Despite there being numerous studies out there indicating that the violence seen in realistic video games doesn't necessarily lead to real-life violence, that hasn't stopped certain entities from placing the blame on the gaming community in desperate times. Often when tragedies strike, an easy scapegoat beyond the circumstance as is are often warranted and gaming has been that scapegoat for a very long time.

When a horrific mass shooting took place on Valentine's Day in Boca Raton, Florida, at least 17 fatalities occurred alongside numerous injuries. The needless violence has changed the lives of many forever and once again divides the United States as to what needs to be done. With so many different opinions and reactions to the tragedy, it was only a matter of time before the gaming community was once more pulled in as a source of blame.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin recently stated in an interview that the violence seen in video games needs to be looked at, and once again targets in-game content as inspiration for real-life violence. This isn't Bevin's first time issuing this sort of reactionary statement either, he is on record saying that video games are "desensitizing young people" to the tragedies or killing in real life, while inspiring them to recreate scenes seen in these games.

“There are video games that, yes, are listed for mature audiences, but kids play them, and everybody knows it, and there’s nothing to prevent the child from playing them.” He furthered his graphic comparison by saying games “celebrate the slaughter of people. There are games that literally replicate and give people the ability to score points for doing the same thing that these students are doing inside of schools, where you get extra points for finishing someone who’s lying there begging for their life.”

Though this sort of commentary is nothing new, it is the sort that gets picked up by more generalized media painting the community at large in a violent light during already uncertain times. Hopefully the commentary about video games can soon desist, and the real issues can be tackled in order to prevent the loss of even more lives in the future, whatever that solution may be.

Posted: Feb 17, 2018 1:24 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/02/16/florida-school-shooting-video-game-violence/