A sobering perspective on game-induced violence

An e-mail published Wednesday on the blog section of Web comic Penny Arcade injects a complicated but familiar issue into the discussion of whether video games can induce acts of real world violence. Scroll down to the bottom of this link for an e-mail from the stepmother of a Wisconsin teenager accused of murdering a homeless man. When her stepson was arrested, the teen told the police that killing the man reminded him of playing a video game.

Rather than berating Penny Arcade's Mike "Gabe" Krahulik for a post two days ago blaming the parents, the unnamed woman wrote to the site with an account of the teen's pattern of troubling behavior leading up to the attack.

From her post: "He was constantly in trouble in school, with the cops, with us, with his mother, and with anyone else who was an authority figure," she wrote. "We tried absolutely everything we could think of to get him to behave like a normal human being...we tried groundings, negative reinforcement/punishment, positive reinforcement, counseling, and anything and everything the counselors suggested. We tried to get him interested and involved in extracurricular activities, like hockey, drama, music, art, anything, but he got himself kicked out of every group he was in with his 'make me' attitude."

Further, she claims that his pointing the finger at video games was only an attempt to earn media attention.

Of course a single incident doesn't prove a rule, but, as the headline on today's Penny Arcade suggests, this kind of perspective from someone close to those involved provides "a rare opportunity" to expand the discussion beyond the points that typically come up on the issue of video game-inspired violence. The timeless nature-versus-nurture debate is a big one that comes to mind, as the unnamed stepmother herself indicates.

Blog community response:

"The sad truth is that the reality weÂ’re talking about here would probably never actually see the light of day. The media will tell the story they want to tell regardless and that story will be about violent games. The parents of these kids will be lucky to get two lines in an article about the crime."
--Penny Arcade

"The news will get out, whether or not the gaming media covers it (a fact Doug Lowenstein fails to understand). Gaming is the new controversial medium -- just look at how much the mainstream media has attached itself to whether or not a Utah killer possessed or played video games of any sort. It's up to the media of all forms to tackle the issue responsibly and put the issue in perspective -- that the kid was demonic and psychotic -- but we expect some outlets will go for the hysterical approach."
--Joystiq

"The woman's letter itself is both heart-wrenching and terrifying, and my heart goes out to her family. I really recommend that you read the post in its entirety, and then count your blessings that you're not in a situation like the one she had to live through for years."
--GayGamer.net