Bavarian Interior Minister says violent video games on same level as child porn and illegal drugs |
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Last month's school shooting incident in Winnenden, Germany, opened the floodgates for German government officials to fire criticisms aimed at violent video games. Some have called for tighter restrictions, while others have even demanded for outright bans.Bavarian Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann, a frequent critic of violent games, falls in the latter category. In fact, according to GamePolitics, his argument is that violent video games are pretty much the same as illegal drugs and child porn.
Hermann made this claim in a press release (Google translation here) that was sent out, interestingly enough, on the same day as the German Games Award. Here's a better translation of Hermann's statements from GamePolitics:
The statement contains the usual accusations that "such games are one of the causes for youth violence and also for school shootings, where images from killer games become reality",and that "more and more children are getting mired in this virtual world of violence", so that "they have no time left for school or job training, and are lost to our society".
However, this time, he's taking it a bit further. The last sentence states: "In regards to their harmful effects, [violent video games] are on the same level as child pornography and illegal drugs, the ban on which rightly is unquestioned"
Hermann faced some fallout due to his statements. GamePolitcs notes that all important German game associations demanded an apology from Hermann. Thomas Jarzombek, the Commissioner for the New Media, also blasted Hermann, saying that his statements are "completely inappropriate" and that "anyone making such statements is unqualified to participate in any further debate [regarding the] protection of minors from harmful media."
Related articles:
- Video games eyed on German school shooting, reps call for heavier restrictions on violent video games
- New research says violent games not linked to school shootings
Via GamePolitics
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Comments [refresh]
So is he wanting the feds to go in and raid every home of every person who owns a violent video game? If not, he should just stfu.
I suppose Hitler was hooked on videogames?
Pol Pot?
Idi Amin?
Ted Bundy?
John Wayne Gacy?
Jim Jones?
Slobodan Milosevic?
They're just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the
scum of the earth.
Are you tellin' me "they"were hooked on video games?
WTF ever happened to plain old "CRAZY"!!!Nutso,Bat*** **,
a few fries short of a happy meal?
What I'm to say is.....Crazy ppl are not rational and you
look for a reason but ain't there.
I see they're still alive and kicking in Bavaria. Shove it up your ass
Who the ***** is this guy to come along say that I'm in the same league as a *****ing pedo?
I'm so *****ing offended and angry.
This Guy Needs to Get in a Car Wreck Now. I've Never Felt that Humanity was Failing on Earth until Today.
Flame bait that does not involve he who shall not be named...
hating violent games and talking ***** doesn´t make him a Nazi. He´s just an idiot.
The politicians of the NPD (Nationalist Party Germany) are the Nazi´s
But those are just powerless, rowdy and rasist bastard, which are running out of money in this moment ;P
This guy is just talking rubbish. There are many german politicians who assert videogames are responsible for school shootings. But those have no idea of videogames, they never played them, they just saw parts of it (the most violent ones for sure). The social ambience and the possiblity to get weapons is responsible for that.
In Germany we have the stiffest laws for videogames, it´s really difficult to get 18+ games, if you are not 18+. And most of this games get cutted by the USK.
But this doesn´t help, right? The kids get those games.
Let´s look at another land:
Austria.
In Austria games doesn´t get cut in ANY way and anyone can buy 18+ games, even 12 year olds. No one cares, but strange to say, there was never a school shooting in Austria. Thats because of their "central weapons system". All weapons have to be stored in a central place, where kids can´t take them.
Ok, no some of the politicians would say: "Ok, they can only kill with weapons, but videogames make you aggressive!"
There is no studie that proofs that. Except the studies of Pfeiffer, but he integrades personal thoughts into his studies
I see since everyone here doesn't have a perfect 5 star rating, someone disagrees since we all seem to get that this man is an idiot. So for those who don't believe it, please share your knowledge as to why he is not?
im so sick and tired of these crooked a$$ dinasaur's that was a 10.000.000.000.000 study and went right in there pocket
considering he's a politician - i feel its more likely to be the other way round. i'm willing to bet that in fact it is he who has a stash of smack and kiddie porn in his cellar that would make most nonces blush.
