunghole]

The thing which leads me to believe its a moral-family-parent issue is that these games ,movies even music are regulated by a ratings board. The mp/esrb dont give movies and games an r/m rating for nothing. That being said who is buying these games, movie tickets for these "youth"? Game stores id, movie theaters id(i know i used to work at one). Can a 14 year old really afford a 350 dollar video game console, then 60 bucks for a game?

That coupled with the fact there will always be people who are just down right mean and nasty.

[drawinout]

Bingo.

I used to play the first-person shooter games quite a lot (I'm still convinced that Wolf 3-D for the 386 was the best way I relieved stress in grad school ha ha), yet it has never led me to the conclusion that doing so was ok in the "real" world. For many, though, those boundaries are blurred. What you say, wolfva and SGT, about morals, parenting, and self-esteem absolutely rings true in my book. Excellent posts IMO.

Agreed jcreamer, it would be difficult to hold back on punks who do things like this.

Wolfenstine 3d was awesome, wasn't it? I remember that game and a golf game on an old Compaq PC when I was a kid. Now, being I'm only 26 years old, and didn't have cable until I was 17, maybe I shouldn't be giving advice. That being said, you definitely can't blame todays violence on video games. Parenting plays a major role, but even that can't be singled out any more. You better believe there are lots of "good" parents out there right now with "kids" that are doing some messed up things. I know many people my own age I wouldn't trust to vote, never mind lead in the future. The media definitely plays a HUGE role in how the youth of today sees things. For instance, you have EXTREMELY wealthy people like Paris Hilton, who has NO talent whatsoever cashing in on being wealthy!!!! She could live the rest of her life on her earnings alone, never mind the multibillion dollar Hilton Hotel chain she stands to inherit. You have P. Diddy and Jay Z.. These guys are talented Hip Hop producers, but are they worth 500 million???????? I don't think so! I don't think there is an artist or ball player in the world that should be worth that kind of money. When you live in a society that throws anything and everything on freedom of expression and speech, and lets every ounce of morals fall to the wayside, this is to be expected. AAAHHHHH, anyway, that's just an opinion of mine. Society as a whole needs an overhaul, and I have no idea how that's going to happen...... BACK TO FISHING CHAT!

[RuddeDogg]

I have a hard time with the idea that video gams and movies play a part in how kids act. It's up to the parents to do their job as parents and make sure that their children are raised properly. it's way too easy to give your child a video game or park em in front of the boob tube instead of spending time them and doing activities with them. I was never into computer games but did play D & D and games of the like and I didn't around slicin and dicin people. I had a good strong upbringing and was taught famliy values and morals. And when I did step out of line you can bet that I got the SMACK laid down on me.

A while back I posted on the NJ board about a kid I met while fishin. He was down here from Phila with his brother and they were fshin. Michael the kid, was not into fishin and was busy playin his game boy. We taught him how to cast and he put his bait out and went back to playin the game boy. As he was playin with the game boy he started gettin hit and I said, "Hey ya might want to get that,". He looked at his rod just in time to see it get hit and hit hard. Long story short he caught his first keeper striper. He landed it and we baited him up again and he casted back out. he went back to playin the game and I said, "You sure you want to do that?". He looked at me and looked at his rod and went over to his brothers car and threw the game boy inside and said, "The hell with that.". Now he is hooked on fishin and comes down with his brother on a regular basis.

[subdude]

Studies have shown that those who act in such a criminal way have poorly formed or under developed frontal lobes of the brain which causes them to act impulsively without thought of empathy or consequences. That does not excuse their behavior, just explains some of it. I hope they catch them and let them fry.

[J_Lannon]

You guys are telling me that when teens hear lyrics like: Bitch, Hoe, White MOFO, Kill Pigs, N****r, Beat down .... That it's not going to influence them?

There have also been plenty of headlines indicating that kids have been influenced to crime after playing certain video games, and character role playing games.

I believe that its gotta have some influence. Mayby I'm wrong.

[drawinout]

You guys are telling me that when teens hear lyrics like: Bitch, Hoe, White MOFO, Kill Pigs, N****r, Beat down .... That it's not going to influence them?

There have also been plenty of headlines indicating that kids have been influenced to crime after playing certain video games, and character role playing games.

I believe that its gotta have some influence. Mayby I'm wrong.

