Cushman School students throw out video games for campaign against virtual violence

MIAMI (WSVN) - Students at a South Florida school are giving up specific video games to show they’re against virtual violence in the wake of the recent Parkland school shooting.

[Syriel]

Tthen just don't play those so called violent video games .. and while you're at it, stay off the internet, stop watching the news, and no longer go to the movies

[Tetsujin]

Don't forget books, magazines, comics, listen to music, and life in general.

It reminds me of PETA wanting to ban Pokemon because it encourages Animal cruelty, and was laughed out of court. Uneducated people need to be reminded the media as a whole is not to blame at all, and 99% of these "school shootings" can easily be fixed by teachers and parents. It's bullying, teachers who are only out for a paycheck, and parents who do nothing are the ones to be erased. I don't hear about a lot of this in other countries, just the US. So what does that tell us about our system for the younger generation?

[GamingSinceForever]

A lot of other countries don’t have violent video games and easy access to guns at the same time. You have to understand all of the facts.

I applaud their efforts to make a change, however as an adult I still prefer to play what I want.

We all have to agree that several things need to change. This generation has been desensitized to violence.

[thorstein]

@GamingSinceForever.

Find a map. Find the USA. Look north (above on the map.) See Canada. Canada has the exact same games and movies, comic books, and violence on TV. They even allow nudity on TV after 10PM.

And guess what else they have plenty of: GUNS, GUNS, GUNS. And guess what they don't have, gun murders.

END OF RANT.

I digress, sorry, for Syriel and Tets,

Not sure if you are old enough to remember, but before video games and PG movies like Jaws and Ghostbusters, the real culprit to all the killing was Dungeons and Dragons and Rock and Roll.

Books too, but mostly Dungeons and Dragons and Rock and Roll. That is why idiotic statements by people who don't know what they are talking about don't further the discussion or the solutions.

[SlashHabit]

Don't forget about the News, where they show dead people LIVE.

[rainslacker]

I do think the constant barrage of violent media we have nowadays does in some ways desensitize us to violent acts. But being desensitized means that one doesn't feel the horror as much as they would otherwise. Being desensitized doesn't tend to make someone psychopaths....although it can make them lose their better judgement on some things and try things. But more often than not, common sense prevails.

@GamingSinceForever

Yes. Things need to change. But what needs to change isn't the removal of violent media.

[Aloren]

@thorstein Canada doesn't have anywhere near as many guns per capita as the US. It's on the same level as France or Germany, not the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

[jznrpg]

GamingSinceForever I had an arsenal of weapons by the time I was 10 , I watched every war and ninja movie ever made , gangs were everywhere killing each other (Los Angeles) violence hasn’t changed . We are separated , taught to dislike each other early on . Neighbors don’t say hi as much as they used to, I knew everyone on my block and a few blocks over , now I know like 3 neighbors total . You never heard Libtards and Repugnicans, we have categorized ourselves so much instead of everyone just being Americans and hate those people because we can’t agree to be different . We used to respect others who we disagreed with now it’s like they aren’t even human . This hatred mixed with mental health issues who have access to guns is a bad combo. Most keep there hatred to words but the few who don’t cause a lot of damage

[UnHoly_One]

The country's political climate is just completely off the rails.

Both sides hate everything about the other side, there is almost zero attempt to compromise on anything at this point.

Trump could do something that Democrats planned to do if they had been in power and they would hate it and vote against it.

Dems are so focused on Illegal immigrants it's complete insanity. California has become a cesspool of drugs and crime but they are just doubling down and they want more of that.

I'm afraid this is going to get far worse before it gets better. I'm not sure it ever will get better. I'm glad I don't have kids.

[TacoTaru]

While I agree that this is pure idiocy, they did remove all cigarette advertising from most everywhere and people in movies or on TV can't be seen with a cigarette because it makes it socially acceptable and will cause young people to smoke.

[strayanalog]

I don't think they will be happy until it's full Fahrenheit 451 around here.

[Cobra951]

Props for that reference. Yes, let's burn the books next, and see if gun violence stops.

[Lighter9]

They can be addictive, especially if you've been playing them for most of your life. It's not so easy.
Like telling an alcoholic to put down the bottle. Easier said than done.

[kneon]

Sure if you have an addictive personality. I can play a game every day for weeks and then just stop cold turkey.

[Gunstar75]

I've been playing violent videogames for over 30 years and I've hardly killed anyone on real life

[Goldby]

only issue i have with that statement is the misspelling of in with on.

