He talks about "the causal link between violence and video games" like it really exists. "The supposed causal link" or even "The supposed link" would probably be a better choice of words.

That should have read: "It wasn't me who screwed up with italics this time!" :D

Whoa when did smilies get added?! :O

At most they should have just discretely called him into the office or whatever to talk about his map instead of making a stupid scene like they did.

@grombar

It does, to those who think it does, or are told so without knowing the information beforehand.

An example: I say to someone there was an accident down along Wheeler (road). I bet you, that that person, is willing to believe what I said, although it's not true. Because it seems true, it, uhh...it seems plausable.

Halpin isn't saying it exists, but rather the public is being sensative about it in spite of that, because the public is being told that it does. Like back years ago, the public was told there was a Communist threat to the US' democracy (I'm not so good with history; didn't they say that Communists were trying to turn the US into a communist country?). It wasn't true, but because of the Cold War, it seems plausable, so people believed it.

I know it's a clich, but it's absolutely true in this case. These parents do not understand videogames, and they do fear this one. They've all heard the "VIDEOGAMES!" fear mongering on TV before, and know here's a student who made "HIS OWN SCHOOL!!!" in an "ULTRA VIOLENT VIRTUAL REALITY ONLINE MURDER SIMULATION!!!"" It probably had a myspace or one of those youtubes in it too.

When this latest terrible thing happened all you heard on the news was "How can we prevent this?" "What are the warning signs?" Hwang's mod ended up being the "warning sign" right now. Honestly, I'm not sure that there is much you can do to prevent this sort of thing. When you have someone who is suicidal, and is hell bent on going on a rampage I don't think you really can stop them. The only way to prevent Viriginia Tech was to address the killer's own personal problems. And I don't see how you could do that if they never talk to anyone about it. You can't fix the whole world.

I also think it's pretty great that this poor kid happened to be Asian. That just makes it even more disgusting and hilarious I really think that had a lot to do with this whole mess. I'll bet a lot of people in school are looking real close at the "quiet Asian kid" in class right know. We're paranoid of each other now.

Why is it that every time there's a terrible tragedy we have to shut our brains off? I heard someone on the news say that we lived in a "post Virginia Tech World"! Isn't that great? A whole new golden age of fear, intolerance, and stupidity! We live in the same world that we did before it happened. Maybe if it wasn't milked for all it's worth on the news you wouldn't have kid's do this to get attention. Most of the school shootings since Columbine were copycats of that event. Maybe it will run it's course one day and psychotic people will go back to suffering in silence and then hang themselves when no one's around.

That was well said IMHO. We have to fight the anti-gaming irrational fear with clear and calm words like with what you see here in the article. I have a feeling that the ECA is getting ready to make a move in our favor. I have no evidence of this, just a gut feeling.

"It seemed to me that the law enforcement authorities acted with prudence and that the school board should do similarly."

Translation:

...the law enforcement authorities acted calm and collected, and after some inquiries, determined there was no threat and the school board peed it's pants and started screaming that the world was going to end before they knew what the heck was going on... effectively showing that they are incapable of handling anything during a crisis real or imagined...

his names peter, not paul...btw he started making the map his freshmen year (4 years before the shootings)

It's time to start a campaign to allow this kid to participate in his graduation exercises.

Another aspect of this whole, Bru-ha-ha that has me bothered:

These "V-tech type" (or Columbine type) events are pretty damned rare, happening only once every few years and while horrific, the real numbers of dead/hurt are pretty low. (30 per year? If that?)

Meanwhile, THOUSANDS die because of domestic violence, drugs, drinking/driving and general stupidity/ass-hattery.

SO, while vivid and "newsworthy", these events do NOT warrant the coverage they get nor the worry/panic/concern the garner.

Meanwhile, Paul Hwang is now a social outcast and is "imprisoned" in an alternative school for bad kids. (where, if he is a small, quiet kid, he's gonna get victimized even more)

While I applaud the ECA for saying SOMETHING, he's paying a nasty price for other people's overzealous, uneducated and DANGEROUS fears.

As I've said elswhere:

Fear - the choice of the new generation...

I guess Presumption of innocence meant nothing to those who twitched and kicked him from the school I guess that texan school uses Presumption of guilt judgement... it must be hard on the students.

"presumption of guilt. Many people believe that presumption of guilt is unfair and even immoral because it allows the strategic targeting of any individual, since it's often difficult to firmly establish proof of innocence (for example, it's often impossible to establish an alibi if the person is home alone at the time of the crime)."
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_innocence

@ wolf

It wasent that communits were going to take over the goverment but that they were spying on us wicth is what McCartyism came from, or the paranoid dilussions that a person was a "commy spy"

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

This is the first Amendment word by word (thanks to http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html#a... ) and a drawing is considerd to most people a type of news so y not a 3D map of a place? Its just how every one needs somthing to focus evrything that goes wrong on and guess what viedogames are every where and at all times. This needs to stop and soon or things COULD get violent (im not one of them) thing happend when rock was considersd devils music.

Bad timing is not a crime.

Hwang thus committed no crimes.

Sounds like he's saying, "Don't play videogames then go off and kill yourself/other people."

i totally agree with the bad timing part. although it may seem a bit creepy to see anyone make a map of a real school for a shooter game, i cant really judge the guys reasons as the only person who does is him. i doubt it was dilberatly done to have any real-world meaning. i think it was a good move for the board to investigate but i think they were a little harsh on him. they should give him a chance to explain himself in full.