Idiot. Pure idiot. What about violent movies, that accurately and photo-realistically portray violence in a way a videogame never could?
Well, if Bavarian Interior Minister says so, it must be true...
@Master Chef
Ignorant people like you are the scum of the earth.
You A$$hole are no better than Joachim Herrmann. The same level of intolerance you would expect from brainless idiots who hate violent games.
It could be a pedo who is offended to be associated with gamers lol!
Seriously though, who the hell is giving these comments a sad face? I'd like to know your reasons.
you sir are a retard, you know only what retarded biased western media said about half of those people.
also, you forgot: clinton, bush...the list goes on.
say hello to "heroes" in iraq, afganistan...
Just shows how out of touch politicians are when most of them are brought up in a world where they just get seperated from reality, i mean look at the inbreds we have running the UK.
society is at an all time low, so stop worrying about it before you depress yourself silly (the westerners).
world morale is doomed to sink, ok? this is just an early reflection of whats to come.
western media loves for kids to love violence, then shooting the "bad" people in 3rd world countrys is ok as long as your holding a US gun. btw, that US gun is a german design.
YUK! A PEDO JUST TOUCHED MY FACE! QJ, TRACK THEIR IP AND GIVE IT TO THE POLICE.
you sicken me. you obviously have no regard of understanding of what Nazi's were about. you sir, CANT EVEN SPELL Master CheIf (or your some little kid who thinks video games are so awesome you have to have the name even if its taken). just because hes got some "sharp" ideas, that doesnt make him a Nazi, not even close. not that i agree with anything the Nazi's did, i just think people should have some more regard for history at all. or atleast learn peoples policys before labeling them.
Ever notice how it's usually old men with white hair who say violent video games are on par with a ton of other illegal stuff? Child porn is like abuse (I say like because nowadays minors like in high school walk around like little skanks, but I'm sure he means much younger), illegal drugs can addict you for life and make you go through painful rehab, and they also can mess with your mind .. Go after the illegal drugs not the games duhh
If someone is playing video games, you can pretty much tell where they are and that they're stationary, if they're not, they could be smoking crack on the streets.. At the very least it's a harmless time waster
as long as its a US gun... i dont care about whom or where the design is from..
Really? He's a retard? Then Enlighten us on why the list he gave isn't the scum of the earth.
The list he gave was just a few names, notice this "They're just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the
scum of the earth." Meaning there's a lot more out there, retard.
lol, go ***** yourself and bomb some 3rd world country
He can't even spell Master CheIf? Wow. And all this time I thought he was trying to spell Master Chief. Good thing you made fun of his spelling! No one would have known.
You're absolutely right man. The western media is totally out of control. We should pay more attention to eastern, peace loving media like Dragonball Z, Bleach, Naruto, and all the other Anime that definitely does not advocate violence! All children watching American football should immediately start watching Muay Thai boxing instead.
Have you been reading the mindless vomit that people on QJ spit out GuitarHero? I think it is accepted that this guy is an idiot, but the way most people express that is about the same as when a little kid says "UR STOOPID LOLZ" and then his friend says "YA HES REALLY STOOPID" and someone else says "I THINK UR STOOPID!" and so on.
Yeah! If only you got your news from an unbiased, non western source, you would realize that Hitler was actually a nice guy!! What is with everyone mindlessly bashing western society recently? I mean I'm an American and I'll be the first to tell you that we kind of suck, but I'll at least give you a reason for it instead of just making baseless accusations and generic insults.
lol, yes i meant hitler...another one...