[nitus10]

Yes, it is extremely hard to kill a real person with a game controller. 😎

[SierraGuy]

Movies are the worst. Horror especially. It's ok to let kids watch people being tortured and mutilated. Maybe we could look at that first.

[thorstein]

Can you edit that so I can understand what you are trying to say?

The only thing I got was that you think that I'm everything wrong with society. How? By analyzing the BS fed to us by corporate media and rejecting it as another means to divide the people? By knowing based on my studies, scientific peer reviewed data, and common sense that media does not make violent people.

Canada doesn't censor music. Yet, their society is far less violent than American society. That said, American society isn't actually all that violent. I refer you to Steven Pinker's Better Angels of Ourselves or Barry Glassner's Culture of Fear.

Heck, even check out FBI.gov to see that the USA has become so incredibly less violent in the last 20 years that we have hit historic lows on: murder, rape, robbery, assault, grand theft, abortions, teenage abortions, teenage pregnancy... the list goes on and on.

And censorship has not one reason for existing in a society, let alone a society that has freedom of speech. Censorship is pure evil. And don't go slippery sloping down your well to hide behind children again. Maybe educate yourself.

[SierraGuy]

So your telling me you would let your 4 year old watch porn? Because that's what I'm getting here. That should be ok in your world. I agree with you for the most part Canada isn't bad for violence...but it's getting bad...fast. like the south. I should know I'm here.

Violence in America might be at it's worst right now how do we really know? I'm not from Atlanta or Dallas. Stop telling me to stop hiding behind children. Their defenseless. I don't have kids. Censorship that is in place is adequate. So yeah the fatal violence is higher because it's not normal to see a gun in a Canadian home. I mean I guess it's protection from an invasion? Maybe the American government knows something we don't? The amount of deaths a day in America is a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the world I believe...that's why they won't do a thing about guns but blame videogames. We're oversensitized because they plaster it all over the TV when something does happen.

[thorstein]

That's a Red Herring. Stop with the logical fallacies.

As for the facts, I provided you with three separate sources. It's up to you to educate yourself about it. It is now your choice to either learn that the USA is far safer than it has been in the past 40 years or you can choose to ignore those things. "How do we know?" Because crime is a matter of public record. We can know things and look at them and compare them to the 60s 70s 80s 90s etc.

As for censorship, it is very simple: As violence in media has increased, become more prolific and lifelike, violence in society has decreased.

Here is a bonus source: https://www.nytimes.com/201...

[letsa_go]

Jack Thompson would love these kids! He was 20 years too early.

[rainslacker]

Its a shame that middle school kids, who grow up with games, buy into this crap. It's obvious they aren't researching the data, and as such, they're actually coming across as worse because it shows they can't even think critically about the subject.

While I know that school will always have a small group of people who will go after any cause or do any kind of protest in an attempt to appear progressive, this kind of thing just comes across as ineffectual, and ultimately, does nothing to solve the issue. I'd imagine most of the kids in the school probably laughed this kind of protest off, because I'm sure a lot of them have played a violent game or two, and I'd imagine that most, if not all of them, wouldn't resort to some terrible homicidal rampage.

Quote from one of the kids

"“I think it’s important because if you play violent video games, you’re gonna have a really bad mindset, and you won’t be able to focus on your schoolwork"

Is that so? What evidence is there to suggest that? Is this based on anecdotal or empirical evidence, or is just just assumption. Since it's most likely the very latter, where did you hear that you'd have a really bad mindset if you play violent games. Where, in your statement, did you lose focus on becoming informed? For one that seems so keen on becoming knowledgeable by focusing on school work, it seems rather ironic they wouldn't take a few moments to do a bit of research.

Millions upon millions of people play violent video games daily. They don't have a bad mindset. Whether or not one can focus on their school work has nothing to do with one's psychological tendencies towards violence.....and realistically, any game, violent or otherwise, can cause one to lose focus on their school work.

While it's nice the kids want to do something productive, i'd suggest that they focus their ideas on something that will actually be effective, and not add to the problems by distracting from the issue. While I try not to be overly hard on kids in these kinds of cases, these kids are the same idiots that we will have to argue with in the future when no one actually calls them out on their misconceptions. I believe more now than ever, a kid should learn to think critically. Maybe in 20 years or so, we can move past this knee jerk, misinformed activism that is so rampant with the advent of social media.

