Author slams Senator Clinton @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on August 02, 2005

News: Hilary gets the facts laid down on her about video game violence and kids today.

Last week, on July 27, Steven Johnson wrote an editorial for the LA Times slamming Senator Hilary Clinton's (D-NY) plan for a $90 million study on the effects of video games on our children What's new you say? Gamers all over have been Hilary-hating for the past few weeks and this opinion piece is already a week old. Well, it needs to be read by everyone that feels they have a stake in this fight. Gamers and non-gamers alike. Yes, it's been linked by every news site, blog and two-bit commentator on the net. But if this news article makes just one person read this editorial that wouldn't otherwise, then I've done my job.

Johnson is the author of Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter, a book that has been very well received for it's very reasoned look at hobbies (like video games) that have long been thought to be no good, but really give lots of benefits to those that partake in them. Johnson flexes his mental muscles and pulls out a few choice gems. For example:

"I'd like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids Ч a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.

I'm talking, of course, about high school football."

"According to Duke University's Child Well-Being Index, today's kids are less violent than kids have been at any time since the study began in 1975. Perhaps, Sen. Clinton, your investigation should explore the theory that violent games function as a safety valve, letting children explore their natural aggression without acting it out in the real world."

"Of course, I admit that there's one charge against video games that is a slam dunk. Kids don't get physical exercise when they play a video game, and indeed the rise in obesity among younger people is a serious issue. But, of course, you don't get exercise from doing homework either."

Read on everybody, it's worth it.

source: LA Times