By: Antawn Salinas
Twitter: @Antawn_Salinas
Instagram: kickpuncherone

So yeah, this conversation won’t ever die. Ever since Mortal Kombat came out, video games have been villainized by many people because they are thought of to only be brutal violence that morph a kid’s view on the world. Every so often, this conversation calms down, but then pops right back up. Mortal Kombat pretty much caused the rating system to be created, the Columbine shooters blamed Doom for their actions, and there have been countless amounts of controversies behind any of the Grand Theft Auto games.

Even long before video games, people were calling Dungeons and Dragons “satanic”. Now, because of the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, video games (along with movies) have been blamed. By who you ask? The wrinkled orange game show host, Donald Trump. As you can tell, I am not favorable towards him.

Before I go on, this article isn’t going to be me whining about the government wanting to take away my video games or limit my access to them. This is going to be about why targeting them is pointless, and it further shows how the media, the government, and the president are out of touch. Also, video games don’t cause people to be violent.

First thing’s first, if you are a parent, or you want to eventually become a parent, actually be their mentor. Don’t just throw them in a corner with a PS4 and a copy of Call of Duty. Actually be there for them, because they will get why they shouldn’t actually kill someone if they eventually want to get into video games. Schools don’t get funded enough, so what they don’t teach them, fill in what they can’t teach. Also, start them off with the basics; Super Mario, Kirby, Rayman, and even sports games are great ways to start your kid off. Don’t give kids Rated-M games until they seem ready for it.

I say this because not everyone who plays violent video games is a violent person. I know people who have seen violent movies and played violent video games since they were young, but they’ve seem to turnout fine. So, what’s the difference between them and any school shooter? The school shooters have had stuff mentally wrong with them, because they were taught by the wrong influences.

The government should put more focus on mental diseases, and actually fund schools more. Out of all the ridiculous things the government has done, suggesting that teachers should be armed with guns is the most backwards thing I’ve ever heard. ‘How do we fix a violence problem? I don’t know, just give them one of the most violent weapons that someone can get’. It really makes no sense.

But Trump doesn’t want to blame guns. He wants to blame video games. He even said when talking about the dangers of social media,“I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts. And you go one further step and that’s the movies. … maybe they have to put a rating system for that”.

Are. You. Kidding. Me. This further proves how out of touch Trump is. He doesn’t even know that video games have a rating system. That’s kind of understandable since I don’t think Trump spends his free time doing trick shots in Call of Duty or getting “chicken dinners” in PUBG. But, he should at least know that movies have ratings, since you know, HE WAS IN MOVIES AND TV SHOWS BEFORE HE WAS THE FREAKING PRESIDENT!!!!

But, the thing about this situation, I should have seen it coming. Not only has video games been argued on whether they actually cause people to be more violent, Trump loves to blame everyone and everything else, except for himself. While this hasn’t caught fire yet (not Trump, but him blaming video games), I’m trying to help stop it from happening. Every time this happens, it’s the same exact argument.

Back to the shooting. Video games shouldn’t be what people focus on. It’s a scapegoat that’s used when something gets “too political.” I’m on the side of the situation that says gun control laws should be tighter. The second amendment shouldn’t be thrown away all together, but people get in a fit when anything tries touching their gun rights. Also, like what I said earlier, people with mental illnesses should be focused on.

Another reason why video games shouldn’t be the focus is because it’s a billion dollar industry; it’s not going away anytime soon. Sure, there has been a little censoring every once in a while, but that has never made a dent. Also, it seems like people forget that franchises that aren’t rated M also make a crap ton of money. The biggest video company in the world, Nintendo, pretty much focuses on being as family-friendly as possible. Don’t waste your breath on it.

My last point is that video games don’t make people violent. That is because they have only been around the past 40-45 years. Not to mention that there have been tons of violent movies that are claimed to some of the greatest, like most Scorsese, Tarantino, and War films. There was tons of violence happening before that, and even more violence before guns were even invented. I don’t think Adolf Hitler or Christopher Columbus killed millions of people because they grew up playing Battlefield, they killed millions because they had something mentally wrong with them.

Trump is supposed have a meeting soon with the representatives of the video game industry, and I hope they don’t just try to please him. I do hope they step up and point out what he should truly be focusing on: gun problems and mental illness. If they focus on video games, they will get nowhere. I don’t want to see any more tragic shootings, I just to see the government actually do something that will make things safer for us rather than make the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Whatever you do, don’t let greed take over.