IL Gov Wants to Ban Graphic Video Game Sales to Minors

Slippery slope time. Evidently the video games rating system isn’t enough.

Some of the popular video games on the market right now allow kids to simulate and participate in violent and sexual activities. Soldiers heading to Iraq use simulations like today’s games in order to prepare for war. That may be OK if you’re a mature adult or a soldier training to fight, but is that really necessary for a 10-year-old child?

What a dickhead. I really don’t think that soldiers are training on Halo 2. Maybe using the Unreal graphics engine but doubtful they’re playing City #17 in Half-Life 2 to figure out how to conquer Baghdad.

Hi, parents. Be a parent. Don’t depend on Blagojevich to do it for you. I’m not saying it’s not difficult to monitor your kid’s media intake (and I have the fresh perspective of being childless) but still. I can’t wait to torture my kids with threatening to cut the high-speed if they fall out of line (of course by then it’ll be country-wide wireless so I’ll have to have a signal-jammer mounted on the birdfeeder aimed at the house).

My sister and I were not raised with violent games or toys at all – I think water guns was the extent of things. Oh and rubber band guns (ouch!). I think this might have been a reaction to my parents witnessing the Vietnam era and their background as teachers. I think that gave us a different perspective on war and warfare. I’ve always found it disgusting and repugnant. Unless it was against aliens.

I’m not going to go into my usual v-chip rant. I have a teleconference in a bit.

Sidebar: I love when Ron and I talk child-raising. We were watching something – I think 24 – and some character had locked himself inside his room from his parents and I turned to Ron and said we can’t let the kids have locks on their doors. Ron said: I’ll tear the door off the hinges. This reminded me of when our next-door neighbor ripped her teenage daughters phone line out of the wall. I think I’ll be the cooler one in terms of parenting – for all of this playful spirit, I think he realizes how important discipline was in his upbringing. Besides, since he’ll be a flight attendant I’ve always got the classic threat: Wait till your (other) father gets home. He’s not even going to change out of his uniform.


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