[fathertime4464]

Well now that that's done let's go skip the rest of class and smoke some meth

[ZeroX9876]

did anyone realized that any violent video games in the hand of those childrens shouldn't be in their possession in the first place?
Parents are the one who allowed those games to their kids. Kids are king and can make parents do whatever they want. It's a parent duty to restrict those violent video game.
They could also enforce an ID check when buying a video game for games 16 years old and over.

[strayanalog]

In the words of John Lennon: "in order to burn them they have to buy them."

[XiNatsuDragnel]

These students have low IQ than Patrick star

[PhantomS42]

Happens when they find bad ways to protests good causes. "Let's all walk out of school to protest mass shootings and form a crowd outside of the school in public where it would be 100X easier to gun us down"

[Araragifeels]

Florida is a well known State in United States for having low education and high crime, weird people.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I'm from Florida and I'm definitely going to have to agree with you on that but I would argue that's most of the United States....

[FancyMudkip]

I'd say the most across the USA instead of just pointing at one State.

[saint_seya]

I would like to be able to follow them after a while, to see if those "students" are found playing violent games, it would be so funny.

[Goldby]

yeah i wonder if any super mario games were thrown out as well,

he stomps on turtles, throws fireballs at turtles

plus i don't even think hes certified to do the pipe cleaning he does in the games

[rainslacker]

I think they mean well. But in the end, they're just being influenced by a greater power. Nothing in the given quote, or stated actions, seems to point at them coming to this conclusion through thought or research.

It's more excusable in children than it is in adults, but adults do the same thing nowadays.

I'd challenge any of these kids to actually research the issue. Not just violent games, but the bigger topic in questions. Then form a conclusion which can maybe let them find a more productive way to address the issue at hand. If they want to raise awareness, that's great, but they should learn early that if you're going to do so, do it right. Otherwise, they won't be taken seriously, and they'll just become another notch on the social media idiots list, who only do things to make themselves feel good, rather than doing something to influence productive change.

It's nice to give a statement that makes people have feels. But productive change won't come from feels when placed up against hard evidence....or in some cases the lack thereof. People don't need more feels, they need facts. It's emotional to see a child fight for a cause, it's shameful when that cause isn't fought with knowledge. The given quote only reaffirms people who already believe what these kids believe. It does nothing to change the mind of those who feel otherwise. To effect change, you have to make those people who disagree with you see it from your point of view....and you do that through facts.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I mean I commend them for supporting their rights to protest but this just sounds like a dumb NRA PR stunt to try to make it seem as if videogames are the main culprit of this.

[OB1Biker]

'are being encouraged'
Classic.
'if you play violent video games, you’re gonna have a really bad mindset, and you won’t be able to focus on your schoolwork," one student said. "

[OB1Biker]

Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose.
But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big BrotherTrump.

[PhoenixUp]

Why stop at videogames? If you’re against violence that much you might as well throw out every form of media that depicts violence, whether fictional or real.

Hell don’t even teach anything that has anything violent associated with it in school.

Doing this half measure and play pointless veto on videogames is in extremely bad taste.

[Scar-]

Exactly If this is the case then they shouldn't teach about ANY war in American history they should be burning there history books and videos also because that's REAL life documentation of gun violence.

[P_Bomb]

omfg. If these students could read, Huck Finn and Shakespeare would be flying out the window right next to their daddy’s Contra.

[Eldyraen]

To be fair, the school administration bans some of those books anyways. Too many naughty words and cultural changes since they were written.

[thorstein]

Maybe in Florida, but not in my state.

[bigmalky]

You can't change history by burning history. Students need to stop being pandered to.

They are not learning anything by everyone's obsession of censorship these days.

Soon they will be protesting for Aushwitz to be pulled down, flags that's countries colonized in the past to be burned and anything that doesn't paint their imaginary, Demolition Man future brightly in their rose tinted glasses to be destroyed, exiled, abolished or written out of history...

So then, how do we teach future generations about the wrongs of the past?

Kids creating controversy for attention and control... They really shouldn't have that much power.

[quenomamen]

Yea just lock yourselves in your houses and dont watch any tv, movies, limit your internet and listen only to Disney radio. But dont do anything about mental health or ease of gun access.

[rainslacker]

I imagine the bullying they'll face from taking this stand will probably have more influence over their mindset than any given video game would. I can't even begin to imagine how many of their class mates laughed at them or heckled them for even suggesting such a thing.

While I think kids can do a lot of stupid things, they are usually decently up to date with current trends from social media, and and there are probably a lot of them on this very site who keep up with the current topics of discussion, and likely discuss similar things during recess.

