President Donald Trump met with video game executives and watchdog groups on Thursday at the White House to talk about gun violence, one of a series of meetings planned by the White House in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shootings.
The meeting started with the showing of a series of particularly violent video clips, according to two participants who were there, Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center and Melissa Henson, program director of the Parents Television Council. Both are media watchdog groups.
[...] "This is not a simple thing," Bozell told Variety. "This is not to say that the video game industry is the alpha and omega of the problem, but they have to be part of the discussion."
[...] The White House released a statement afterward. "The conversation centered on whether violent video games, including games that graphically simulate killing, desensitize our community to violence." They also released the video that was shown.
The White House posted the video to YouTube. As of this submission, it's got 53 kilodislikes.
If game industry representatives hoped their meeting with President Trump today would help change his mind after recent statements of concern over violence in video games, they came away sorely disappointed. In a statement following that meeting, the White House said that President Trump "acknowledged some studies have indicated there is a correlation between video game violence and real violence."
"During today's meeting, the group spoke with the president about the effect that violent video games have on our youth, especially young males," the White House statement reads. "The conversation centered on whether violent video games, including games that graphically simulate killing, desensitize our community to violence. This meeting is part of ongoing discussions with local leaders and Congress on issues concerning school and public safety and protecting America's youth."
The White House statement goes against the overwhelming consensus of the research community, which has shown wide agreement that exposure to violent games in youth has little to no relationship with violent outcomes later in life.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday March 14 2018, @07:15PM (3 children)
You haven't been paying attention. Ever since 'Nam, the Republicans have been ratfucking around with political enemies in order to screw the Dems. Iran-Contra, the shadiness around the Viet Nam exit timeline, arming the Mujahideen, and the last 15 years of bullshit in the Middle East...where does it end?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday March 14 2018, @08:56PM (2 children)
Why would it end? Have you any idea how much money there is to be made from starting just a few forever wars?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 14 2018, @10:44PM
Til our national debt reaches 40-50 trillion.
Then what :)
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday March 15 2018, @09:32AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves