Thailand halts 'Grand Theft Auto' sales after murder

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It's about that nasty stuff called MORALITY and ETHICS...

So yeah, blame the criminal but remember that there are a lot of studies that show that people do become conditioned to accept what they are exposed to. There are unacceptable behaviors. Trivializing them in a game is very likely a bad call by society.

Sure... People can be desensitized to any number of scenarios. Look at the stuff Lenny Bruce did in his comedy routine back in the day. At that time, cussing was considered quite vile and repulsive and Bruce was pretty much ostracized... A decade or so later, George Carlin made fun of those same words and while it was still considered "naughty" it wasn't quite going to grow hair on your palms. In the late 90's, someone actually said the S word on prime time TV and the world didn't end. There weren't any riots. Not long after that South Park ran an epsiode that had a marathon useage of the S word... I believe they still hold the record for 167 uses of the word in a half hour show.

The bottom line - most people don't give a sh*t if you use that kind of language any more. Except the censors here on ZDNet and many other places where it would have been 'bleeped'...

The thing is, it isn't entirely about bad language nor bad behavior. It's about knowing what is RIGHT and what is WRONG and doing the right thing.

For what it's worth, I'm not in favor of hiding nor banning that sort of behavior in video games either. If anything, they do show the graphic consequences of what happens when you do some of those bad behaviors - without actually causing any harm to anyone else.

For the record, I've played GTA 2, III, Vice City and San Andreas and have been entertained by them. I have yet to have any urge to go out on the street and do a GTA style rampage. I know that if I did that, people would be hurt or worse, the cops would be called, and I'd wind up probably in prison for life or dead. Nor have I had the urge to beat up hookers, or rob cabbies, or run over pedestrians nor any of the other 'bad behaviors' you can do in any of the GTA games.

Then again, I've got a firm grip on reality and I know that GTA isn't real. I also have a fairly good idea of what's considered right and wrong.

Posted by: Wolfie2K3   Posted on: 08/05/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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