Violent Video Games Vs Guns.

There are some people that claim violent video games somehow cause violent actions.  They are doing this to avoid gun control.

They site clumsy studies that use strange definitions to hint that violent art incites violent actions.

The thing is certain things actually DO incite violence.  We call them drugs.  (source)

The main one is alcohol, but amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, and PCP are also confirmed sources of violence in SOME people.  Alcohol is the only one that always works.  The rest only work in certain individuals.  Kind of like the claims about video games.    Only video games don't have the same crime statistics as those drugs do.  If you give them to kids, they don't commit any more crimes than they do before the games.  Not so for the drugs.

If you give a victim a mix of alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, LSD and PCP, you can practically guarantee that the they will commit a crime.  Maybe just a misdemeanor.  But possibly a felony.  You can easily measure the effects by counting the number of victims that get arrested.

Do the same with a mix of violent video games and you get no crimes committed.   None.  Zero.

Most police departments have interesting violent stories about people hopped up on drugs. None of them talk about a kid hopped up on video games.

In addition the affect, while it increases with long term use is ALWAYS most present directly after a large dose.   Because that's the way the human mind works.   When you get most drunk, you get most violent immediately, not days later.

I personally do not own a video game system.  I do play some games on my linux computer.  (Linux computers do not have the best/most graphic games on them.)  I have however seen other people playing video games.

When they overdose, they get passive and become slackers.  They don't become violent.

I've been to bars.  I've seen the only real violence inciter work.   Video games don't do what alcohol does.   From what I've heard, any affect of video games is also nothing like what cocaine, LSD PCP, and amphetamines

If you read my source above, you will see an interesting quote "Of all psychoactive substances, alcohol is the only one whose consumption has been shown to commonly increase aggression."  Like I said, alcohol is the best drug if you want to make someone violent.

Please note those words. "incite aggression".

Aggression is not violence.  Aggression is often good.  Ask any stock broker, police man, soldier, or professional athlete.

We often encourage aggression.  Violence is different.  It is a rather special case of aggression, focused on causing damage and pain.

The idiots that think video game studies show violent video games sometime creates aggression.  They then confabulate aggression with violence and say "SEE!"

They are wrong.

Most business, police, soldiers, and athletes all like and try to create aggression.    Creating aggression is not bad, creating violence is bad.

The anti-video game people have no studies - not one - that shows actual crimes.   The reason is that they are wrong - violent video games do not create violent actions.

Why do they believe something that is wrong?  Because not only do they confuse aggression with violence, they have also confused cause and effect.  Violent people do in fact prefer violent video games.

Now some of you are going to point at studies claiming that the correlation exists even in infants.

Well I hate to tell you but infants can be violent.  Ask any pediatrician.   You know what, forget about pediatricians - ask OBSTETRICIANS.

Some babies kick their moms in the womb a lot.  Others don't.  (source).  I know what you are thinking - that babies are not smart enough to understand their actions.  That doesn't matter.  Some kick their moms, some don't.  Kicking your mom is violent.  It doesn't matter if they are -3 months, 0,  3 months, 30 months, or 30 years.   Some people are born with violent tendencies.   Some parents drink alcohol.  Some parents are exposed to lead.  Or maybe it's just genetic.

Whether or not those babies grow up to be violent has nothing to do with how often they play violent video games (or watch violent movies for that matter).

Instead it depends on how they are raised - and whether or not they get exposed to alcohol, cocaine, LSD, PCP or amphetamines.  And possibly lead.

The video game correlation exists because already violent people prefer to buy and play violent video games.  Not the other way around.