Constant Opinions

It takes a lot of gall to make such an accusation, but that’s what Gingrich did in reference to the Virginia Tech massacre. Apparently because our liberal society has created situational ethics, encouraged violent video games, etc.

What a load of crap!

I have to agree with the folks over at The Moderate Voice. Never mind that liberals have not been constantly in power over the past 35 years that he refers to. Apparently the mere existance of liberals is sufficient.

Of course, I don’t hold with blaming conservatives for Virginia Tech either. The massacre had to do with one deluded person who decided to shoot a lot of people. Sadly, such shootings have happened in the past, and will likely happen in the future, even if this country were to go entirely conservative (or liberal, for those who prefer the opposite perspective).

So can we blame violent video games?

I certainly have issues with the worst of the violent games. Some of them simply strike me as far too graphic. And you can argue all you like as to whether or not they actually encourage violence, desensitise children who play them, etc. But once again, these happened before.

But the worst of this is all the name calling, trying to find a way to blame a group you don’t belong to. Obviously it’s the other guy’s fault!

I would have to disagree. Yes, you can say there’s some degree of guilt you can place on society. But really I don’t think it’s all that much. The most sensible thing to blame is the easy access to guns, but balancing that with the right to bear arms is pretty tough, and no, I don’t want to do away with that. But a better balance of control could have limited the killings. Or not. A really determined killer could have found a way anyhow.

Or you can say someone should have noticed that he was getting ready to have a psychotic episode. He’d shown some signs of issues already, but do you really want there to be such a careful watch on everyone? I’d worry about how much that could limit freedoms.

What happened at Virginia Tech was a horrendous tragedy. But using it as an excuse to cast blame and namecall is not the solution.

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Filed under: Politics