[Asuka]

Meanwhile BR games are selling like hotcakes and CoD BO4 was just announced which will also sell like hotcakes... Making all their whining simply that... Whining

[trooper_]

Ban everything while you're at it.

Idiots...

[soulrebel]

Throw out violent films and ban violent TV as well. Burn all the violent books, and ban combat sports... But keep all the guns. Actually, arm everybody. More guns = less gun crime. Sentry guns in classrooms imo, but ban the history lessons referencing war.

[bloodybutcherblocked]

https://goo.gl/images/wS2GT...

[Goldby]

you are thiking soo badly right now.

forget the sentry guns in the classroom.

issue them to the students instead, make them shoulder mounted like the predator.

more sentry guns means less violence.

[Tross]

Fascism is creeping into high schools now? How dare they convince high school students that they can't get into a good college/university if they enjoy certain things? They're making them pledge never to play them too. I'm all for adults joining cults for stupid reasons because they joined them of their own volition, but leave minors out of it. Besides, people who blame violent media for society's problems clearly don't have a good grasp of the issues at hand, and are never going to solve them as they're never focused on the real source.

Worse yet, it looks like these kids are not going to enjoy their youth any longer as they're so focused on academics. Heck, what sources they use for their studies are probably at the discretion of the cultist twats in charge. I've long since learned that high school grades don't mean a thing. At most you'll get into a good university earlier on, but that comes at the expense of stressing more than you have to for the few years prior.

I've also learned that it's stupidly easy to get into a lot of colleges as long as you're a high school grad, and everything you do there will replace your high school marks in no time. Besides, you can study at an institution that's cheaper and more local for a few years, and you'll find it's actually really easy to get into virtually any university you want after that. You can even take a year or so off and work a menial job. The idea that high school kids need to stress about this stuff and "do away with distractions" is just a ploy by the government to try and add to the work force as quickly as possible, and it's an evil ploy at that.

Anyways, may the current US government be short-lived, for the sake of our violent media...as well as education, the environment, international relations and probably a long list of things I'd rather stay in the dark about.

[KentBlake]

Yeah, throw out your games! But keep your AR-15! That will end gun violence. Oh, the humanity.

[stokedAF]

I can understand trauma of such an incident but they way they are exploiting these kids is disgusting. The media, the politicians, it’s sick. You want to protect kids? Protect their minds from these shameless, trashy parasites.

[InTheZoneAC]

No different than casinos and loot boxes, someone's always getting taken advantage of, but the very foundation of these issues are the sheep that put themselves at risk.

[stokedAF]

No different than casinos or loot boxes? Are you serious? They are exploiting kids that got shot at for whatever selfish, sick political agenda they have. They aren’t trying to squeeze an extra 20 dollars out of them. It’s a lot different.

Yes they are sheep, they are 16 years old. I’m not saying listen to them like they know what they’re talking about, I’m saying stop using their trauma as a shield to push their own twisted views. It’s sick.

[InTheZoneAC]

.

[InTheZoneAC]

I wasn't arguing, attacking you, or defending the media. I'm simply stating people need to quit being damn sheep that spew their bs for other sheep to see. It's how so many things wrong with our world have become accepted by more, but not most.

Our sheep are hosts to these parasites

[stokedAF]

I understand I’m not attacking you either, I just don’t understand the comparison. I don’t blame the kids for being indoctrinated by sick people.

[Cobra951]

How about physically protecting them too? Instead of coming up with a plan for school defense, they're taking potshots at entertainment media. A pen full of sheep needs sheepdogs. Otherwise wolves will slaughter them. And the wolves have proliferated. This is the problem that can be addressed immediately. Taking AR-15s out of children's hands and crucifying whoever made that possible will take longer.

[stokedAF]

Of course but this is much worse than you describe. They aren’t taking potshots at the media, they know that doesn’t work. They are using these kids to take potshots at media, they are being exploited as a mouthpiece to carry other people’s water. They didn’t come up with this babble.

It’s not up to these kids to come up with solutions, they don’t know how the world works. I saw one kid speak that said he was going to drop out and be an activist full time because it’s all he cares about. The sad part is he would make a lucrative salary doing this. This is our future, a bunch of drop outs and professional victims. Banning things, not creating things. It’s so sad to see this play out and watch kids ruin themselves at the guidance of our supposed leaders. Whether it’s academia, political or the press.

Getting rid of a certain firearm isn’t a solution either. If you kill 17 people in 5 minutes or 20 minutes, what’s he difference? Its not graded on speed.

