I really didn't want to write this blog. I wanted to ride it out and see where the chips fell before I threw in my two cents but the more I think about it the more I realize that this could be the catalyst for something terrible. I know I affirm that often in regards to the lootbox fiasco, but I believe that this time video games are going top be victim to a hell not of it's own creation, but of politicians'. Of course I'm talking about the recent assault on the concept of video games that has risen ever since the rash of shootings in America.
The worst part is, no one in power seems to have any idea how to prevent them from happening. Even the least rational individuals agree that these are likely the result of deep seeded mental health issues that need more than a weekend's worth of attention to rectify. They argue that serious steps need to be taken to prevent these attacks from happening, and it would certainly help if this steps where spearheaded from the highest office of the land. Unfortunately the American President and his cronies have a scapegoat in mind.
Clearly, as this topic in on my blog, you can see where this is going. Following the attacks in Texas and Ohio, several American political figures came out in order to veer the conversation as far away from 'gun control' as possible. Video games were one of the big targets caught in that misdirect. On August 5th President Donald Trump made an address in which he highlighted 'grisly and grusome' video games, saying that something 'must happen' towards their regulation and that 'it must happen immediately'. Since then he has proceeded to do nothing on the matter (of course), and has just sat back and watched twitter melt down after his comments.
The others have come out with statements just as asinine. House minority leader Kevin Mccarthy conducted a full stream consciousness during an interview inwhich he glided from topic to topic with all the grace of a drunkard on roller skates. One his many digression took aim at video games which he claimed "Dehumanized individuals (and others)". He also shared that he always held some worry about what problems these games may have on "Future generations (and others)", and cited unspecific, "Studies" that allegedly highlight "What it does to individuals (and others)". (Jeez, I don't who these 'others' are but they sound like they're gonna be in real trouble soon.)
Then there are the comments that irk me the most. It makes sense to me that trump would want to shift blame onto someone else, its what he's best at. And Kevin McCarthy wasn't so much specifically targeting games as much as he was vomiting out word soup and video games ended up in there somehow. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, on the other hand, should feel something of an obligation to have some integrity regarding a tragedy that occurred in his base state. First off, there is the part where he calls this an "Evil act, and lets condemn it for what it is 'Evil'". (Nice bit of lip service in order to fabricate the illusion of a intensity. Politics talk 101.) Dan then asks: what's changed in America. "We've always had guns, we've always had evil, but what's changed in this rash of shooting?" Oh, well obviously it's the "Video game industry that teaches young people to kill." Dan also goes on to throw out that meaningless word "Studies", without indicating exactly which one of these mythical studies he is referring to. Truly an erudite intellectual of a man.
All of this echoes reactionary events that we have seen from these kinds of people before. Politicians have been rallying against video games for years, blaming them for all the world's ills. In this light, it is easy for the average gamer to roll their eyes and discount it all, just like I did. But something about this incident, likely the attention raised by the president himself, has this usually harmless rhetoric turning into actual action.
Wallmart, the most popular supermarket chain in America, had a knee jerk reaction in which they ordered all promotional material "promoting violence" to be immediately taken down, particularly those relating to "Movies, shows and games." (All this happened despite the fact that Wallmart still openly and happily sells guns and ammunition.) Then there was the time when ESPN pulled their main channel footage of an Apex Legend tournament. (The footage would still be viewable online and on their ancillary channels, so they clearly didn't care that much.) All of this is clearly just posturing for image reasons, but it sets a dangerous precedence of what will happen when, and at this point it feels like a matter of when, the next horrific shooting happens.
Video games already have a ludicrously big spotlight on them with the whole lootbox fiasco I mentioned earlier and in several other blogs. The government are looking to take a stance in actively censoring predatory practises because the obstinate idiots in the ESA refuse to self regulate the industry. In the past the ESA have come to the defence of video games in situations like these, stating actual studies and reasons why video games and violence have no direct correlation.
Recently, however, the ESA have been actively eroding their goodwill in the lobbyist-sector with these moronic defenses of a frankly in-defensible practise. Each time they make stupid excuse on behalf of gaming executives' greedy practises, the governmental bodies roll their eyes and start to see the ESA for the clowns they are. Soon they won't be able to defend us from the politicians call for regulation and then we'll all feel the blowback; publishers, developers and consumers.
I wish I had a happier note to end this on. I wish I could say; "At least we know this backlash won't lead to anything" or "Well when they're done attacking video games, the government will have to face the real causes of these tragedies.", but we all know that's not how the world works. The White House has already forgotten about this affair and the gaming industry is the one left holding the bag. All of these misfortunes; the lootbox scandal, GTA's casino and now receiving blame for mass shootings, all seem to be piling up on gaming at the same time and I don't know how much it can take.
Everyone wants to point their fingers at someone and claim that they're the problem, it's reductive and doesn't solve the problem but it keeps people happy. This is a cluster that is far more nuanced then anyone seems willing to treat it, including myself. I'm getting a headache just thinking about the litany of factors involved, so much so that I'm tempted to just give up and blame video games too. I don't know how this will all play out, but I have a feeling it won't be pretty for everyone's favourite pastime.
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