All right, please allow me to apologize in advance, but I'm really sickening of all the whining, belly-aching and finger pointing about how gaming, movies, music, etc., are to blame for society going to the toilet. In fact, it seems as if today's society has gotten into the habit of blaming virtually everything as it's easier to point a finger at someone else than at ones self.

I guess it's only fair to admit being an avid gamer, Armed Assault and IL2 Forgotten Battles being my latest obsessions (I use the term loosely). I'll be the first to admit that there is gratuitous blood and violence in them but so what? I've killed head crabs, zombies, imps, robots, martians, and corrupt humans. With the exception of corrupt human foes, all the characters are fictitious. Now, lets say I climb a bell tower or go to work one day and start firing, why in the hell would I be able to blame it on gaming or a song lyric rather than me being a few cards short of a full deck?

Take a look at this brainy article posted at MediaFamily.org. Essentially the article is based off of a Media Wise Video Game Report Card that lists games in two categories:

1. Parent Alert! Games to avoid for your children and teens
2. MediaWise Recommended Games for children and teens

This is the actual report card:

MediaWise Video Game Report Card

Game Lists: Rating: Parent Alert! Games to avoid for your children and teens:

1. Doom 3 M
2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas M
3. Half Life 2 M
4. Halo 2 M
5. Resident Evil: Outbreak M
6. Psi Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy M
7. The Guy Game M
8. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude M
9. Mortal Kombat Deception M
10. Rumble Roses M

MediaWise Recommended Games for children and teens:

1. ESPN NFL 2 K5 E
2. Pikmin 2 E
3. Sly 2: Band of Thieves E
4. Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 E
5. Madden NFL 2005 E
6. Jak 3 T
7. Prince of Persia T
8. Myst IV: Revelation T
9. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 E
10. SimCity 4 E

Notice anything about the above list? Well for starters, all of the games they recommend you keep your kids away are already rated mature. Wow, good work guys. The only thing worse than publishing a total waste of bandwidth such as this article on the net is some idiot such as myself copying it to his front page and bitching about it.

Since I enjoy gaming, I must admit to taking offense whenever a person or body decides blaming the industry is in the public’s best interests. There are many reasons for this type of bad press to originate but for the life of me, I can't understand why our justice system allows idiots to lay blame in every other direction but themselves.

Report cards and other media attention focusing on gaming cater to the ignorant sadly. I hate to say it, but unless you actually are exposed to gaming on a regular basis, then you have no right to try blaming it for adversity in your life or the life of someone close to you. Blaming gaming because your child kicked the dog or perhaps dropped a grade in school is not the fault of the gaming industry, it's the fault of your weak parenting skills. If you're concerned about what your child is playing then you'd be wise to discuss it with them and let them see it from your side rather than to just ignore what they have to say on the topic. Kids aren't stupid, they know Doom3, Half Life2 and virtually 99% of the games played are fictitious in nature.

Just remember, your child is playing the game, the game is not playing your child. If you or someone you know is experiencing issues such as withdrawal, anti-social behavior, anger management, violence, etc., try to understand why, or better yet, seek counseling. Just because your child is gaming does not mean that they are learning abhorrent behavior from it.

How do you feel about people blaming lunacy on outside sources such as gaming and averting responsibility?

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