[InTheZoneAC]

Omg can we please dump these sheep into an active volcano?

[SuperbVillain]

where will they be tossing these games at? Im asking for a friend

[Double_O_Revan]

My thoughts exactly. I'm offering a free 'trash' removal service. Just need a pick up spot.

[Elda]

Right!!

[rainslacker]

Maybe it's a ploy to collect games, then sell them to GameStop so they can buy the next COD.

[The7Reaper]

Lol that's dumb.

[zachyBROosevelt]

I played violent video game all through high school, and look at me, I'm kickass

[lellkay]

dumbest thing i've read for a while.

[CurbStompin]

Please send them to (INSERT MY ADDRESS HERE) to ensure proper disposal. You have my word. ;)

[SirBradders]

Sheep go bah, cows go moo.

[The-rain-maker]

Let's throw out all violent movies or all materials that reference violence as well ! That should stop gun shootings. god forbid Mental illnesses have anything to do with it. Or simply evil people ,making evil choices.

[TheSinsibleOne]

GOD DAMN IT AMERICA. Can you stop being the dumbest country on the planet FOR 2 MINUTES!?

[thorstein]

That's not really it. You see. In the USA, EVERYTHING is a wedge issue even when it completely is not.

Take kneeling NFL players. It is common knowledge that NFL players kneel during the national anthem to protest injustice by police and in the courts and kneeling is actually respectful of veterans.

But that isn't how it is played out every single time it is talked about, it must be a wedge issue. Even though it completely isn't.

Point is: it doesn't matter. Divided we fall. E Pluribus Unum (From plurality, one) There is no better way to run a dictatorship than to A) Deride the teachers then B) Prop yourself up as a protector against evils (whatever they may be doesn't matter.) C) Help your rich friends raid the coffers.

[rainslacker]

In other words, sensationalism has taken over common sense.

Stupid people exist everywhere. Just our news media seems really eager to show these stupid people on a consistent basis. It used to be that we laughed at, or ignored the idiots. Nowadays though, we give them attention and a false sense of respect.

Social media only made it look worse, because now every idiot who can figure out how to turn on their phone can have a soapbox with what appears to be a large number of people validating their stupidity. Of course, everyone assumes that these people are from the US, but you see these same stupid people aren't contained by something so arbitrary as a national border. Kind of like the OP, who assumes that all Americans, or the country as a whole is somehow all one cohesive unit that thinks the same, when the majority doesn't even agree with those that apparently represent us in government.

[gamer7804]

glad they threw them out, hope they also threw any movies, books, magazines, cds or mp3s that had any message of violence.

[Xenophon_York]

Frustrating.

While it is difficult to put myself in their position and know how I would react after being in the middle of a traumatizing and tragically soul-shattering nightmare like Parkland, I like to think I'd be more rationale about video games.

Bet they're just discriminating against what they perceive to be the PC/console Call of Duty/Doom-esque scene. What about the mobile games that millions of casual gamers play, like Clash of Clans or the slingshot-turned-bird-killer, Angry Birds?

Life is violent by nature—even a Buddhist monk would agree so. It's how we choose to acknowledge and utilize that instinctual violence and energy in a healthy way that is important.

[TheColbertinator]

Hey book burnings next. Been awhile

[Skankinruby]

Knew it would come eventually, stupid pathetic excuses for why there's bad people. Absolute idiots

[sampsonon]

the odd thing about people blaming video games, from a Canadian's perspective, is that we play the same games and have zero Mass shootings except a couple in our history... i wonder why? perhaps making it harder for people, especially teens, to get their hands on high powered rifles actually has some truth to it.

i mean duh!

[thorstein]

You also raise your boys better. In the USA, men are only socially allowed to show anger, aggression and happiness. Otherwise, ostracism and bullying pretty much prevent boys from openly showing emotions in public.

For more on this see the horrific reality show: Friday Night Tykes. It is literally child abuse. I am a mandated reporter so after watching it I had to call child protective services. But it shows "boy culture" in the USA pretty accurately.

[rainslacker]

I really think the issue isn't gun or video games(or any media). I think it's more that at some point in recent history, those with mental problems seem unable to deal with their problems. While they may not have been able to do this in the past either, lashing out against society in such violent ways was less common.

That begs the question, what has changed to empower these people to believe that doing what they're doing will somehow solve their problems?

