@DavCube

Check the Gamepolitics forums. That's how I found out.

I'm not surprised by this at all. This is the same guy that said that STAR WARS (yes, that Star Wars) is intended to corrupt our youth and dehumanize people. His logic? Why would you make so many characters look like monsters (Oh, I don't know... because they’re aliens?)? So that when you kill them, people don't think of them as people.

This is probably his same logic with Halo and even WoW. The PvP is likely a major factor. You can kill a person without a moments hesitation. He likely thinks that desensitizes people. The problem with that logic is obvious. When you kill a person in the real world... they die never to return. When you kill a person in Halo... They respawn in 5 seconds, pick up a gun and cap your ass. You'd have to be a Larouchie to not realize that it's fake.

@ GregoriusH

I doubt he's concerned about economic output. Look at how big Halo 3 is. They have a drink deal, for crying out loud! If this doesn't boost economic output, I don't know what will. Well, "Halo Flu" aside.

@ Zerodash

Dick Cheney probably turned down Larouches advances and now, like any good spurned lover, Larouche is out for revenge.

Honestly, I don't know. I think Larouche dislikes Cheny because it's popular to dislike him and he thinks that will help him draw in more young men to have sex with. I mean cult members. I mean Larouche Youth members. No, wait, I mean cult members.

@ DeusPayne

No, he blames all the world's problems on... everything. Television, video games, the Republican party, The Democratic party, county music, rock music, John Lenon, Chess, ect. This guy hates more than he likes. He's a nut job.

Wait.. what?

Isn't the single player campaign about killing aliens as usual?

The multiplayer part is just like previous Halo's as far as I understand.

Great pic... that sums up LaRouche perfectly.

But seriously, shouldn't these nutbars being doing something with their time other than bitching and whining about tapping buttons on a controller?

And people wonder why the "terrists" hate us.

Thomas,
That may actually be the problem. Early in their lives, they became so ultra-serious about life that they never did anything in the name of stress relief or leisure and their brains became a mushy, dribbling mess which led to the absolute absurd conspiracy theories that they are making today.

Ok, project for the ingenious parody writers here:

Create a website that is a parody charity site. It must focus on the seriously mentally challenged, specifically, that segment that seems limited to outrageous and totally idiotic ideas. Not talking about minor conspiracy theorists but rather completely off the wall ones. People who completely rant and rave with nothing intelligent to focus on. Basically, the complete nutcases. It must solely be seeking volunteer support to help bring back these "lost souls" from the brink of utter "brain mushiness" and never ask for financial support. (We don't want people collecting money falsely. :) )

Ah! I've got it! Not "mentally challenged" (as there are a legitimate group of people who fall into that catagory) but rather the "Mentally Skewed" or "Mentally Mushed"! That'll work. :)

Cookie to the first successful creation.
Two cookies if you create a forum and no less than 10 people sign up thinking you're serious and want to help. :)

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software

do we really need to cover things LaRouche says?

We must cover all incredible leaps of logic. FOREVER.

Oh, for crying out loud. This LaRouche fellow needs to get his head out of 19th-Century logic.

@ DarrelBT

Wait, WHAT? WHAT??

http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/4/358.html

Discussions about Larouche by Ex-Larouchites (They've realised that they've been played for suckers). Should give you a good idea about the Larouche cult.

"What kind of perverse mind would develop such a thing to lure in so many youthful and vibrant minds?"

Why, the fun-loving people at Bungie, of course. As for the "dark age", if Halo 3 is an indication of it, then bring on the darkness.

"…How does one young adult get corrupted into becoming a psychotic-mass killer..."

I don't know... Broken homes, abuse family life, bieng severely traumitized at an early age, etc?

"...or a mere useless drone for the likes of… [Vice-president] Dick Cheney?"

Such as the useless drones that follow LaRouche around, spewing little to nothing but the blatantly false and ridiculouos lies that he fills their once free minds with.

LaRouche and his followers in their whole glory :D

@ DarrelBT and DavCube : don't forget they also hate country music, jazz, Voltaire, Descartes, and Euclidian Geometry.

Uh...Larouche....let's take a walk to the funny farm shall we?

@Soldatlouis
NOT EUCLIDIAN GEOMETRY, ANYTHING BUT THAT, wait, what makes geometry euclidian again?

You know what caused the Dark Ages?

RELIGION. THE BIG THREE. WHEREIN PEOPLE LIKE THE POPES AND CARDINALS HAD THEIR OWN ARMIES, AS DID THE MUSLIMS.

Man, after reading that statement I just wish we could go back to a time before video games when there were obviously no useless wars.

"There are many tedious details and complexities that go behind the production of such games as Counterstrike, World of Warcraft, Entropia Universe, EVE-Online and Halo 3."

Translation: I don't understand or play vidya games, therefore they're spooky and evil, and must be banned!

Oh and kudos to whoever chose the picture for this article. Funny stuff.

Let me get this straight. He's blaming Iraq on video games?

So Dick Cheney + Halo 3 = War? Like Cheney plays video games, he's found something better to take aim at then digital characters.

Conejo Says:
do we really need to cover things LaRouche says?

