“Killer Games” Should Be Prohibited In Germany
Calls for ban on violent videogames from German right-winger
Sebastian Bosse, the 18-year old from a small German town called Emsdetten near the Dutch border, who wounded five students at his former high school on Monday, was “an enthusiast for both live-action and virtual shooting games” according to a wire report from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Counter-Strike has been named as the game the youth, who took his own life, enjoyed.
According to the D.P.A. report:
However, fact that ‘killer guns’ are freely available – and licensing laws unenforced – is not the immediate issue in the mind of Edmund Stoiber, premier of the state of Bavaria. The fact that an 18-year old male youth who finished last in a class of 15-year olds as he was forced to repeat classes three times, played videogames has – predictably - lead to the politician opening his mouth.
Premier Stoiber, famous for saying that, “Unfortunately, not everyone in Germany is as intelligent as in Bavaria”, has stated that he would introduce legislation against ‘violent videogames’ in federal parliament, adding: “Killer games should be prohibited in Germany.”
Obviously the number – and the brutality – of killings in the works of Shakespeare, and the major books of western religion does not generate a similar call to action.
Pointing out the patently obvious, Olaf Wolters, a spokesman for the German Interactive Software Association a ban would be ineffective, because the games could be downloaded from abroad. He also made mention of freedom-of-speech issues.
The D.P.A. report also quotes Josef Kraus, president of one of Germany’s teachers’ union. Kraus pointed out that politicians, schools, the media and entertainment industry were too busy blaming one another to take any effective action to re-integrate loner youths like Bosse.
“We have a fundamental culture here of looking away if there is a problem,” he told N-TV.
In remarks to the newspaper Bild, he said, “Brutal computer games and videos con youths into the idea that the strong win. They don’t show the losers any way out. Drugs, consumerism and fun are the sole values that today’s pop and TV stars propagate.”
SPOnG does not feel the need to comment further on this event – a tragedy from many angles – other than to wait for U.K. politicians (probably from Leicester) to long-jump onto the bandwagon.
Counter-Strike has been named as the game the youth, who took his own life, enjoyed.
According to the D.P.A. report:
Two of the three old-style firearms he carried on Monday were on free sale in Germany to persons 18 and over. The third, a small-bore rifle, would have required a gun licence. Bosse only had a junior gun licence that allowed him to carry a compressed-gas weapon for self-defence, the police commander on the case, Hans Volkmann, said.
However, fact that ‘killer guns’ are freely available – and licensing laws unenforced – is not the immediate issue in the mind of Edmund Stoiber, premier of the state of Bavaria. The fact that an 18-year old male youth who finished last in a class of 15-year olds as he was forced to repeat classes three times, played videogames has – predictably - lead to the politician opening his mouth.
Premier Stoiber, famous for saying that, “Unfortunately, not everyone in Germany is as intelligent as in Bavaria”, has stated that he would introduce legislation against ‘violent videogames’ in federal parliament, adding: “Killer games should be prohibited in Germany.”
Obviously the number – and the brutality – of killings in the works of Shakespeare, and the major books of western religion does not generate a similar call to action.
Pointing out the patently obvious, Olaf Wolters, a spokesman for the German Interactive Software Association a ban would be ineffective, because the games could be downloaded from abroad. He also made mention of freedom-of-speech issues.
The D.P.A. report also quotes Josef Kraus, president of one of Germany’s teachers’ union. Kraus pointed out that politicians, schools, the media and entertainment industry were too busy blaming one another to take any effective action to re-integrate loner youths like Bosse.
“We have a fundamental culture here of looking away if there is a problem,” he told N-TV.
In remarks to the newspaper Bild, he said, “Brutal computer games and videos con youths into the idea that the strong win. They don’t show the losers any way out. Drugs, consumerism and fun are the sole values that today’s pop and TV stars propagate.”
SPOnG does not feel the need to comment further on this event – a tragedy from many angles – other than to wait for U.K. politicians (probably from Leicester) to long-jump onto the bandwagon.
Games:
Counter Strike
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Comments
Joji 23 Nov 2006 16:48
1/1
Another swipe at games. Banning them will have no effect, that'll just lead to more imported games coming into Germany, or like that other chap said off the net.
This kid was a junior gun license holder? Scratch my head in confusion here. Sort out you gun laws Germany.
This kid was a junior gun license holder? Scratch my head in confusion here. Sort out you gun laws Germany.