I would go further and ask if these things have actually flared up, or it's simply the perception that more violence is happening nowadays compared to the past. Outside the mass shootings, which were much less common 20 years ago, other violent behavior has all happened before. Terrorism, executions, violence against police officers, etc, were a real thing before video games hit the mainstream. But now such things get reported on so much more than they used to. Before the advent of the 24 hours news channel, there was a limited amount of time, or space in the case of newspapers, to report on all these things, and outside of major incidents, most of those things got relegated to the back pages, or a quick blurb on the evening news. Now, we have instant access to everything that happens sometimes while it's happening. This can easily give the impression that things are getting worse.

For the most part though, I'd say that school shootings have definately risen, but what about violent crime in general? I don't care to look up the data myself, but it does need to be looked at also.

The worst thing that can happen on this issue is to be too myopic on placing blame. Blame won't solve anything. Finding and solving the root of the issue needs to be of the utmost importance, and to do that, one needs to study how much more of a problem it is now rather than before.

The thought of banning guns, or games, to help reduce, or eliminate the school shootings(which is what people are upset about right now), is a band-aid on the deeper root cause. On top of that, it's such a complex issue, that there are a multitude of reasons why things have gotten to where they are today....which does indeed include the relatively easy access to gun, and possibly even video games which can distort reality for those that can't differentiate between that and fiction.

[thorstein]

I sincerely think you should check out these two books: Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner and The Better Angels of Ourselves by Steve Pinker.

What you are saying is spot on. The fact is, we are far less violent than 20 years ago, but reporting that violence in news media has skyrocketed. Recently, I was reading my local rag and saw that there was a shooting and two people wound up dead. I live in a mid sized city in New York State. I wondered what neighborhood it occurred in. So, I dive into the article and the shooting was in Houston, TX. This was one of the top news stories of the day on my local paper. I never would have read or heard about that 30 years ago.

[rainslacker]

I'll check them out when I get a chance. I think my wife actually has one of them because I recognize the title.

I've long believed that the rise in 24 hours news, and the sudden proliferation of the internet has made the world seem stupider, but I never actually believed that people are more stupid nowadays.

I think people are more informed nowadays than any time in the past. But I also think that despite the easy access to knowledge, too many prove too often that they have no real desire to know the whole story, much less understand it.

On top of that, I feel that people become too comfortable and think that the internet provides them with a constant flow of affirmation that whatever they may believe is perfectly acceptable, so they have no incentive to try and expand their mind or thought process.

As powerful as the internet can be to advance human culture and society, not to mention knowledge, it's mostly just given people a voice on a large scale that they really have done nothing to earn. The press didn't use to give much attention to every idiot with an opinion, and had to rely on facts to determine what was important. Nowadays, anyone with an opinion can speak and be seen. While that may seem like a good thing, and on rare occasions it is, more often than not, it usually just a distraction and pointless.

[sampsonon]

"I really think the issue isn't gun or video games(or any media). I think it's more that at some point in recent history, those with mental problems seem unable to deal with their problems."

ths s going to sound really really horrible but we have mental people in Canada as well. only difference is f they have a moment they look at their knife, booze, pot, and distance to travel.

in the states it's high powered riffle, booze, pot, and fuckk it just grab the riffle grrrrrr!!!
i know because once was n a relationship where this girl was pulling strings so hard that if i had a high powered riffle i might have had a different out come than the one that happened, you know, no one died? so yeah. look at the countries with strong laws on gun ownership as compared to the states.... facts!

but yeah, keep on looking everywhere but the place we all know the problem is.
mental man with a knife? a few dead, mental man with a high powered semi auto with a few hundred rounds? well, yeah.

[rainslacker]

@sampson

Ignoring the sensational aspect of your comment, it seems the root is that you are arguing easy access to guns.

And while that is a key aspect in the eventual destruction, it doesn't answer the question on why these kinds of people are lashing out more than they would have in the past. Easy access to guns is really nothing new in the US. Violent media isn't anything new, although it's more prolific nowadays. But what changed to make someone who would have had violent tendencies hold them in in the past, now think that lashing out is a suitable way to solve their problems?

[Avengerz43]

Again it all goes back to parenting in the end of the day. Know what your kids are up to at all times that includes checking what games they're playing.

[RuleNumber5]

LOL, wait until they hear about this fall's slate of games. They'll end that pledge quicker than you can say care package.

[BLAKHOODe]

Reminds me of the movie Dazed & Confused, where the coach wanted his players to sign a pledge not to use drugs and alcohol, but the star quarterback refused. Just say NO, kids.