For the sake of a good laugh, I hope so.

Methinks that LaRouche accidentally found his way here:

http://www.loadingreadyrun.com/videos/view/228 (SFW, no worries)

Clearly it's a documentary by some clairvoyant warning us of our impending doom.

LaRouche is now in full-blown Francis E. Dec mode. The Halo 3 Cybernetics Cult is clearly a Anti-Nation-State Fascist Frankenstein Eyesight Television tool of the Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God's Brain Bank Cities on the moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_E._Dec

Did this neo-con Hawk not see the military out trying to recruit underage video gamers at an event?

I see that as much more opportunistic and perverse than a game.

@ DeusPayne

He apparently blames the declining American economy and the collapse of the Minnesota bridge on games. When you believe that games could cause a building to fall down, saying that games started a war would make perfect sense.

@ Sidewinder

Clearly games distracted the safety commisiioners from devoting the necessary time to inspecting and developing scietific solutions that would have prevented the bridge colapse. ;)

Ah, here he is..

LaRouche is one of the most idotic people I have ever seen. I've got his "Dark Age" right fucking here..

The most obvious answer to any thinking individual— is to dehumanize the image of human beings.

Yeah, cause we NEVER did THAT before video games... /sarcasm

What's that? Germans are gorillas trying to rape our women and replace our way of life with their 'kulture'?

Gosh

http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/39.1/images/frese_fig03b.j...

Dehumanizing the human image? Haven't we already been doing that for the past 10,000 years?

@BlackIce, Leftie:

You forgot to mention that they honestly believe that theres a government conspiracy to cover-up any video game evidence from the VT shootings.

I'm tempted to vote for him, if only because President LaRouche would get to the bottom and make public the site of Area 51, possibly including walking tours.

Just when I thought this LaRouche cult couldn't get any crazier and stupider they pull this out the mushy mess that is there minds -_- .

I think I've said it before, but why are the people who claim to be dedicated to "stopping moral decline" and "defending a moral culture" among the most unscrupulous, vile excuses of meatbags ever to stain our world? LaDouche is a crazy cultist who robs his followers in a manner that Scientologists would consider excessive and cruel. Jack Thompson is a lying snake who loves to ridicule the grieving. Bill O'Reilly is a thug, a bully, a liar, and a molester. Newt Gingrich talked about defending the sanctity of marriage while cheating on his latest wife, who used to be the mistress he was cheating on his former wife with. There's a correlation! The louder someone talks about stopping moral decline, the fewer morals they have to decline! It makes me sick.

@HandofCrom: Don't forget the senator who, while chairman of a committe on keeping children from child predators, solicited his underage pages for sexual acts.
I have half a mind to run for office at some point, simply because I'm certain I couldn't possibly botch the job even half as bad as most of our current officials.

@E. Zachary Knight

But, but, science is also evil. If anything, the vidya games distracted the workers from praying so god would hold the bridge up

The guy read The Manchurian Candidate one too many times.

So anyone else think its funny that they are talking about how people should be more scintifical (sorry I speak like bush) but yet they have no Proof to back up what they say about video games and this Cybernetic Cult! I mean honestly, the first rule of Cyber Cult is you do not talk about Cyber Cult...

You know the last thing La Rouche needs to be making accusations of is of brain washing and cults. On the other hand if anyone would know anything about brainwashing young minds it would be grand cult leader LaRouche himself, and his army of drooling droids.

He is really wrong.

I've read the entire article about what he said or he worte.

He is really, really wrong.

"Could not these youthful minds spend their precious time working to push the frontiers of science by discovering fusion power or rediscovering the universal principles in Classical physical science and art? What about the space program? Are people being inspired in these areas, to conquer the difficult scientific problems mankind has never been challenged by before?"

With out games and other mass media, I would have never gotten interested in science. Shows like Start Trek & Star Gate, and games like starcraft & other sci-fi stuff inspired me to study physic and other science.

"Could this not be another form of distraction to deter one’s mind away from solving or even thinking about the global economic breakdown crises?"

No, it not another distraction. Gaming industry is helping the economy. It a billion dollar industry. It is the last generation's fault for bad economy. I my self blame credit cards. Also games like The Sims teaches money management.

"How does one young adult get corrupted into becoming a psychotic-mass killer, or a mere useless drone for the likes of Anti-Nation-State Fascists, such as Felix Rohatyn, George Shultz, or even their dupe, Dick Cheney?"

All of the influence that can mess up youth are can all be related to the last generations. Last generations caused war, they taught hate, they mess up the kids. Not the media, but bad history and bad parenting.

"The most obvious answer to any thinking individual— is to dehumanize the image of human beings...... However, once that dehumanizing process has been accomplished, the ability of making useless wars... and mass killing of innocent people, as in the case of the Virginia Tech incident, are stepping stones for the unleashing of a New Dark Age."

Not true. I learn from games like Command and Conquer: Generals, Empire Earth, Medal of Honor, and Halo taught me that Human kinds should set their differences aside and unite together to stop poverty, illness, and global warming. I learn more about humanity from games.