I misunderstood then. May I ask which one on the list is not scum then? Please, humor me, I am a stupid westerner after all.
policys + policies
Ok ok, I'll stop now.
the point is that the list of scum lacks mega scum buckets
in order for him to compare child porn and illegal drugs to violent videogames he must have experienced all of them... and thats messed up lol. also who the hell does he think he is blaming everything on violent videogames. first of all, men are violent by nature, i mean we have been fighting or competing with eachother since the beginning of time. videogames actually give most peple relief and help them feel calm because they get to blow off all the steam. its mutch better than going to a bar, getting hammered and beating the crap out of sum1. also he blames school shootings on games. im sorry but school shootings have been occuring long b4 the creation of video games... and u wanna know why? it cuz of *****s like this guy who thinks he can control everyone. make evryone a robot, tell them all they are needed 4 on this earth is to work. i say its *****es like him that makes people angry, not sitting on a couch enjoying some good grafix. so ***** Joachim Herrmann n ***** game politics!
Spot on mate.
Humanity started to fail earth a long time ago, you only noticed it now because you weren't paying attention.
And let go of the shift key, you aren't typing up an album name or song title.
First time I've had a good laugh on QJ in awhile.
Yep, I was definitely trying to spell Master Chelf. Good one
It was a joke kids, know what that is? I know more about the Nazis than you do
Also lol @ you trying to make fun of the spelling of my name, then proceeding to misspell just about every word in your reply, no punctuation to boot. Nice
INTARWEBS: SRS BIZ. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO NAZIS
I keep mentioning it... The following bit:
"more and more children are getting mired in this virtual world of violence", so that "they have no time left for school or job training, and are lost to our society"
reminds me of what was being said about D&D back in the 80's.
A couple unstable kids get caught up in the escapist fictional reality and go off the bend. I know it seems callous for the victims of the shootings, but think of the numbers of kids supposedly being influenced by these games (or in the '80s D&D) vs. the number of kids playing these games. I don't know the actual numbers, but it seems to me that it is probably well below 0.01%...
Your posts started as ludicrous and only from there proceeded to get increasingly incoherent as time passed. Regardless, we are all greatly impressed by your hatred of America and/or its leaders, and by your stance on the war in Iraq. Since you clearly have a deep and comprehensive knowledge of these matters, we should all take your words as absolute truths, and renounce any sense of nationalism we may possess as American citizens. You are truly a harbinger of peace, and these posts have most assuredly changed the world for the better.
On that note, I move that we ignore any further declarations of the one just addressed, at least until time at which he/she may produce a reasonable and logical statement.
At least someone on here can post intelligently. Thank you, Saelvo, for your well thought out words.
Man You're so Serious. Take a Chill Pill Man. Thanks. Oh, and I'll Type However I Want. Plus, if I Didn't Let Go Of the Shift Key...IT WOULD LOOK MORE LIKE THIS!
i only know that you never found any weapons of mass destruction in iraq but you found oil. and i know that g w bush has the iq of a goat. you can shove your nationalism in your fat mcdonalds butts and go a-bom someone just for the kicks like the first two times.
In lieu of an acting officer or standing rules, I shall have to take that previous erroneous and rather improper comment as a second, as you decided to prematurely open debate. I must temporarily assume role of the chair to ask, "Are you ready for the question?"
This means that you may now speak on the issue at hand, as I am sure you are unaware of proper proceedings.
The World would be much safer, if all weapons would be collected in a central place
I've been playing video games all my life and have never once had the urge to shoot up my local high school. People who do shoot up schools are nuts to begin with.
Germans doing just what they do best: ban things.
Banning things isn´t bad if it´s justified.
But it´s just idiotic doing this on videogames.
Banning weapons would be a good start
You're cracking me up man. Haven't visited QJ in a while, much less had a good laugh here. Good to see some older guys still around fighting off the 12-year-olds.
Chef+Chief? Classic, haha.
Yeah, brilliant idea guys.
Wait, no.
Yeah man! Guns kill people!
Good people own guns.
Bad people get guns.
Trust me, when someone is angry enough to shoot everyone around them, and then themselves, they will find a weapon to do it with.
Banning guns doesn't stop that kind of hatred or intent.