Violent rest stop video games pulled by state of Massachusetts
One of the responses to the Newtown tragedy is the state of Massachusetts pulling rest stop video games with violent content. Photo Credit: Megan Ann/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY
One hates to sound cynical about it, but every time an incident of terrible violence occurs, the violent video games get blamed for it. In response to the Newtown, Conn., shootings, the state of Massachusetts has begun pulling rest stop video games that have violent content.
Response to tragedy includes pulling rest stop video games
Events like the shooting in Newtown, Conn., or the one in Aurora, Colo., are tragic and something should be done to prevent further incidents like it from occurring. Granted, no one really needs to be told that.
Right now, there is a national discussion going on about whether it’s a gun issue, a mental health issue, both, or something else. A second assault gun ban appears to be in the cards. Invariably, though, every time an event like this happens, violent video games are often blamed.
For instance, the state of Massachusetts has pulled a number of arcade game machines from several rest areas on turnpikes, according to the Boston Globe, after some concerned parents raised a stink. Rest stop video games are usually offered at such locations, to give the kids something to do while mom and dad grab a quick nap.
Small gesture
Two parents in particular, the Hyams, were mortified to see a kid playing a popular type of arcade game which according to NBC News is called a “light gun” game. Usually what are referred to as “first-person shooters,” light gun games use a gun of sorts, which has a light emitting sensor on the end that’s activated by the trigger, just like the Nintendo gun that came with the game “Duck Hunt.”
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The Hyams pulled into a rest zone on the Charlton, Mass., turnpike, one of a number of rest areas one can pull into while on the turnpike without have to take one of the toll roads to get off the turnpike. They noticed a teen plugging away at the game, mortified that he was doing so within one hours’ drive of Newtown, Conn., though as Kotaku, the video-game related website of the Gawker network, points out, in New England, everywhere is within an hour of everything.
In response, according to the Boston Globe, the state has decided to pull nine machines from four rest areas, as rest stop video games of that type have also been pulled from similar locations in Ludlow, Lee and Beverly, Mass. Granted, it’s only a loss of a few bucks in quarters per day, so it isn’t as big a financial decision as, say, car refinance.
Racing games ironically left standing
Even though the shooting-themed rest stop video games have been pulled, the game “Crus’n” has been reportedly left standing, which is ironic. Though shootings naturally command much more media attention, car accidents claim more lives per year, several times over.
However, since car accidents are seen as “routine,” a car accident isn’t a very tragic way to die, going by the logic of the sick American news media. Anyone who has lost a loved one in a crash will disagree.