Zach Nebben

By now, some of you may have heard about the Dawson County shootings in Montreal, Canada. I would like to start by stating that nothing I am about to say is meant to take away from the pain and suffering currently being felt in that community. My heart goes out to the mourners and the injured.

For those of you that are unaware, a shooting occurred on a campus in Montreal on the 13th of September. A lone gunman, 25-year-old Kimveer Gill, killed one woman and injured 19 before he turned the gun on himself. All Gill left behind for us to decipher was an online blog, which was unfortunately filled with video game references.

The media has already provided the usually ridiculous spin on the subject by saying that Gill was able to learn from the games and hone his skills to be able to pull off a shooting of this proportion. Let’s be honest. Games don’t cause things like this. Moving a set of crosshairs with your thumbs is not the same as taking the time to gather the resources, plan the events, and actually load a gun and shoot with precision.

Correlation does not equal causation! I have played video games of all genres since I was able to hold a controller and I have never committed a violent crime. In contrast, the Xbox did not exist during a single act of violence before the turn of the millennium. However, violent crimes have been around since the dawn of man. What could be the cause?

Nobody seems to care a whole lot about the fact that this person came in possession of a weapon. Nobody concerns themselves about how he physically became good at shooting his weapon. Nobody noticed the entry in his blog discussing the fact that he wished that people would stop picking on him! But everybody noticed the fact that he enjoyed violent video games! Why? Because we are a nation thriving on the fact that we would rather accept an easy lie than a hard truth.

We are looking at an individual with deep-seeded emotional problems that were planted long before he picked up a video game controller. One glance at his blog shows that he was a troubled young man. In the five minutes that I spent glancing through, I noticed references to insanity, masturbation, bullies, and yes, heavy metal and video games.

The media has taken this event as a means of further promoting their anti-violent video game agenda, and raising more concern about the upcoming Rockstar video game entitled “Bully.” Florida lawyer Jack Thompson has gone so far as to say that “Bully” is “nothing more than Columbine remade.” Apparently, Jack hasn’t read much into the game, which is centered on stopping bullies via non lethal means, rather than shooting them.

It is a sad week for gaming, as this will no doubt further the stereotype that fans of violent games are potentially violent themselves.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room, playing Pong.

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