[DillyDilly]

What about movies ?

[Skuletor]

What the hell? They could have traded all those games for a total of $4.99 at their local GameStop.

[JerseyDon]

If you can not tell the difference between a video game and real life, the problem is you not the games or the creators. You can obviously not determine right and wrong or what is real and what is fake

[nitus10]

But according to the second amendment and it's interpretation it is against the law to prevent those nut-jobs from getting a high powered firearm.

[Firebird360]

Don't live. There's nothing more violent than life itself.

[aarogree]

Normally I would throw out all my violent video games, but they're all digital XD

[Elda]

It's a high probability that violent videogames should stay out of the hands of folks that are psychotic & violent but that's another problem. Playing violent games do not make me violent or want to become violent.I will continue to play them & the one's I have I will continue to keep. Good day.

[2pacalypsenow]

Lmaooooooooo.

Reminds me when people were throwing out Rap cd's because they incite violence..

[OffRoadKing]

Mission accomplished NRA.

Well guess what, they can have my violent video games when they pry them from my cold dead hands.

[ObviousGoldfish]

Let's get some details so we can scoup those games up real quick

[Chaosdreams]

The children shouldn't have M rated games to begin with. But I'm not even going to comment beyond that. Video games are scientifically proven to have no correlation to gun violence in REALITY.

Those guns being used SURE DO. But I suppose the young ones don't have guns they can throw away. Yet.

[TheOttomatic91]

I’m 90% sure those students never played those games or any games to begin with

[rainslacker]

I'm curious what kind of kid would be willing to throw away their stuff. Particularly one's that play these kinds of games, and can probably notice that the games themselves haven't made them into sociopaths.

In the long run, I worry more about the activist who can't stand on facts, more than I worry about the kids who play violent video games. While I'll likely have some direct or indirect connection to them through the community in the future, I'd much rather talk to a person who plays violent games, than I would want to talk to an activist who doesn't know what they're talking about. We have enough of those latter types to deal with nowadays, we don't need more.

[bigmalky]

Puritan wankers.

[The_Sage]

Misleading title.

[mafiahajeri]

"Throw violent games out" Don't know why I imagined students throwing games outside their school window xD

[addictedtochaos]

Anyone with half a brain knows that violent games do not cause violence. Do your part and buy some violent games this weekend.

[BuildTheWall]

These anti-gun & anti - NRA protesters can kiss my ass. No mass shooting has has ever been carried out by an NRA member , the NRA is not a political organization , the NRA exists to protect our 2nd Amendment rights , teach firearm safety. The NRA has existed for over 130 years & is comprised entirety of U.S citizens of all races , religions ,members incomes range from poor to ultra wealthy. YOU WILL NOT BE GETTING MY GUNS I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU PROTEST.

[khdaface]

You stupid a$@$#/ these games are not for you in the first place, these games are for adults read the age it reads M for mature.

[RadicalCannibal]

Chuck all your favourite movies in the bin then as well, cos half of them are violent as well. Or the easier better route adopted by countries who have had mass shootings, and this is a proven fix, ban guns

[rdgneoz3]

Middle school students and the pic shows handing in COD... Yah, a mature rated game they can't legally buy themselves anywhere... As usual, idiot parents.

[thejigisup]

How about some real news WSVN? What are the average ages of the kids that participated? What were the ratings of the games that were thrown out? What are the parents responses to their kid owning a game rated M for mature? Oh and definitely use the T for teen rule rating during your news piece bc parents should be reviewing the type of content their child is purchasing or better yet what they are purchasing for their middle school child. Interview a parent when you see a M rated game being thrown in ask them why they allowed their child to own something with blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, sexual themes, etc. All they did was throw up a bunch of games, someone is trading them in at gamestop and making a fortune.

[DFresh]

I love how the media wants to blame everyone but the killer behind the gun and then wants to make excuses for the killer's action like he/she had a bad childhood, abusive parents or whatever. Whatever happened to just being crazy? You can't stop crazy. You can't prevent crazy. You can't stop someone who's motivated to do harm to others. Plenty of us are faced with demons everyday but that doesn't mean we go around hurting other people. If you don't know right from wrong by a young age as oppose to Cruz who was 19 years old then that's all on you. Cruz knew what he was doing and planned out the entire attack. Someone who's impulsive doesn't plan anything out but someone who's self aware does plan things out. On another note it's funny to me that there were 3 cops outside of the Parkland campus and they didn't go inside the school building until after they heard gun shots even though they were warned several times and did nothing. I can debate this all day but as an American, a U.S Navy Veteran and a law abiding citizen I value the 2nd Amendment to bare arms because it allows me to protect myself and my family. I hope I never have to use my firearms on anyone but if that day ever were to come I'm ready to do what needs to be done to protect my family and my way of life.

