Clay Bennett for August 11, 2019

Political Games are linked to gun violence, not video games….

Sorry, Mario. You gun control legislation is in another castle!

Wait…are you suggesting that the NRA is gaming the system?

Well, it’s true. All countries that have those video games have tons of mass shootings — except for all the other countries.

An obvious cause. Anybody can see that. Or the NRA can show you The Truth.

One (lamebrained) politician blamed, gay marriage and drag queens.

Well, yeah! Look at all the other countries that allow their violent video games and have non-stop mass shootings. Wait, what? The US is the only one with mass shootings even though video games in some countries are even more violent than in the US? Oh, dear.

Guns don’t kill people, Politicians kill people.

Well said Clay!

FAKE NEWS! The Senate is on C-SPAN 2.

This congresswoman and most extreme so called “Christians” think they can pray away the gay and therapy torture. Pence for one. If these Christians are so godly, why then, do the cage children, start wars, alienate the world, destroy the good in America, take bribes, lie, collude with enemies, etc? CHRISTIANS MY @ss!

She’s from OHIO: Old Harridan Is Obscene.

Need a little sidebar on the screen showing NRA contributions to pro-gun senators going up by the second.

Moscow Mitch now supports the president’s call for more extensive background checks. I guess that House bill calling for “more extinensive background checks” that’s been sitting on his desk since February has gotten lost in the shuffle. Oh wait, the president didn’t want to see it then. We need a new bill, I suppose. Besides, Congress won’t reconvene until September. We’ll have a new distraction by then, I’m sure. /s

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mcconnell-taps-gop-senators-to-mull-bipartisan-legislation-after-shootings/ar-AAFnHr5

Most gamers know it’s a fantasy. I prefer writing mysteries and killing off my enemies. It’s a great feeling by playing God before returning to reality. It’s why there’s no connection between violent video games and real violence.

Well… the violence in video games and movies does change our perspective on the value of life. Portrays it as fun where the good guy with a gun wins and becomes a hero. So then, when you have a culture that pits one group against another.. it is not hard to imagine an unstable person wanting to “fix” things as well.

Video games don’t cause mass shootings. But gamer culture encourages hate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/video-games-dont-cause-mass-shootings-but-gamer-culture-encourages-hate/2019/08/09/655409a0-b9f2-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html

Trump and Moscow Mitch are floating the idea of kinda, sorta, possible universal background checks now. The is a ruse. Their not going to cross the NRA. Some watered down version might come about but nothing of real consequence. They both like to claim victory where none exists. I think they both would like the issue overtaken by something else. Distraction Trump will do his best to see that happens.

I would like to agree with you that the RepubliCONS think Candice is nuts, but can any of the current infestation actually think? Observation would seem to suggest otherwise. (:

What do you mean by “universal background checks” and how would you enforce it?

Yes, murder began with Pong

Clay is obviously fantasizing about the vote. Moscow Mitch would never let it be brought to the floor for a vote.

I believe there is a sovereign cure for this disease. We’ve known it for decades, and we’ve only very seldom practiced it, though we know it works. It’s called Throw the Bastards Out!

Here’s an idea.

We already have NICS. We already subject ourselves to a background check. Instead of checking every gun purchase let’s use it to issue a universal gun card. Run the person through NICS. If he passes, send the permit.

Then require anyone who sells a gun to ask to see the permit 1st.

We can use it as a universal CCW as well.

I urge all of you to go up and read the WaPo article martens linked to.

I don’t fully agree with the content but the author makes quite a few very good points. While discarding the direct correlation between the games themselves and violence, she exposes a very direct correlation between participation in the gaming community and hateful, harmful behaviors. She also mentions the links to the alt-right community while ignoring the presence of the extreme fringe left players. But the general premise is spot on.

“The issue isn’t that games themselves induce violence – we know they don’t – but that the gamer community has provided a gathering place for some furious, hateful individuals and encouraged their worst tendencies. Though the gaming world is huge and diverse, and full of smart and wonderful players, it is also thronged by misogynists and racists who feel free to advocate harm against anyone who’s not like them, whether during gameplay or on Discord, Reddit and YouTube.”

I am still of the opinion that immersion in the games does result in desensitization. But right or wrong, the article is a validation of the larger problems associated with violent gaming. In the end, it really doesn’t matter if the games generate the problem or if the problems are attracted to the games. Parents need to wake up and regain control of what their children are doing on the internet.