The "dark age" will come if we let the last generation to continue with their hate, greed, arrogant, and selfishness. Games and other mass media can have the potential to teach us all to unite.

" One, is the mental psychosis of the vulnerable adolescent or young adult, who are gullible to these fictions.... the dehumanization process occurs in any instance, by the first-person shooter games’ precision to kill another object, or by the adoption of an arbitrary set of anti-scientific, anti-principled rules, like that of Second Life, or even the great Ministry of Truth—Wikipedia."

Joining the any military organization dehumanize any one. Not games. Games tell story not fact (at least most of the time). Second life offer escape from the harsh life reality (like how people go clubing or spa to relax). People can have fun in the digital world and work and stress in the real world.

Wikipedia spread knowage to people who can't reach a library. It open up knowage to those who are not previlage enough to go to college.

The VT shooting is sad, but not caused by gaming or mass media. The shooter had mental illness for a long time.

Sorry for the extreamly long comment.. but I just really want to share how I feel about this.

Isn't LaRouche a douchebag who brainwashes teens into his society?

and those teens are nothing but little douchebags who run around saying how great LaRouche is for the country?

Damn...but lucky for us LaRouche is about as popular as the plague.

"Damn…but lucky for us LaRouche is about as popular as the plague."


Well less so. I enjoy watching a good documentary on the plague. I seriously doubt a millennium from now anyone is going to give two damns about LaRouche.

Man, what kind of balls is this LaRouche guy tripping?

What kind, I must ask?

Yes, curse that Halo 3 and it's evil message of saving the world...

Heh, telling the youth to work on fusion power and bring NASA back to its legs running. Because your average high schooler (the people these games are most popular with) cared about most of those things before.

He probably blamed Monopoly for the rise of capitalism as well.

The war in Iraq? I doubt Bush or Powell or any of them has ever played Pong, let alone Halo.

Why is everyone obsessed over Halo, anyway? Because it's the most popular or something? As far as FPS go it's pretty mild with the blood for an M game, it's not like Gears of War for gore, or anything...I think they just seize upon it because it's one of the few games mentioned on the actual news or something.

http://www.larouchepub.com/lar/2004/3110nite_they_came.html if nothing else proves this man complete paranoid delusion, I think this story of supposed government wish to murder him to be as much illumination as needed.

@Mad n1nja

Hey, the military doesn't dehumanize. Dehumanization, while a term thrown about quite frequently, tends to be harder to achieve in thinking, mature individuals than the scaremongers suggest. Since the goal is not so much to make somebody less human as it is to make them care less about (certain) other humans, it's a process most effective when enjoined upon young children or the wilfully ignorant or blindly believing.

In the latter respect, religions have often been abused as the driving forces for actions that only somebody who truly believes themselves superior, or others not true humans, could really buy into. Because dehumanization requires a sort of us-them mentality and/or an acceptance that human life is meaningless or taking it is easy, belief systems (such as those underpinning many guerilla or terorist forces) more successfully dehumanize their opponents than organizations like the U.S. Military.

For our military, which is more about training people to "do" than it is about training people to "believe", it's actually inefficient to try to dehumanize every enemy to the soldiers through any but mechanical means. In other words, it's generally emotionally/mentally easier on a soldier to kill if they don't have to see anything but a map, or a plane, and harder on them if they see a human sillhoutte or a face right next to them.

Soldiers may have to disengage (as they fight) from thinking of enemies as people in order to be able to do their jobs, but today's military training enables them to do their jobs regardless of beliefs about the enemy, not THROUGH beliefs of any inferiority. Instead, it humanizes that which we fight for--our nation, our friends, our lovers, our children, our military--and and uses training to overcome the difficulties of seeing an enemy as a human being.

Seriously, if the military could effectively dehumanize its enemies in the eyes of its soldiers, people wouldn't have nearly as many of the PTSD and other issues that are under-treated during war and prevalent after. Most (certainly not all) of the people saying that shooting a bunch of "people" in a video game dehumanize us don't have any idea what they're talking about. Things like ignoring the beggars as we walk past, deriding other races, abusing other sexes, discounting the suffering on the news, assuming rape or starvation fall under an SEP field--these can contribute to what we consider "dehumanization", often disturbingly successfully.

Firing at a human-shaped enemy in an arcade game? Not so much. But it looks as if LaRouche took a U-turn somewhere around "logic-ville" years ago, it's no surprise he doesn't realize he's a more effective tool for dehumanizing people that videogames or the military could ever be.

Do we need to have a news story on this? Who takes Lyndon LaRouche seriously? Lyndon LaRouche, his cronies, and that's it. He is not a threat, less of a threat than Thompson and Grossman.

@SolarisDeschain :

But Thompson and Grossman aren't as funny... and I already saw "serious people" taking LaRouche seriously (without knowing who he really was, of course).

I know it's been mentioned already, but I find his obsession with Dick Cheney baffling. Seriously, what else is Cheney behind? World War II? The Bubonic Plague?

Behold! Wikipedia is the new "Ministry of Truth!"

Wait a minute...didn't the Youth Movement discourage their followers from reading 1984? http://tinyurl.com/3bopmc