Hi guys,
I was thinking do video games like "Call of Duty", Grand Theft Auto, etc help or hinder our work to preserve the second amendment? On the one hand, there are many experts and psychologists the say that playing violent video games can desensitize people (especially kids) to violence; thus making them more likely to commit violent acts or reenact what they do in the games. And some games, like "Grand Theft Auto", can hardly be cited as example of responsible firearm ownership/ usage.
On the other hand, one of the guys I work with (who was an anti 2A person a year ago) has actually started shooting in a responsible manner because of these games. In his case, his interest was piqued by the guns in the video games; so much that he went to a local range and rented some of the guns in the game to see first hand if these were the dealers of death on the news or if they were just tools that could be used for good or evil (for lack of better terms) depending on who was holding them. He has since taken a safety course, a basic pistol course, and an intermediate pistol course so that he can safely operate his firearm. He is now a gun owner (self converted), but may not have been if not for the interest generated from the game.
So, what are your thoughts? I have always thought that you are what you are due to how you were raised, and no amount of video games or movies could make you anything else. But, this case is making me rethink my position. We now have a responsible, well trained gun owner thanks to a video game (Thank you Call of Duty).
I was thinking do video games like "Call of Duty", Grand Theft Auto, etc help or hinder our work to preserve the second amendment? On the one hand, there are many experts and psychologists the say that playing violent video games can desensitize people (especially kids) to violence; thus making them more likely to commit violent acts or reenact what they do in the games. And some games, like "Grand Theft Auto", can hardly be cited as example of responsible firearm ownership/ usage.
On the other hand, one of the guys I work with (who was an anti 2A person a year ago) has actually started shooting in a responsible manner because of these games. In his case, his interest was piqued by the guns in the video games; so much that he went to a local range and rented some of the guns in the game to see first hand if these were the dealers of death on the news or if they were just tools that could be used for good or evil (for lack of better terms) depending on who was holding them. He has since taken a safety course, a basic pistol course, and an intermediate pistol course so that he can safely operate his firearm. He is now a gun owner (self converted), but may not have been if not for the interest generated from the game.
So, what are your thoughts? I have always thought that you are what you are due to how you were raised, and no amount of video games or movies could make you anything else. But, this case is making me rethink my position. We now have a responsible, well trained gun owner thanks to a video game (Thank you Call of Duty).