We've all heard about the tragedy in CT today... Of course, I knew before even coming home and looking for articles on the internet that someone would blame a video game for the tragedy. What I didn't expect was which game would be blamed, and that was Mass Effect. How did thousands come to this conclusion? Because the shooter apparently Liked the official Mass Effect Facebook page, and it wasn't even the shooter's Facebook page that people were viewing. It was the brother of the shooter's page that liked the game.
It hurts a lot to hear of such a horrific event happening anywhere in the world, nevermind how many incredibly young victims were involved. It's an expected reaction to want, to need a scapegoat, something or someone to point the finger of blame to. But it is also dangerous to throw that finger of blame around without having any facts. I'm sure the shooter probably played video games at some point, because a lot of youthful men do, but if that was the case, there would be a LOT more school shootings. A LOT MORE.
Video games may not be a good thing for mentally disturbed people to play, I will say that much. But let's not put so much blame on them. Who knows what was going on through the mind of that kid. Maybe something terrible happened during his childhood that was far more damaging than any violent video game. Can we blame his parenting? Can we blame his mental therapist for not acting on warning signs? Can we at least find something concrete to place blame on first? Better yet, can we just blame him?
I'm so tired of defending my hobby every time there's a shooting, because it honestly isn't the cause. It's such a sad thing that happened on the East coast earlier this morning, but rushing to blame someone or something doesn't help. Mourning isn't something that you can just rush out the door, and closure is something that you need to do that. It's important to not get closure wrong. And let's just say Mass Effect, or whatever violent video game DID cause the shooter to go over the edge. Well, I can guaran-damn-tee you that there were far more greater factors that attributed to him shooting a school full of innocent children.
My heart and thoughts go out to the family and friends of those lost today. I hope you find your closure soon, but please don't think blaming video games will help.
