- GameJunkieJim
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- Exalted Mythic Member
Poll: Action? [closed]
| Don't send it:
3%
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(1 Votes)
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| Revise it and send:
7%
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(2 Votes)
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| Don't bother sending.:
3%
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(1 Votes)
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| Post in other Site Forums:
7%
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(2 Votes)
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| Send it, because of principle.:
21%
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(6 Votes)
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| Don't send, it will make it worse.:
3%
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(1 Votes)
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Total Votes: 29
I was searching through the Flood's archives and saw a thread about this site.
It was gut wrenching to see some of the things posted there, and I am contemplating sending a letter to them and circulating it to gaming related sites. Let me know what your opinions are on the matter, I have cut 2 comments from the thread I found it in, and the rest is my own. Here is the letter in it's entirety.
[color=white]To : http://www.mavav.org
I hope this letter finds you well.
My name is James Triche, I am 25 years old, married, and have a daughter who is 3, and another child is due in February. I live in New Jersey, and work at vehicle dealership. Also, I collect videogames and videogame memorabilia.
Your site concerns me gravely.
Regarding the site’s content, describing those people responding to their e-mail address as “feral young children” seems very elitist and inappropriate for an atmosphere of discussion. An attack on the character of the other side is never a fair and reasonable tactic, and just shows that the creators of this site are too close-minded to accept any other view points other that their own. Your "articles" section has been down, for well over a month, and doesn't help with your credibility.
I have yet to see any solid scientific proof that video games create or encourage violent behavior.
I have yet to find scientific proof that video games are addictive.
There are two types of addiction, physical and psychological. Video games cannot be physically addictive as there are no chemicals that enter your body when you play them. A psychological addiction is a sign of a deeper neurosis, generally caused by social environment. (Read this as upbringing and social education by the role leading figures in the life of the child)
If you wouldn't mind sending me some of your paraphernalia, I would like to understand just what gives you the audacity to take the blame of poor child rearing off the hands of the parents and place them on a non-personal entity like a video game company?
Simply put; I'd like a full understanding of how you can maintain a site dedicated to promoting the casting off of family values. If more of your time was spent actually being parents and monitoring what your children did, rather than making slanderous and ignorant websites, then the country would be a lot better off.
As a recent parent I understand the necessity of responsibility in showing my child right from wrong. Remember: Joe Lieberman's videogame witch-hunt was spawned by much the same thing. I.E. Parents who complain about the videogames that their children are playing. Well, I know my daughter isn't going to be able to afford videogames until she is at least 13 or 14, so who's buying these games?
If a parent isn't going to do more than take a cursory glance at the box, they don't deserve the responsibility of deciding what their children are exposed to. In this day and age child-raising is being delegated to the TV set. A parent that has no 'time' to find out what their kid is playing, should worry about finding that time, not getting angry when they find out that little Tommy's GTA3 has a hooker in it.
Am I the only one who’s Mom wouldn't buy Mortal Kombat? My mother was apparently responsible to a degree in what I was exposed to and she worked 12 hour days on the night shift. She eventually evaluated it herself on a trip with me to the arcade, and bought it for me - after she knew what it was and told me what she thought. I give a lot of respect to her because of that.
PARENTS EVERYWHERE read this: Your children are not parakeets. Quality time is not TV, and if you buy a game for junior, pay attention as to what the fudge it is. If you buy it anyway you RESCIND the right to complain later. Don't be a hypocrite and pretend after the fact that you really care; you obviously didn't care enough when you bought it.
I'd recommend this book on the effect of culture and parenting on children and the like: Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Wonder Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes by Mary Eberstadt.
Your site seems like an atrocious kick into the nethers of a largely adult themed industry. Your facts are intentionally misleading, and unless I can see some supporting evidence, likely to be labeled as propaganda by many. It is not your right to spread falsehood and misdirection. It's vaguely reminiscent of a practice carried out in the late 1930's and early 1940's in Germany. Hopefully we won't be seeing any bonfires in your midst anytime soon. Especially once you people actually quit deluding yourself and redirect the blame where it truly lay.
I have made my peace.
-James Triche[/color]
[Edited on 12/26/2004 10:56:14 PM]