[drunkenspy007]

Wow, those are some stupid and gullible kids.

[N8]

Give them to me, might be some good ones in there.

[The_Jackel]

I hope someone non related to gaming shoots that school up.... just to prove a point

[Auron]

Lol! so these students must believe that they are all mentally unfit to play games. Thats pretty sad.. thats basically saying i have no morals i dont know right from wrong and i cant make heads or tales from fiction and reality! THATS SCARY! These dopes are the future!!! Tides pods

[Ben12]

Yep and from that picture looks like there throwing away NINTENDO Wii games that nobody cares for. I don't see any ps4 or xbox games or CONSOLES being thrown out. Video games have nothing to do with violent crimes. people die every day from drinking and driving maybe you should stop selling alcohol and band drinking forever. I'm sick of this fix the real issue stop beating around the bush.

[cliveo32]

One word twat

[kayoss]

Japan, Plays nearly the same games as United States. But yet they are at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to gun violence related to video games. If you believe that violent video games really influence gun violence, then you are admitting that Americans are a lot dumber and are more gullible to believing anything they see or hear.

At the end of the day, it comes down to common sense and I will admit that a lot of Americans lack that. Government blame mental health for all the mass shooting, but yet they are willing to equip these people with "Mental health" with an AR-15. Where's the common sense in that?

Pro-guns always argues, we need to defend ourselves. My question to you is, why does a 16 year need an AR-15 to defend himself? At this age, his parents should be the one defending him and protecting him. If this is the logic that pro-guns going to use, every parents should be giving their kids an AR-15 once they turn 16 so that they can defend themselves from bullies. You freaking kidding me?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Looking at the age group of the students its pretty easy and clear to see you have a group of young minds who are easily persuaded and influenced by their parents and adults around them (i.e. school teachers) to do this. Older students thankfully are keeping the focus on the right issue... assault weapons being far to easily available to anyone who has the will to get their hands on one.

Edit: on a side note... should we not be pointing out how poor a job the parents of all of these children are doing since every game you seeing being thrown out in the video by a child (guessing ages 8-12) are rated M for Mature? The question to really be asked is why are parents buying the games for these kids to begin with or if they didn't buy them then why are they not doing a better job of checking what games their kids have?

[KryptonKronos]

Just looks like a bunch of kids throwing away games rated way above their age gap to me. Oops...

[Dragonscale]

Does that go for violence in all forms of media or is it just games as usual. Seems the only country affected this way is the US.

[2pacalypsenow]

Where is this happening? I wanna go pick those games up.

[MadLad]

Cuck.

[DONTB]

Can I rummage through these people's garbage?

[lnfiniteLoop]

@nitus10 - I can think of a few ways to kill someone with a controller (cordless or wired) but common sense and knowing right from wrong stops me from doing so... nothing to do with movies, books, video games, etc. some people are just nutters...

[Daishi]

Maybe these kids are just using it as an excuse to throw away EA products. Burn a couple of copies of Destiny 2 for me would ya. (I don't own any EA products so Destiny 2 would have to do for me.)

[subtenko]

These kids better f off, gtfo of my hobby of gaming.Brainwashed Jack Thompson wanna-bes

[Zjet]

We have the same games and movies in New Zealand. We just dont shoot up schools here.

[Pancit_Canton]

They should throw out all of their prescription medications like Adderall, Ritalin and other ADHD medication that ***ing up the brain of kids now a days.

[kbozz71]

And to think just a month ago they were eating Tide pods.

[metalgod88]

ok... cool story bro.

[Critic4l_Strik3]

First of all, the kids in the video shouldn't be playing these games to being with. Who's fault is it for the kids to have these games? The parents. Who's complaining? The parents.

[ImportGamer3004]

It's called a false flag and the FBI creates these false flag events in order to do gun control. In fact did you know that the CIA was planning to do 9/11 type drills in the 1960's. Look up the book "50 things you're not supposed to know."
The media is propaganda and anyone who believes such nonsense is a complete idiot. Videogames don't cause violence instead they help with hand and eye coordination plus help with reaction time as it applies to real life.

[FPS_D3TH]

lol of course they’re from Florida too... bright bunch down there...