Forbes: Expert Calls Blaming Video Games On Tragic Massacres Like Oslo And Columbine Racist

The recent massacre in Oslo, Norway that left 76 dead has once again opened up an international debate centering on violent video games. The terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, wrote about how he used Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and World of Warcraft to help train for the attacks.

But clinical psychologist Christopher Ferguson, a leading expert on video game violence and mass killings at Texas A&M International University, said video games aren’t to blame for this tragedy. Nor are games like Doom and Quake to blame for past U.S. massacres like Columbine. In fact, he believes placing the blame on video games whenever a white male is guilty of a killing spree is racist.

[JellyJelly]

Racist is the wrong term for it, but it's equally ignorant.

[tdogg06051991]

The point he was trying to make is that Black people shooting up a place is inevitable but when it happens to white people it has to be because they were forced to by some evil in the world. It is racist towards the minorities for that reason ignorance can be racist.

[Ser]

It actually makes sense when you think about it.

I agree with the article.

[Dark_king]

Please it has nothing to do with race.If the shooter where black and used games to plan out a attack they would still blame the games.It seems people try to blame everyone and everything but the only people responsible,the person pulling the trigger.

The other people that need some blame would be the media.The show far more disturbing things then claim the mild game violence is to blame.The media is using fear to grab attention,however when some people only see the bad side of the world they forget the good side was ever their.

[evrfighter]

Tdog explains this pretty well. well done and agreed

[Vega75]

I live in NYC and theirs a lot of people shot and killed everyday mostly minority people. I've yet to hear a news report that is was because they were playing saint row or any other video game with gangs in them was the blame. I do agree that the media should also be held responsible for promoting false information by putting the blame on video games instead of looking at the real problem which could stem from bad parenting to being harassed at schools. But instead people and media would rather blame video games because it's easier to blame that then themselves

[maxmill]

Racism just keeps getting proven to become more and more invalid

[Kee]

Yeah, because white people aren't violent unless they play video games.

So his point is that people naturally assume black people are violent? Or that white people play too many video games or are easily influenced by violent media.

I get his point, video games certainly aren't to blame for this. The problem is just really bad parenting.

"approximately 95 percent of young boys have played a violent video game"

This point proves it isn't video games. That's almost all of them. Games are so commonly played that surely if those were to blame, all 95% of those young boys would be out killing people right now.

[BeOneWithTheGun]

Exactly. And what about Hollywood action movies? Every single blockbuster has guns and gadgets and all that crap. The double standard makes me sick. I would rather have my kid play Rainbow 6 Vegas with me than watch The Human Centipede.

[wumster]

@tdogg

you my friend deserve a bubble.

I'm tired of all this racist sh!t. Why cant we just live and let live. Why when something happens, race is always a topic. I don;t care what skin color they are, if they do stupid sh!t like this, then they are sick bastards no matter what color.

[reznik_zerosum]

racist are morons,skin color is irrelevant,but when u live in Europe which is mother of all democratic and cultural values of western world,and suddenly get polluted by fascist religion like islam/muslims something has to be done.Religion that make women no more than slaves,that tell people what to wear what to read-hear-watch,and whats really scary is that must be part of constitution.

[zinkabassy]

''Europe which is mother of all democratic and cultural values of western world''

Now thar is your problem,.. Seriously,..brother,.. I love my country and do feel a big love for neighboring countries in Europe (have really no reason to, except to forgive them and love the people),.. Find French declaration of independence of human and Citizen -original (I am sorry I am not a native english speaker,..) And look at symbols on there,.. Who stood behind it,.. It was not emancipation meant for us all it is just a facade. Then look at what our History books are teaching us and our kids.

Hating is not a solution,..Compassion is.

Evil is inherent in us all,.. and there is no continent that had more systems build be it religious, anti-religious,humanistic,nati onal,political or whatever you want,.. that get so corrupt and socially unjust in a generation or two, as our beloved Europe,.. Because of the simple problem of every single individual,..Inability to see or face ourselves in the mirror,..and recognize that the problem lies in each and every one of us... Maybe a country of law,.. wasn't a bad Idea after all.

About Muslims,.. I wish I had souch of dedication to God and fellow human beings as they have in worship,..

And I doubt that racist man acted alone,.. It is basically an attack on the last really free and socially empathetic society in Europe,.. What could be the agenda behind this,.. I won't write what I think, because people will think I am mad.

And It is funny ,.. I spend so much time following what is going on globally and in US,.. And I turn the TV on for the first time in few months and I see this shit,.. And Apparently Hungary got some really radical goverment,.. and that there are really right-wing Militias forming in most of european Countries,..?? WTF???

