AJ the Irish Lass' Ramblings

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I just happened across the article above recently, but it gave me some thoughts I’d like to share.  To summarize things, an attorney appeared on a cable news network shortly after the massacre.  As is common after such tragedies, there were strong opinions about what did and didn’t cause the shootings.

The attorney’s premise was that video games were to blame not only for the Virginia Tech shootings, but most other school shootings in recent memory. These comments have understandably angered many in the gaming community.

Gamers are often given a bad rap.  Opponents of the video game industry often wrongly believe that all gamers are angry, dysfunctional 20-something males.

Are they aware of the professional 40 and 50-somethings who play games? (Yes, folks, they do exist).  Or the young men who are good students & members of society who like games?  And yes, there is at least one reguarly employed, 3.5 GPA, actively involved in parish lay ministry female gamer in existence-yours truly. 🙂

Not all video games are shoot-’em-ups. Many are very suitable for younger children, some have educational value,  and there is actually a market for Christian-themed video games. While I doubt that anti-gaming advocates would find anything offensive about faith-based games, one never knows!

When a tragedy hits, people usually look for two things first-answers and a scapegoat.  The latter is usually easier to find. It’s much easier to blame a video game, movie, musical group, website, guns, gun laws, medications, etc. than it is to address the bigger issues.

While mental illness seems to be a factor in many cases of violence, violent acts stem from one main source-lack of respect for human life & dignity. When we, as a society, learn to become more life-affirming, then maybe such tragedies will become less commonplace.