View Full Version : Let's play the blame game!
saturnotaku
11-14-02, 10:12 PM
Dateline - Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. A 19-year-old is arrested in connection with a series of vehicle break-ins and burglaries in rural Kenosha County.
The suspect's reasoning behind his work? He says he is/was a fan of Grand Theft Auto and said he wanted to "take it to the next level."
The question I pose here is, who (or what) would you say is responsible for this madness? The game? Parents (or lack thereof)? None of the above?
Sound off here.
My vote is on the parents, or rather the lack of them. While the kid needs to be responsible for his own actions, if he had maybe been raised properly, he would have realized that video games are just that.
Also FYI - the victims of the thefts said the video game excuse is a crock. Good for them that they feel this way.
The Baron
11-14-02, 10:37 PM
I think it's a bored kid looking for a thrill. Nothing more.
He just happened to get it by imitating GTA3 in the same way people imitate wrestling or action movies. It's nothing new...
thcdru2k
11-14-02, 10:40 PM
if someone goes out imitating gta3, they'res more problems in them than just the game or parents. they'res obviously something wack within himself. you can be raised properly, and influenced by friends or lack of.
nin_fragile14
11-14-02, 10:54 PM
I think these kids had a serious biological problem with them the day they were born. Probably only the most perfect parents could fix them without any sort of medical help.
thcdru2k
11-14-02, 10:59 PM
exactly. how come children can grow up in a broken down home, or a crack addicted mother and become intelligent and successful while some become total psychos. the exact same for children growing up in a near perfect household.
madthumbs
11-14-02, 11:12 PM
It takes a community to raise a child.... PC's and TV's have ruined communities social ties :p
thcdru2k
11-14-02, 11:29 PM
its just not right to blame parents..whose to say he did have bad parents? lets say, a 30 year old killed someone, would it be his parents? lets say a 19 year old..imagine you were 19 and you killed someone, your parents fault? i doubt it. your already at that age where your independent and your decision is yours.
nin_fragile14
11-14-02, 11:51 PM
Too many people blame parents. Why do some families have a son who is succesful and smart, while another son is a problem-child genius? Why do identical twins turn out the same when raised in two different countries? Why is one of my friends a completely stable person after living with a heroin addict who abused him every day?
A lot of these kids who take videogames too seriously are just messed up in the head the moment they were born. I don't know if there's much you can do to help them psychologically.
Parents are the ones to blame for the morals a kid has, not their personality that causes them to go on a killing spree.
StealthHawk
11-15-02, 01:44 AM
someone needs to teach him that stealing is wrong.
other than that, i'd say the kid himself has some reality issues, probably stability issues, etc. how come there isn't any option to blame both the parents and the kid himself? i mean, i don't think it takes a genius or a very mature person to realize that stealing is wrong. ask most 2nd graders if they think stealing is wrong and i'm sure most of them will answer yes.
Bored and/or mentally ill.
I voted for neither. I think it was Blair Witch who made the kid do that. :D
( I mean the kid is just mentaly sick)
It was Bin Laden's fault. ;)
Maybe even God's fault. :rolleyes:
saturnotaku
11-15-02, 07:07 AM
I was hoping nobody would vote for the game hehe :)
Can you change my vote to "game"? ;) :p :D (I was joking if you didn't get it) :)
Originally posted by saturnotaku
I was hoping nobody would vote for the game hehe :)
styles-T
11-15-02, 09:16 AM
No its just a great Cop out plea...
intercede007
11-15-02, 09:22 AM
Personally, if the kid can get off by saying the devil made him do it, more power to him. The "intelligencia" in this nation already know he's a moron, now they are just waiting to see who jumps on his bandwagon.
Either way at this point the child MUST be held responsible for his actions. He's obviously not getting the kind of attention he needs at home and this is his way of lashing out, we should be happy he didn't get one of those cars started and decided to run people over on sidewalks... I blame the parents. Blaming a video game is like blaming a Nuke for blowing up or a gun for going off.
nin_Fragile14 is right to say that its not always the parents fault and the kid could of just been born messed up, but 99% of the time i think its fair to say the parents are at fault.
saturnotaku
11-15-02, 09:43 AM
I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open for a followup, but there was no mention in any of the reports I heard that the kid was mentally deficient in any way.
And of course we didn't hear from the parents at all. :rolleyes:
intercede007
11-15-02, 10:14 AM
The kid is 19 years old. It is way past the point where its the fault of the parents. The kid wanted to joyride in some cars, got caught, and has watched enough CNN to figure he can get off claiming he was influenced.
Blakhart
11-15-02, 11:20 AM
Apparently, when no "gun is held to one's head" to cause them to do such things, it must boil down to merely personal choice to perform such actions.
Originally posted by intercede007
The kid is 19 years old. It is way past the point where its the fault of the parents. The kid wanted to joyride in some cars, got caught, and has watched enough CNN to figure he can get off claiming he was influenced.
Of course it has something to do with the parents, the kid wasent Born at 19 years old was he??
Parents can do everything right and still one of their offspring goes wrong. Got bad apple?
This person is 19 years old, may be living on his own and is ultimately responsible for his own poor choices.
intercede007
11-15-02, 01:18 PM
Originally posted by FastM
Of course it has something to do with the parents, the kid wasent Born at 19 years old was he??
Ohh come on!!! A 19 year old isn't cognizant enough to know its against the law to go steal a bunch of cars and joyride? By that age, no matter what his parental situation, the kid has been introduced to enough cultural norms to know that stealing isn't a good thing.
Of course at 19 years old he knows the law and breaking into cars is wrong, Im just saying the parents Must have had something to do with why he's acting like this. At his age he is fully responsible so by no means am i saying go after and punish the parents, but they are still at fault. Unless of course this kid had physical mental problems.
thcdru2k
11-15-02, 07:04 PM
i somewhat disagree. the parents easily could have affected his decision, just as much as anything else in his life. his friends, teachers, television, games. but you can't blame his parents for what he chose to do. people aren't perfect, and parents can't be perfect. lots of children, no matter how hard their parents try to be good to them and maintain a relationship will just push them away. human nature for the desire to be an individual or rebel. so, maybe he grew up poor. maybe his dad hit him with the belt. does that mean he goes and steal vehicles for fun and its the parents fault? parents tell kids things all the time, but do they listen?
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