Games and Music, the New Book Burning

It seems that a Newport News, VA pastor finally got around to reading Fahrenheit 451 and has decided that it was a good idea. Despite several studies claiming the contrary, Rev. Richard Patrick is blaming violent video games and music for crimes that he say has affected 90% of his congregation in one way or another.

Environmental neurotoxicity increases crime rates.

[elucido]

Brain damaged caused by lead, mercury, fluoride and other chemicals do far more to increase crime rates than music and video games.

And unlike the theory behind music and video games causing crime, the theory that lead poisoning causes crime is hard science.

The evidence is clear, lead in the environment causes brain damage, and damaged brains are criminal brains.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/07/AR2007070701073.html [washingtonpost.com]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-28-lead-crime_N.htm [usatoday.com]

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/ban-on-leaded-petrol-has-cut-crime-rates-around-the-world-398151.html [independent.co.uk]

The difference is the context

[EmbeddedJanitor]

In the 50s, rock music was radical - compared to society - but society was pretty rigid back then. You called your teacher/cop/authority figure "Sir" otherwise your father gave you a thrashing.

Now rap music is radical - compared to society - but society has lost those controls that it had. Extreme now != extreme then.

In the 50s very, very few kids would have taken "Kill the fucking cop" songs to heart.

Re:He is not the government...

[NewbieProgrammerMan]

Yep, and I'm sure the video game industry doesn't mind his followers burning stuff they've already bought. If they ever decide to "turn back to their own vomit^H^H^H^H^Hvideo games and rap albums" in the future, they'll have to buy them all over again. Hell, the *IAA will be thrilled, because they'll be burning them instead of giving them away to their friends. ;)

I recall seeing a documentary once (too lazy to look it up now to verify the story) that claimed William Tyndale's production of bibles in the 16th century was funded by angry religious authorities trying to stop their production. For every bible they bought to burn, Tyndale made enough money to make four more.

So I find it a little humorous that here in the 20th century we still have clergy indirectly funding the institutions they rail against. Not surprising (because people are still pretty much the same as they were 500 years ago), but humorous.

Cool! A Minnie Driver/Anne Hathaway love scene!

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

> Rev. Richard Patrick is blaming violent video games and music for crimes that he say
> has affected 90% of his congregation in one way or another.

What about fraudulent theories of cosmology that have affected 100% of your congregetion in one way or another, almost certainly detrimentally, and even more certainly far worse than video games' effects?

Re:read the interview

[NeutronCowboy]

Here's what cracks me up: apparently, the kids are so easily influenced that just listening to some rap song or playing some video game corrupts their minds. However, the parents and community, with whom the kids interact far more than with their music and games, is incapable of influencing them.

The only conclusion I can draw: parents and preachers are less involved in their kids lives than music and videogames. Either that, or they are less interactive than Nico Bellic.

Shameful

[^_^x]

We are considering having something similar to a rally where parents and children can bring CDs and video games that they consider are destructive to the mind set of our youth and have a burning...

  Young people are being influenced by what they see and what they hear. They are being influenced by television ... television and videos are telling young people a vision but something that's not reality...

How sad is that? Kids have all kinds of games that bask in sex and violence, and if you ask most of them, they'll tell you it's just a game and that's what they're like. Then you have people like him, inciting grown adults to go out and do this empty, ignorant, exercise in hating a common enemy so they can feel like they've made a difference. The adults are behaving more foolishly and suggestibly than the children!

If these crimes have effected 90% of his congregation, maybe the common factor to the crimes is not gaming but... his congregation?

Re:read the interview

[Kemanorel]

For what it's worth, marijuana was banned due to pressure from the cotton industry. "Reefer Madness" was just a front. The effects of marijuana are arguably no different than smoking (health-wise) and alcohol (impairment-wise), if not less than either. in fact, I know someone that turns into a raging violent person when he drinks, but can smoke all day, enjoy it more, and not want to beat the shit out of everyone in a 5-mile radius.

When are we going to realize that prohibition really doesn't work and only serves to prop up criminal enterprises?

Re:read the interview

[porcupine8]

What your kid does is entirely within your control. if "they spend a lot more time talking to their friends and being on-line," try being a parent and exercising some parental control.

Bold words from someone who has "chosen not to have them until I'm in a position to raise them in a way that they deserve." I'm sure you'd also freak if this guy tried to ban his 16-year-old from playing GTA.

It's been shown over and over again that once children enter school, their peers have greater influence over their personality and decisions than their parents do. You've got genetics plus about 5-6 years to instill your values, then do what you can and hope for the best. Both the genetics and the first few years can be very strong influences, but they're both often rebelled against during the teen years and their true influence might not be seen til after college.

Re:read the interview

[debatem1]

Depends on where you are and who you are. In some parts of South Carolina, for instance, it is illegal to sell games that include graphic violence or other "immoral material". D&D is banned in many conservative parts of the country under inconsistently enforced witchcraft laws, comics are sometimes covered under 'adult printed material' for age limits, and of course ex cons are restricted from pretty much all of the above in many cases.

Re:read the interview

[DAldredge]

Provide links that support you claims.

Works both ways

[Reziac]

TFA says, "Young people are being influenced by what they see and what they hear."

Okay, for the purpose of argument, let's allow as how that's true. Given that, what sort of influence is thereby exerted when children watch adults burn video games, books, or any other "bad" stuff??

Re:read the interview

[davolfman]

I dunno. I think rock lacked much of the "Sell my culture down the river for a buck." theme that rap seems to embrace. And don't get me started on how much basketball sucks these days.

Re:read the interview

[steeviant]

Way to totally miss the point of what I was saying, the metric I was using to measure their success is that they are either on the executive teams of well-known companies, or have over a million dollars in the bank. I'm not about to start naming names for obvious reasons.

I wasn't trying to "push pills" but to point out that it's completely invalid to correlate their success or lack of mental illness to their drug use. Equally as invalid as trying to correlate schizophrenia and marijuana.

If marijuana were going to induce schizophrenia, explain the mechanism by which it doesn't induce schizophrenia until the person has abused it for many years and why episodes of schizophrenia don't correspond to periods of increased marijuana use. While you're at it you might also want to explain how it does all of this without evidence of brain damage even in lifetime users.