There was an interesting piece of news that came out of Hawaii recently involving violence and video games:
An auto-theft suspect who was no stranger to police as a juvenile offender is now in trouble as an adult.
Police today arrested the man, 18, on suspicion of auto theft in Halawa with a big assist from the department's helicopter.
According to police, the youth has ties going back five years to the notorious auto-theft group known as GTAG or Grand Theft Auto Gang which has been stealing autos in 'Aiea, Halawa and Pearl City for years, mostly to play out the video game in real life.
In today's case, police dispatch received a call about a hazardous driver on the H-3 Freeway. A check of the license number called in showed the car was reported stolen. Patrol units and HPD's helicopter located the vehicle on the freeway and tracked it.
The helicopter followed as the driver headed onto Moanalua Freeway, where he eventually collided with a guardrail. The driver fled on foot but was found by police hiding in bushes off Moanalua Freeway westbound at the stadium offramp in Halawa at 4 p.m.
Guy's like Jack Thompson love this stuff, but I still fail to see how video games cause violence. I have been an avid video game player my entire life, as have most of my friends, and none of us have been arrested or even suspected in a crime of any type, let alone a violent offense. Why? Because we use our brains.
The people who commit crimes like the one above make the conscious decision to do so. Because people have the freedom to make their own decisions, fault should lie on the decision makers only. To blame Grand Theft Auto, or any game, for the actions of a human being is beyond short sighted in my opinion.
Violence is a part of the culture. We have had violent movies for decades now and society has not crumbled. We have had music that celebrates the war for centuries and society has not crumbled. So why should we consider limiting the expression of our artists, and limit the public's access to their art, when it is the acts of individuals that are in fact the crimes?
This country was founded on the concept of freedom and that includes freedom of expression. The only necessary limitations on art are already in place. In the meantime, rather than simply point at a disc and name it the root of all evil, people should start to take a look at the other reasons people commit crimes, including the very real fact that some people are just plain fucking stupid.
Video games don't make people violent. Stupid people sometimes make decisions that result in violence.
As much as I heart John Stewart, Stephen Colbert having the kahunas to run their own show, I do miss some of my favies like The Office, Ugly Betty, and gosh darnit, I didn't want to miss an episode of Heroes if it went on too long!
