Comments on: No Violent Video Games In Germany?

By: Takekaze

Takekaze — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:22:23 +0000

I also just read that the minister for families wants to increase censorship of the internet in Germany. All in the name of the “fight against the right wing extremism” (targetting Nazis, not that Nazis are actually “right wing” anyway.) Of course they will target child porn, which is a good. But primarily they want to target websites with so called “hate speech”, meaning all those websites that ask uncomfortable questions.

By: Takekaze

Takekaze — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:10:24 +0000

Germany’s “aversion” is based on bullshit. Nothing but bullshit. There are politician that really tell you that games like CS or Doom teach you to kill and how to shoot a gun. They really believe that. When that guy shot up his old school the one thing responsible for it was… Counter Strike. That one game was at fault and nothing else. The media then brought a lot of lies about such games. Outright lies based on no evidence whatsoever.

There are millions of CS players, thousands in Germany. Paintball? Same thing. Thousands of players in Germany. But they’re all “evil”, because playing paintball assaults the dignity of human beings. That’s the usual “argument” I hear. I guess next thing they’ll ban will be “cops & robbers” (which in Germany and Austria is called either “Räuber und Gendarm” or “Cowboys and Indians.) Really, kids aiming at each other with their fingers! We can’t have that!

Here’s one funny detail.

I guess most of the readers know Sid Meier’s Civilization series. Well, in that game you can play with the Germans, and take over the world! Worse yet! You can actually easily edit your leader names and play as… Adolf Hitler. I admit, I’ve done it and pretty much everyone I know playing Civ has done it as well.

Germany’s “aversion” on simulated mass killing… is a load of bullshit. Based on the culture of collective guilt. Yes, according to German (and Austrian) politicians I’m responsible for the Holocaust. Mind you, I was born in 1975, but I’m responsible because I was born here! Sippenhaftung this is called in German. Kin-liablity, a Nazi concept.

Those politicians are a bunch of fascists, nothing else.

By: Nadnerbus

Nadnerbus — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:21:28 +0000

If only Hitler had had some legislation like this in his youth. Then he would have probably grown up to be a ballerina or something.

I can understand Germany’s aversion to even simulated mass killing given their not too distant history, and I’m still kind of heartened that they have not lost the lesson there, or at least part of it. I just still disagree with the idea that closing off all avenues of expression for natural human aggression in an attempt to eliminate it will bear any fruit. Humans are humans, and sometimes they lash out, get angry, want to commit acts of violence. An adult society teaches their young to understand and cope with those impulses in a civilized and constructive way while still acknowledging their natural existence. Denying that they exist just lets them fester and erupt in an unpredictable way in those that are predisposed to have a problem in that area.

A respect for life and the benefits of acting within the bounds of civilization can’t be enacted though legislation. Either its taught in the home and though friends and family or its just not learned.