We more fucked than USA,..

[Cpt_kitten]

so every war, and act of violence from the beginning of time was because of video games? riiiiight so i take it the Roman empire loved the arena from oblivion so much they did it in real life........please "experts" come back to me when you have some intelligence and realize that humans have been a savage race since day 1

[Kee]

Yeah. Caesar predicted video games would be invented within the next few thousand years so he assembled an army and took over the whole of Europe so he would have all the video games. Once they were invented.

I take my hat off to you, good sir. That is a very good point.

[Cpt_kitten]

lol well clearly Rome got its plan and name for its empire from the game Rome total war

[vyke3]

pffft... obviously Caesar took over Europe to play Assassin's Creed. Its a common fact people!

[SITH]

You right... But humans are a species not a race.

[i rule]

wait a minute. I thought racism was defined as disagreeing with the president.

[ballsofsteel]

wow this just went from bad to worse.Blaming video games for violence like what happened in Norway is ignorant and stupid but racist? against white males? please

[iNMyFiN4LH0uR]

you don't blame BOEING for a crash caused by human error.....

[SITH]

You do if it was a Boeing employee who caused the crash due to his/her negligence.

[BigPenguin]

The real reason it is bullshit to blame video games for this is because we know why he did it. The kids he shot up were the kids of the labor party politicians, it was a private camp for them.

It would be like someone in America going and shooting up a camp were Obama's administration had their kids.

We should not be blaming video games, not because its racist, but because its stupid.

[WetN00dle69]

lol, who wants to bet that Jack Thompson j*zzed his pants right after he read this article?? That fool is just there lingering waiting for an excuse to try and block the sales of any M rated videogame in the market!

[sovietsoldier]

great you spoke his name now he will rise from the dead, thanks!

[drsnobby]

Video games had nothing to do with the murders in norway.this guy was a sick f___.the people of norway will get through this and show the world why they are a peaceful country.another bad article for hits,move along nothing to see here.

[jeeves86]

I wouldn't call it racist, but definitely ignorant and culturally insensitive.

[Boletarian]

Too many people are looking to blame something for this senseless massacre. Some will blame religion, and others will blame video games, and other will blame politics, but the last time I checked these kinds of massacres were rare. Stop trying to explain this crazy man's actions with any kind of logic. He deserves 100 percent of the blame for what he did. No one else and nothing else deserves to be blamed for what he did.

The worst part is that Norway's prisons are actually very nice and comfortable. The average prison cell in Norway is better furnished than my bedroom. And since Norway doesn't have a death penalty, this guy is going to live comfortably for the rest of his life without any work.

[earbus]

Heavy metal was to blame in the 80s lol.

[Firstkn1ghT]

Blame it on Elmer Fudd running around with that shotgun. Shooting innocent ducks and wabbits with no remorse.

[StayStatic]

Blame Canada

[hilyou]

why does everyone hav 2 blame video games 4 massacres and mrders, and stuff!

[gypsygib]

I agree that it's totally racist, anytime a non-white commits a crime it's perceived as due to a faulty characteristic of the race/ethnicity/religion. But, if a white person does the same crime, being white/christian has nothing to do with it, it's portrayed as due to some rare individual or behavioural defect like games, music, crazy, etc.

This "white is right" mentality must come to an end. The world is still very racist, it's just taken a very different and more subtle form; however, it's equally as insidious, maybe even more so.

[SteveSmith]

Lol, those intellectual liberals finding racism in everything.

[wallis]

I didn't quite see how this and racism was gonna line up but to be fair the researcher makes a very valid observation. It seems that the only time I hear about games in the media is when a white male commits a killing spree.

I've been waiting a while for the endless shit storm of "murder simulator" crap to pour in over the oslo incident but I just haven't seen it yet. I don't know why but I'm not happy to say it's because culture and the media has become more mature in its attitude towards videogames. Fucking hell, it was only a few years ago the daily mail just flat out stopped trying to be a real newspaper and photoshopped a cover for "grand theft auto: Raoul Moats" to pass it off as a real game and hence evidence towards their "evil games" argument.

Frankly, my honest belief is that the Oslo incident hasn't become a huge "fuck video games" scene because a) Amy Winehouse died and boy does our society have its priorities wrong and b)this kid was a christain extremist and nothing is gonna muddle up the every day man's perception of terrorism quite like throwing a white christian male into the mix.

[SITH]

Since this guy claims to be a christian... wouldn't it make more sense to ban Christianity.