Legislating against games is as pointless as legislating against movies. To say that the latest game “made” a young man commit suicide/murder/any other atrocity is as naive as saying that people that watched Predator started a skull collection.

Mind you, most people can make any argument for any case if they phrase it carefully. Take a look at this: FAQ About Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) and ask yourselves how many people will start believing that DHMO is very dangerous indeed. Also, EVERYTHING in the above web site is TRUE! It is just worded cleverly. Well, if you read it, it says at some point that scientist Nathan Zohner did a survey and the result was that 86% of the American people support the ban. He goes on to state that if people were made aware of the nature of DHMO then studies like his would not be needed. If you are still unclear why, go to the end of this post to learn what DHMO is most commonly known as.

Such is the reasoning behind game legislation as it happens right now. Take note of Senators Clinton, Lieberman and Durbin request to have CDC “[…]investigate the cognitive, physical, and socio-behavioural impact of electronic media on child and adolescent development[…]”. Note the terms ‘electronic media’ and ‘development’. They both encompass everything; the first includes, but are not restricted to, television, internet, films, games, cell phones, DVD, any form of media that is using an electronic transfer medium. The second is also all-encompassing; appetite, attention span, sleep habits, aggression levels, the works! Finally, note that such broad research projects are already being undertaken by other organizations more suited for such research, like the American Academy of Paediatrics, with one exception; they don’t include video games! Such studies have been going on for a long time, before the issue of video game violence ever became an issue. And this is the reason why CDC was chosen as the body responsible to do the research; most other qualified and relevant organizations are already doing their own. Another reason for the choice of CDC has been speculated as the nature of CDC itself.

Since it was founded in 1946 to help control malaria, CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats. Today, CDC is globally recognized for conducting research and investigations and for its action oriented approach. CDC applies research and findings to improve people’s daily lives and responds to health emergencies – something that distinguishes CDC from its peer agencies.

(from the CDC website)

Most people still know the CDC only as the center for battling infectious diseases. This is so ingrained into the minds of people that the talk of CDC coming in spreads a “we are all going to die” kind of fear.

So we have the CDC (chills up the spine) researching the electronic media (a.k.a. games, the devil’s tool, the unholy contraptions) in relation to the possible effect on our children (parents start panicking – and voting for the guys that recommended it of course). This is of course just the speculation of people like reporters, human rights activists, freedom of speech lawyers, people of no real merit and value. So who cares?

P.S. Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is most commonly known as water!