ChrisJApr 19th, 2007 - 21:57:19

Stern is completely right!

I've shot a lot of people in virtual worlds. There is no way in hell that makes me want to do the same in real life.

I have real guns and have shot in NRA national shooting competitions. I know I could never shoot another human being except for self defense.

I have played many hunting games. But I have never been hunting myself and have no desire to do so either.

Saying that video games directly influence a person is rediculous.

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Video GamerApr 20th, 2007 - 18:44:32

What a joke, I've been playing video games of all kinds for a long time and plenty of them real violent and I don't even yell at my roommate's dog when it steals my sammich.. what a joke, half of the reason these morons say this is because they are dying for the attention they get, whether it is positive or negative attention, they know that people will be talking about the garbage they speak of, therefore getting attention.

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Aaron (Portland)Apr 20th, 2007 - 19:08:39

Stern is right, we as a human race have seen great horrors in years devoid of video games. Dr. Phil is also right, putting training simulations in the hands of anyone with $60 is a dangerous game. There are people who want to kill, but only will do so if they can be successful. Thus, the video games give them a place to practice. Be that as it may, the only people who are to blame are the individuals who commit the act of killing other human beings. People will always be people, evil will always be a reality and in this country of consumerism and capitalism there will always be video games, guns and the means of aquiring both. The issue is not what is avaliable, the issue is with each and every person's heart, that is, their core being. And with out a right relationship with God in Christ Jesus, our hearts will always turn toward evil and we will all end up killing eachother.

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M3RC1L3SSApr 23rd, 2007 - 03:35:53

All these people have to simply go into a room with an open mind and try the game out for themselves. Then they may see that there is no relationship between the violence that would be in the world anyway and what is in the game. It saddens me that polititions and other influential people try to impose their will on us in this incredible land of free-speach. Games may be addicting bit they do not tell us to go to the mall and shoot a hundred people or bomb a shop. that id the work of an already unsound mind that desperatly needs help.

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wellduhApr 26th, 2007 - 08:41:18

Dr. Phil is a nice guy. Doesn't mean he is always insightful and is immune from his own hype. In this case, Dr. Phil focuses on expression and means and ignores motive. As far as means goes, he could be right that the VT assassin picked up some skills and planning from video games.

There is no logical way to translate general video game violence (merely a means at best) to the specific motive and reasoning that lead to this rampage. And there is no doubt that there was specific if insane reasoning as to motive. The assassin was not shooting people for sport or sheer joy. Apparently, as hard to see as it is, he conceived some rationale of vengeance. So video games haven't provided a motive yet...unless I am missing where the assassin played that big underground video game where a campus rampage gets you all the campus honeys (that game would be too suggestive).

Truth? Reality is somewhere in between.

No - games do not create mental illness. For normal people they pose no threat other than time wasting addiction.

However, I have personal observed mentally unstable people with get rapidly worse with video games.

Basically for the mentally unstable people video games instill both confidence in a warped view of the world and basic attack skills. A mentally unstable person will often mistake the existence and popularity of a game for a sense that others agree with their warped view. Similarly other mentally challenged people have no moral world map of their own and while searching adopt the game world view, based simply on its 'flashy' and 'shininess'. Thus video games are an accelerator and compass for what might happen anyway - just as book or movie might be (though at levels 50-1000 times less intense).

Yes - video games can take what is currently a fair harmlessly mental problem and create a fairly skillful monster-in-waiting. Yet I think it is also true that most such people still need a stress in the external world to snap and translate thoughts into deeds.

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LinuxUser 473442Jun 11th, 2007 - 18:42:24

For once, I agree with the guy. Cho was a psycho path and would have killed people if he had video games or no video games. I know plenty of very very nice people that play games more violent then 'counter strike'that would never even consider shooting real people.

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SWENSJun 25th, 2007 - 14:18:59

Just once I would like to see these 'Experts' look at themsleves as a profession. Why the hell didnt someone catch this unstable person long before this happened. Seems to me alot of people dropped the ball.

So....Dr Phill and all his proffesion.. Why did not one of you clue into this idiots intensions or potential?

As I see it that is the real problem, at some point someone had a chance, mby even multiple chances to intervene here and nobody did. You people failed, caused this terrible tragedy, and then blamed the most convinient 'hyped' excuse you could come up with for publicity.. Phill you make me sick!

SWENS

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J GavinJan 12th, 2008 - 08:14:46

Only the worlds most ignorant individuals lend credibility to the likes of 'Dr.' Phil, aiding in the formation of the kind of enviroment wherein guilty murderers get off scott-free by blaming some facet of entertainment.

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