4 ms·
I grew up with the argument that video game violence causes real violence. At the time, conservatives were keen on censoring violence, blood and gore in movies,
by chrisco255 2y ago
I grew up with the argument that video game violence causes real violence. At the time, conservatives were keen on censoring violence, blood and gore in movies, video games and TV shows. It was the liberal establishment that defended artistic violence and sexuality. Now it seems like the pendulum swung and liberals seem keen on promoting squirt gun emojis, meanwhile some of the most popular video games on the market are things like Call of Duty where you blast people away with automatic machine guns and sniper rifle head shots.
It's very strange keeping up with the shifting tides of opinions about these sorts of things.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y agoI'm not convinced this is a liberal vs. conservative thing in the first place. It seems like a straightforward continuation of the trend: depictions of violence are popular in some circles, yet disreputable in others, so big corporations looking to serve both markets have to find awkward, stodgy compromises to try and keep everyone happy.
- bluescrn 2y agoIt's all pretty silly. We're arguing over a gun emoji on social media, where all sorts of horrific videos are posted, including real people getting shot by real guns.
- paxys 2y agoEvery side is pro censorship, just when it suits them the most. Look at all the book bans across conservative states, for example.
- chrisco255 2y agoThe book bans are only primary school libraries. I think this is fine, K-12 is mandatory, so clearly the state and local districts should have influence over what's allowed there. There's restrictions on religious teachings in school and likewise there should be limits on opinionated secular topics that don't advance reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. There's plenty of exposure to that stuff via other channels.
- paxys 2y agoCensorship is censorship. The fact that it is happening in a government-run institution makes it worse. Like I said, everyone is for it when it suits them, and outraged when it doesn't.
- chrisco255 2y agoNo, it's not censorship when an elementary school is selective about what material they teach kids. For example, I don't think violent video games like Call of Duty should be banned, but I also don't think kids should be playing Call of Duty in school computer labs. It's irrelevant to basic education. Discretion is obviously mandatory in order to focus students on subject material that expands their skills while not trying to convert them to Scientology or any other similar ideology.
- mindslight 2y agoIt's still conservatives, but conservatives from the culture that liberals ushered in over the past several decades. This explains the college campus dynamic as well, where all these professors that fought for liberal ideas in the 1970's and 1980's grew old and stopped questioning their own ideas. Now they're busy closing the ranks and tone policing anybody that pokes holes in their dogma. That dynamic isn't liberalism running amok, but rather just the bog standard pearl clutching of conservatism. Actual liberalism still exists, it just doesn't get media attention as pitting red tribe conservatism versus blue tribe conservatism creates more arguing (aka engagement).
- llm_trw 2y agoZizek said it best: every culture war is today's conservatives fighting the conservatives of 30 years in the future.
- relaxing 2y agoIf you think about it, there’s a difference between a game you play in your home, and a font you use to communicate with others.
- chrisco255 2y agoI'm sorry, is there some kind of difference between streaming a bloody match of Call of Duty on Twitch or YouTube and sending a gun emoji as a funny expression of sarcasm (which obviously doesn't mean the same with a squirt gun) to my friends or followers? It's silly that such dichotomies even exist.