I will probably regret doing this…

I am probably the worst person to wade into this argument but everyone else has thrown their hat in, so why not me. Over the weekend there where two tragic mass shootings in the United States and of course my thoughts and prayers are with those people while on the other hand I have a lot of hate and disgust for others. Now I am not talking about the shooters, to them I have anger and pity, anger that they did this and pity that they thought this was right – there is a special hell reserved for pathetic fools such as these. My hatred is directed at the idiots who keep deflecting from the issue, thus making it worse. From watching the news cycle I have seen two supposed culprits be blamed for these acts of terrorism and that is mental health and video games. I am not qualified enough to deal with mental health but for video games I have all the knowledge needed for this one.

Let us just keep this simple, VIDEO GAMES DO NOT CAUSE MASS SHOOTINGS !

There is no evidence that says playing video games leads to violent behavior, especially mass killings. Do idiotic and violent people play video games?

Unfortunately yes they do, but they also drive cars and drink alcohol which can also lead to them committing senseless and violent acts. Yet we still allow them to do these things – obviously limitations are put in place once an issue is made clear to us

(I also think it is worth nothing that with alcohol and cars societies curb their use through strict rules, regulations and technological improvements)

Anyway I digress as I have already stated there is no link between video games and violence. We have been going through this since the dawn of time, it is just like there was no link between Dungeons and Dragons and the occult, or how both Catcher in The Rye, KISS and Elvis Presley’s hips where never responsible for the corruption of the young. The fact is people will do dumb and bad things. We stop them doing those dumb things in real life by limiting their access to dangerous materials and I am sorry but books, music, board games and VIDEO GAMES are not dangerous materials. Do you know what is dangerous?

Guns, bombs, blades are all dangerous which is why access to these is limited.

Some of you may answer back that books like the anarchist cookbook is something we need to fear but when it comes down to it the book is knowledge that is easily accessible on the internet so that argument is pointless. Back to the point about video games many may look to games like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty for inciting violence, but these are no more violent than the award winning films of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. Just like these directors many games make a point at showing us that the violent actions have consequences and that we must be wary of our choices.

Of course there is utter garbage like Postal and Hatred. Do not site those games as examples of violent video games, they are garbage made by small minded pathetic losers and they do not represent the industry as a whole. Lets face it there will always be exceptions, we cannot deny that. But what we can accept is that the majority of people understand that video games are not real and can be rather cathartic, allowing people to relax and unwind.

So if video games do not cause mass killings what does?

I am no expert on this but since the majority of mass shootings, which are terrorists acts, are caused by disenfranchised young white men, then we need to take a look at them and see what the issue is. Looking at the 2011 Norway attacks, The Christchurch mosque shootings and both shootings in the United States from August 2019 we can see that they where motivated by race and religion. So maybe just maybe the racism is disease and the guns are the symptoms.

I know this sounds radical but what we need is better education and more inclusiveness. Let us just look at the shootings in Texas that just happened. The shooter posted online that he feared the Hispanic population that was moving into “his country”. That already is an issue because Texas was part of Mexico before it was part of the USA. Also since said shooter was white, it means he is descended from colonists that came to America. Why does this matter?

It matters because the land was not always the land of “his people”. I feel like that lack of understanding is the first step on a long journey. Secondly he was clearly afraid, he even spoke of the fear he felt and yes fear easily leads us to anger and no I am not quoting Yoda – even if he was right. How can we combat fear?

(I want you all to know I am in no way trying to justify what this young man did, it was evil plain and simple, I just want to try and see the world through his eyes, so we can see what  drove him to this evil place)

We are easily afraid of the unknown so familiarity is the key to solving this problem. It is so easy to hate what you do not know, but the moment you sit down face to face with the so called “enemy” then you quickly realize they are not so bad. Find common ground, maybe through food, music or simple cultural appreciation, they may be not be so keen on you at first but give people a chance and they can surprise you.

These are good starts and on and one on one basis should work, but if we want real change we need something more. We need our politicians to stop being bigots. I know many here will see this as me taking aim at Donald Trump and members of the Republican party but it is more than that. Yes President Trump has encouraged violent and xenophobic behavior on several occasions, claiming he could shoot someone and get away with it, advocating for the deaths of 5 children, joking about shooting immigrants, describing migrations as invasions, not denouncing David Duke and so much more but this problem extends again further into his party and beyond. Weather it be the fact that a Neo-Nazi ran for them or the fact that after this latest gun attack they want to pass gun control legislation mixed with immigration reform. Which is almost like they are giving into the crazy gun guy who hates immigrants.

(Again I should note that there are many Republicans who have opposed this rhetoric and I do not want to tar everyone with the same brush)

I guess my point is that change needs to come from the top and it is not just the Republican party behaving this way this problem is spread to all the corners of this Earth. In Britain we have Boris Johnson a man that has used numerous racist terms, Northern Ireland’s major parties thrive on stoking the fear and hate between Catholics and Protestants, Australian Senator Fraser Anning blatantly blamed Muslims for the New Zeland shooting and Marine Le Pen is just the worst. So when politicians start telling you about us and them they are full of shit, do not let them divide us along race or religion. And to any politicians out there who want to say that video games cause mass shootings my final bit of information is for you.

1. Stop Lying

2. Take steps that will really fix the problem

3. Listen to the people

4. Thoughts and prayers are great but are not enough

5. When you are sending those thoughts and prayers out – get the name of the city right.

(There really is so much more I want to say but sadly this topic is complicated and just awful – id love to put all the blame on politicians or groups of people and though they bare some blame sadly in the case if any mass shooting it is always the shooters fault – though I think we can all agree that video games are not to blame)

To come back with a positive note:

If you want to help these people then please see the links below

Dayton Foundation

CBS affiliate WHIO-TV and its radio sister station have partnered with the Dayton Foundation to raise money. You can help the Dayton community by donating to the Dayton Foundation’s Oregon District Tragedy Fund. WHIO-TV said the funds will be used to support the needs of those affected by the event.

Blood donation

If you happen to be in the Dayton area, donate blood at the Community Blood Center. You can even make an appointment by clicking here.

Visit bloodhero.com or call 877-258-4825 to make an appointment if you’re nearby El Paso.

Charities

The American Red Cross is accepting donations online.

Public Good has launched a fundraiser benefiting Dayton and El Paso victims.

GoFundMe

There is a victims’ fund setup by the Townsquare Media of El Paso, while the El Paso Community Foundation created a fund as well as the Paso del Notre Community Foundation.