This is my son Oliver. He is going to play violent video games. In fact, he is more than likely going to be playing violent video games at a rather young age. I wanted to write this after seeing a rather dumb conversation on msnbc (shocking, I know), about how violent video games are decaying society and corrupting youth. Parents who allow such disgusting behavior were attacked as well, and, being one of those morally vacant parents, I wanted to say fuck you in my own special way.
The first point that needs to be made is that how you raise your child, (aside from extremes like molestation and neglect), is nobody's business except that of the family in question. You don't have to agree with how someone else does it, but you do need to realize that you shouldn't be able to force a change, or bother them with your enlightened opinion. If I want my son to be trained with a pistol by age 5, or even worse, play tackle football, (holy shit, thats way too far), then it's my choice as the dad. He used to live in my balls, not yours.
Video games are, in my opinion, the greatest artistic medium that humankind has ever been exposed to. You are experiencing a story in a way that nobody before 1980 could. Direct interaction is an exciting way to progress through an engaging narrative, and there are also tons and tons of benefits to playing video games. Improved hand-eye coordination, much better reading levels, and dynamic problem solving skills. Also, they are a lot of fucking fun.
I have never, ever, been denied access to a video game based on it's content. I was playing the most controversial games of my time, at a very young age. Mortal Kombat in 3rd grade, GTA3 when I was in 6th, and I even remember the first time I blew the head clean off a zombie's shoulders in Resident Evil 2. To this day, I have never been in a fight, and I am strongly against the death penalty under any circumstance. I am anti-war, anti-suffering, and anti-discrimination. Video games have nothing to do with bad behavior whatsoever, and I think most rational people can see that.
So Im going to hand my son the controller, and let him blow shit up. Not because Im degraded or a bad father, but because I want my son to experience all of the great and memorable stories that I did. Also, I've noticed, that if you sit down and explain to your child the difference between reality and pretend, then you really don't have anything to worry about.
The first point that needs to be made is that how you raise your child, (aside from extremes like molestation and neglect), is nobody's business except that of the family in question. You don't have to agree with how someone else does it, but you do need to realize that you shouldn't be able to force a change, or bother them with your enlightened opinion. If I want my son to be trained with a pistol by age 5, or even worse, play tackle football, (holy shit, thats way too far), then it's my choice as the dad. He used to live in my balls, not yours.
active parenting is the key
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