Look J, you can look at all the stats you want, but society has been going to hell in a hand basket long before yo yo raps was around. In the 60's and 70's there were all those dumba!@ free loving hippies. Then they had kids and gave birth to a bunch of dumb!@ kids that thought it was cool to drop out and be a rockstar.. All the while all this "freedom of expression" and "freedom of speech" was harnessed, and carried to a ridiculous level. Next thing you know these dumba!@ failed rockstars from the 80's gave birth to all the little scrawny punk kids you see running around today!!! It's an ongoing cycle, and I don't think there is much to stop the process. If you were a free loving hippy in the 60's preaching "freedom of expression" and "free speech", along with a lot of other things, you better believe you played a major roll in what you see today with the scrawny little yo yo rap generation. Yes, parenting plays a major roll, but when you send one kid to school with 10 bad ones, there isn't much a good parent is going to be able to do. Hell, I was in highschool 8 years ago, and I saw a Preacher's daughter turned out just as fast as any other kid. I can't even imagine what's going on in school today!!! I'm not trying to get worked up or create an argument. There are a number of different things that have made society in America a messed up place. LOL,,,, I'm not going to get all worked up here. Everybody makes valid points, but blaming things strictly on parenting, rap music, or video games might be a tad off in my opinion... You definitely can't place the blame on previous generations either, I was just trying prove all our problems didn't come from the yo yo rap generation. Not to say that some problems haven't come from the yo yo rap generation, but they can't be singled out. ALRIGHT,,, I'M GOING TO TAKE A CHILL PILL NOW AND SEE IF I CAN'T LET THE MOTOR IN MY MOUTH COOL DOWN!!!! LOL

[drawinout]

I have a feeling J_Lannon is about to give me the 1-2 Mike Tyson Punch Out here!!!!lol And I probably deserve it.......

[J_Lannon]

I have a feeling J_Lannon is about to give me the 1-2 Mike Tyson Punch Out here!!!!lol And I probably deserve it.......

No way pards. :) Your point of view is just as important as anyone else's.

My thinking is that we all try to keep our kids away from trouble makers so they will not be influenced by them. But they cannot be influenced by various types of media? It just doesnt make sense to me.

[Carolina Rebel]

Video games might have been a partial influence, but if the parents did a worthwhile job there is no way video games would be triggering this kind of behavior. I beat GTA 3 and San Andreas in about 48 hours (I would get hooked on those games!) and I never randomly shot or attacked anyone, nor did anyone else I know. The people I know of that committed these kinds of things had dysfunctional families, always lacked attention, and stayed in trouble at school.

[J_Lannon]

I guess it all boils down to morality.


Dont get me wrong about video games. I wasnt trying to single out young gamers. I love FPS type games and racing sims.

My son grew up a Quake Head, and loved Doom. I used to play against him some times but it was too frustrating.....he would always snipe me before I could get going. :( :)

[drawinout]

Yeah, it's a combination of a bunch of things. I think everything that has been mentioned plays a part in it, but I don't believe any one thing can really be singled out.

[RuddeDogg]

Yeah, it's a combination of a bunch of things. I think everything that has been mentioned plays a part in it, but I don't believe any one thing can really be singled out.

Yep.

[racewire20]

It all boils down to accountability. We do not hold people accountable for there actions anymore due to the fact that everyone is too scared to punish one for his actions. If we would stop letting the pansy a$$ libs control our country and laws and make punishments fit the crimes, and remove all perks from our penal system, have the criminals do the hardest, nastiest back breaking government jobs and give them the minimal life support necessities, you would probably see a dramatic drop in senseless crime. AND I COULD GO ON!:mad:

[LEADDRAFT]

I'm going to put My 2 cents in this mess...
Hip~Hop/Gangsta Rap, Glorified Crap of the "Thug" Life on MTV...
NOT being able to give your child a good AZZ-Whoopin if they screwed up..
I can't count the times I've heard Kids tell their Parents that If they Spanked them, Or other type of Punishment, they call "DSS" ie: Social Services through thier teacher/Counselor, or something to that effect...
Lack of Moral's and RESPECT....
Kids don't know what the word even means...

[SGT.Bunghole]

I had cable television even since i was born. Hbo, showtime ,skinimax and every other channel cox had. My parents did NOT regulate what i was allowed to watch. I remember horror movies and even some soft porn in my youth, i think i saw all of the emanuel movies when i was like ten. It didnt make me worse off. I personally felt it gave me a stronger moral.

Now that i have my own place i have cut off my cable. Mainly due to commercials. Man i hate commercials.

How about those greaser gangs back in the 50's? Dont think there was gangsta rap or video games back then. It was beach boys and the beatles or whoever.

[kingfisherman23]

As a recent graduate of the teenage years, I think that there are two factors to blame.

One, the rap music that is popular is empty of any redeeming message whatsoever. Pop culture is obsessed with stupid punks. Movies, TV, music and games glorify violence and criminal behavior (Grand Theft Auto comes to mind).

Secondly, and more importantly, is the lack of quality parenting these days. For instance, if I were to be a part of a gang that beat up an old woman my immediate family and then my entire extended family on both sides would have torn my ass up. I was raised to know the difference between right and wrong, something that many parents don't seem capable of teaching these days.

These kids need to be rounded up and given a collective beating. :mad::mad::mad::--|

Evan