“What the fuck is wrong with German people?”
They had a mass murder involving a firearm recently.
Their response?
#1: More gun control (typical), and
#2: Banning all “violent” video games.
Like gamers around the world, Germans love their shoot-’em-ups. Sure, video gaming isn’t quite the industry in Germany that it is in the U.S. (or some other parts of Europe), but it’s still an enormous market for the industry.
Those days are quite likely to come to a screeching halt in a matter of weeks, as Germany is well on its way to banning all “violent video games,” defined (via translation) as games “where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or inhuman acts of violence against humans or manlike characters.”
They’re not talking rating the games and banning the purchase by people under 18. Their plan is to make games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo series contraband in Germany. You get caught with it, you get arrested.
Seriously, WTF?
Found via RTftLC
In case they haven’t figured it out yet, these bans never work, because they are simply a challenge to the geeks who work to get around them.
Are they going to shut off the Internet? I doubt it. The games will just be downloaded and burned to Blu-Ray or DVD.
The losers will be the legitimate owners of the DVDs, who will lose royalty revenue to the pirates, now legitimized by the German Federal government.
There have been calls for such bans all over Europe (and the US) for over a decade.
This time someone saw an opening to abuse a real shooting as a rallying cry and enough people responded to get politicians to respond favourably.
And yes, they are likely to start “controlling” internet access for this too.
First step will be to make ISPs responsible for the content their users can see and download. Criminalise the act of supplying access to illegal material (in fact I am in favour of that) and anyone allowing users access to sites supplying contraband will be liable to be up on the same criminal charges as the person accessing that contraband.
I don’t however agree with this game ban. It’s a cheap shot at a foreign industry, which is why it will almost certainly pass and become in short order an EU directive.
Anything to give the EU industry an advantage over the US industry gets that treatment.
As a hunter/sport shooter living in Germany, I got a letter from a friend of mine that lives in Stuttgart, and he got a letter from his Mayor about how this latest tragedy was enough of a reason for most/all gun owners to turn them in. sort of a long post but here it is.
NOTE this a translation of the original message.
This is a courtesy translation only!
Dear Mr. /Ms. X
The happenings in Winnenden shocked and sorrowed all of us. They also brought up the question what we have to learn from the terrible incident.
Besides the controversial political debates it has shown itself that the availability and free access to weapons regularly factor in such mayhem. Thus I am contacting you as a gun owner directly. Especially you symbolize the correct handling of fire arms.
For many that already follow the rules this might seem a given. Reality however shows that is often not the case. The individual that does not follow the rules carries a large part of the blame when life is threatened or even endangered due to incorrect storage procedures.
Therefore I call on you to eliminate all factors in your environment that could enable misuse. I have asked my employees to increase checks on the correct storage of weapons ahead of any possible tightening of weapons laws.
Under the influence of the happenings in Winnenden I would like you to ask yourself personally if you really want to continue owning fire arms. No doubt you have followed the media showing many weapons owners who have already come to their conclusion and turned in their arms.
Arms and ammunition may be turned in at the weapons registration office within the office of public order. You may contact their personal under the phone numbers 216-8273 (last names starting with A to K) and 216-2015 (last names starting with L to Z) should you have any questions concerning correct storage or turn in procedures.
With best regards
Dr. Wolfgang Schuster (Lord Major of the city of Stuttgart)
This is a courtesy translation only!
Germany, of course, has a long history of atrocities inspired by video game violence. I think that this ban has been long overdue, and look forward to a new Deutschland where people will no longer have an urge to do unkind things to other people. [/sarcasm]
crap like this is why I left Germany. I came to America, and much of the same thinking greets me.
Sheeple are the same the world over…