Senator Clinton Slams GTA

Joining the ranks of such luminaries as Jack Thompson and Governor Blagojevich, GamesIndustry.biz has the word that Senator Hillary Clinton has joined right wing advocates in decrying the gaming industry as a paragon of loose morals and corrupting influences. From the article: "Children are playing a game that encourages them to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them...This is a silent epidemic of media desensitisation that teaches kids it's OK to diss people because they are a woman, they're a different colour or they're from a different place." Commentary available at The Australian. Update: 03/30 02:22 GMT by T : Thanks to reader mantle_etching, here is a link to the entire speech as delivered, so you can judge its content for yourself.

Fantasy and reality

[fembots]

You think killing prostitutes are bad? Wait until you see soldiers team-killing each other in CounterStrike.

Probably hits too close to home...

[grub]

... but did you ever notice that not a single politician slams Thief [eidosinteractive.com]?

I agree

[Anonymous Coward]

It is wrong to murder prostitutes after you have sex with them.

Unless they charge more than $50, then its ok.

Huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did she actually use the word diss?

diss?!

[JazzyJ]

Hilary Clinton... used the word 'diss' in a sentence? Hilary Clinton?!?...

Isn't that one of the signs of the Apocalypse???!?!

Are we sure it wasn't George Clinton?....

You know, Senator Clinton,

[mekkab]

When I'm bashing the brains out of a hooker, I like to pretend its you.

GTA definitely had no effect on me.

[The_Rippa]

I was murdering prostitutes WAY before GTA came out.

Art Imitating Life

[MudButt]

I'm still waiting for a game that will depict Clinton's white house years.

Leisure Suit Larry don't got shit on Bill!

Not only did she say "diss"...

[IdJit]

but she used Word's grammar checker [slashdot.org] to prepare her speech...

"...it's OK to diss people because they are a woman"

Dat ho' be trippin', yo!

Heard in the background....

[four2five]

"Hey Hillary, looky here, I just blew up a tank with the rocket launcher, whooo-eh."
"Shut up Bill, I pandering to parents that don't take the time to raise their own kids here"

I doubt she said "colour".

[Jurph]

Those Australian papers always distort the truth. The distinguished Senator from New York clearly said "color."

Re:Probably hits too close to home...

[pilgrim23]

She was quoted as saying something about a "Vast Right Lane Conspiracy"....

Re:Slashdot Translator

[govtcheez]

Kids don't grow up to become prostitute-murdering psychopaths because they played a videogame that "taught them it was cool."

But my mom said I could be whatever I wanted when I grew up!

Re:Fantasy and reality

[geekoid]

George Washington.
After that, it gets iffy.

Re:diss?!

[BlueMud]

I'm not so concerned with 'diss' as I am 'colour.' When did she stop using American-English? Last I knew, we banned the letter 'u' about the same time we dumped all that tea in the harbour. CRAP!! There it is again!!! Please save me from the extraneous U's!!!

Re:Fantasy and reality

[Some_Llama]

"Results: Set A children angered more easily and were more prone to hitting each other in play. Set B children were more patient, hit each other less, and had calmer attitudes."

Makes sense, my daughter often punches her brother in the arm after he kills her for the 5th in CS with the awp on our LAN.

Did the study show any correlation between games and outburts of profantiy? (like AWP WHORE!!)

Re:Fantasy and reality

[Ironsides]

Set A was boys and Set B was girls?

Re:Quick! BAN BOOKS!

[thomasa]

Although, I hear the last two presidents have been stoned already.

No, one of them did'nt inhale.

Colour?

[carlos_benj]

I doubt she said "colour"....

As an American, she'd have said "color" instead.

Re:Fantasy and reality

[Anonymous Coward]

My dad had just married to his mom, ...

Wait a minute ...

Re:Fantasy and reality

[Izago909]

"Children are playing a game that encourages them to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them...This is a silent epidemic of media desensitisation that teaches kids it's OK to diss people because they are a woman, they're a different colour or they're from a different place."

I think that the politicians are just pissed that the game industry is muscling into their racket. Where are all these helpless children getting the $30 to $60 to buy each of these games? Why aren't thses helpless children being educated on the difference between fantasy and reality? After all, kids played cowboys and indians for decades, and you don't see our politicians shooting brown people every chance they get. Oh, wait... bad example.

Re:Nor does GTA command anyone to murder

[tmortn]

Heh nice idea but not really the way it works. One obvious example is that of the 10 commandments. Those hold from the Old Testament. There is very little about the new covanent that directly conflicts with the teachings of the OT and most of that regards salvation.

Re:Fantasy and reality

[dabigpaybackski]

Yeah, it obviously won't work. She still looks like a socialist. Now she's trying to be more authoritarian, too. What a great idea...

So, she's like a National Socialist, right? Since the presumable Republican front-runner is Herr Swartzeneggar, it'll be six of one, and half a dozen of the other. Then again, that's how it seems to turn out in every election.

I would almost (but not quite) welcome a ballot that has but one check-box, marked "YOUR OVERLORDS." Sample polling-place dialogue:

"Hey Bob, who are you voting for?"

"Why, our Overlords, of course? And you?"

"Our Overlords, naturally. Say, why do we even vote if there's only one choice on the ballot?"

"Damned if I know."

"No shit. Hey, let's go get drunk and watch television!"

To quote the wise sage Bender

[Locke2005]

"And so I ask you this one question: Have you ever tried simply turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?"

Summary

[coopaq]

Every post on this story here seems to be mad in anger.

The people who love to play GTA post in anger.

The people against GTA post in anger.

In conclusion: people who post about the debate of violent video games are more likely to kill than those who don't.

Data: 1000 posts so far to sample.