And they blame it on Marilyn, and the heroin where were the PARENTS at?

Something I forgot about over the summer was the controversy over GTA: San Andreas. If for some reason you don't know, GTA:SA was an M(mature) rated game released last year, the latest in a long list of crazy-popular games by Rockstar about gangs, crime, sex, guns, and violence. The controversy came when a patch was released for the game by some dutch kid that allowed people to unlock a secret sex scene that the GTA developers removed from the game. Some of the code was left in, but it was impossible to reach without some serious 3rd-party programming.

So of course, Senators, namely Hillary Clinton (D, NY) latched onto the press it was getting and called for a hearing and inquiry into the game and the effect sex and violence in videogames may have on young people.

SO let's recap. Soldiers dying in Iraq, Valery Plame being violated by our Leaker in Chief, prisoners being tortured, gas prices climbing sky-high(we thought) and THIS is what our senators are spending their time on? The game was rated MATURE for a reason, and nobody under the age of 17 could even purchase the game because of the rating. So why does it matter what effect the game could have on 12-year-olds? They shouldn't be able to get ahold of the game in the first place.

First, parents need to take responsibility someday. Blame videogames, blame their friends, blame fucking chewing gum, but GOD FORBID we should ever doubt the parenting skill of people more interested in persuing their careers or playing online poker. Some parents aren't even ever home, either because they have to work long hours just to put food on the table, or they're irresponsible and want to go hit the clubs(Kevin Federline) instead of taking care of their kids. Parents are the most influencial elements in a child's life untill the day they move out; how can we pick apart something the child sees an hour or two a day without examining what brought them into this world in the first place?

And second, don't our fucking senators have something better to do? NOBODY ELECTED YOU TO DECIDE WHETHER VIDEOGAMES SHOULD HAVE A BETTER RATING SYSTEM! You wanna take a look at harmful effects in kid's lives? Kick the tabacco lobbyists out of Washington and start there, because cigarrettes are more harmful than GTA could ever aspire to be.

Video games don't cause violent behavior. Marilyn Manson doesn't cause violent behavior. The people who do those things and are actually violent were predisposed to BE violent before they ever picked up a controller or a NIN cd. Before we start blaming videogames, how about we hold the parents accountable. The schools, that make kids feel inadequate then PREPARE those students inadequately due to lack of funding. All the bad influences, like cigarrettes and alchohol and junkfood(remember, obescety is a HUGE problem in america right now) that receive more airtime on TV than any other kind of advertisement. Or how about the people they should be looking up to? The Great Teacher, Confucious, said that to create a great society filled with good people, the people must first have good, intelligent, morally-conscious leaders to set an example. We don't have those to any degree, so how can we expect their constituants to act any better? The kids need role models, and people starting wars, ignoring drowning cities, and wasting time with far less important issues are only furthering the decay our society is facing. The senate should be looking into THOSE things, not videogames. Way to have your priorities straight, guys.