CT Shooting, Saints Row, Borderlands and the American fetish of guns

*Writer’s note: this is a serious topic and may not be appropriate for all readers due to its graphic content and serious approach to the recent CT events. Also, these are opinions. Take what you need from it.*
I know that Dr. Cory Doctorow and his blogosphere have and are blasting the Internet with reflections, rants and raves, and serious beginnings of a highly delayed discussion piece of the recent shootings in Connecticut on Friday. Just like everyone else who has a blog, I feel that I need to add my voice to the discussion.

And there is no amount of proper diction that can truly capture the horror of it and the respect the survivors so desperately deserve. From what I’ve been looking for on it, information seems to be rather guarded. And it seems odd that a 20-year old genius who is dealing with Asperger’s attacked  an elementary school (see the Washington Post article on the topic, 12-17-12).
One of my co-workers asked me if a person with Asperger’s should be allowed to use a gun. Personally, I’m anti-NRA. The true answer is, it depends on the individual. Individuals with Asperger’s range on a scale of severity and, obviously, he seems to be one of the more higher functioning individuals. You see, individuals with Asperger’s tend to be highly socially awkward because they do not understand social cues (though they can communicate and can do so quite well) and are obsessed about one topic (maybe two or three if the person is lucky). This diagnosis does not make him mentally ill; it is a life long condition that he has to cope with and learn social skills. And as of this writing, I am not aware of what other troubles influenced his actions.

Let’s get back on point though, as this is a video game orientated blog. Since last week, I’ve been planning a reflection on Saints Row The Third. This GTA “clone” is essentially a murder simulator: gun/run individuals over until you’re the last one standing.  While I’ve found it to be fun, it’s also a bit sickening: the protagonist has little regard for human life. Guns can be gathered easily–not even a background check is needed. Furthermore, gangs roam the street with heat obviously seen. They can and will grab citizens for their own protection. And if your avatar dies, he just goes to the hospital while everyone else is left on the pavement. Having access to guns doesn’t make the city safer.  It’s more dangerous because the player (and the antagonists) are the real threats to the city.

Or how about my other odd favorite: Borderlands? Guns are just as easily accessible. Heck, you buy them from vending machine for goodness sakes! To counterpoint a conservative point, having access to more guns does not make the game’s world a safer place; it’s even more inhospitable as bandit’s rob the inhabitants as frequently as they can. While the game sets this up on a more western inspired style, it’s still an easy place to die.

When I started playing video games 25 odd years ago, there wasn’t all this extreme violence available: rapid gunfire, electric deaths, infernos to burn, decapitations, acid baths and impalement. The most violent game on my old NES is the Guardian Legend. One of the most violent SNES games I’ve played is Super Castlevania IV. And everyone knows and “loves” Mortal Combat on the Genesis. Video games are just an easy target because violence flows through nearly every single genre.

Penny Arcade Health to talk about tragedy and video games

And why is that? It’s simple: violence makes things interesting, it keeps things moving. It doesn’t matter if it is a bunch of viruses being destroyed (Dr. Mario) or series of lines that vanish in a flash (Tetris) to stomping on goombas and firing guns at zombies. Would we have it any other way? Probably not. During this time I cannot help but think about an interview Whoopi Goldberg did on the Today Show years ago about violence on television. She was all for it, though she wouldn’t be adverse to directors and writers to try something new.

As I write this post, my mind goes back several years ago when I was in middle school. The Columbine Shooting was the big topic of choice back then. The same arguments from back then are being repeated now: gays caused the problem, gun control doesn’t work, and this is divine punishment from God because we live in a spiritually corrupt society and the two men involved were spiritually bankrupt. The game Doom was to blame because of it depicted Hell. The irony that video games were to blame, and are being blamed again is that it is only here in the US that video games and physical violence go hand in hand (Ten country comparison)

So let’s begin this discussion: what do we as a group of gamers (and gaymers) need to do to change the video game culture? And let’s go even further: why are we holding onto guns, physically or digitally, so tightly? What would truly happen if we gave them up or tightened gun control? What is it about US culture that thrives so much on violence? What can we learn from other Western and Eastern cultures that have lower gun related mortality rates than us? When should a child be allowed to play highly violent games (like Call of Duty) and at what age? What about parent supervision? What can we do, as a society, to make a parent’s job a little bit easier so the parent can be with their child[ren] more? How can we help them with this discussion? How can video games enhance this discussion on gun control?

Yeah, there’s a lot of questions to answer. So let’s get to it.