In… look, this is one of those stories you never actually think you’ll write. Even high profile, actually paid journalists (cough cough) don’t think you’ll ever get to see something like book burning happening again, and yet here we are.

Admittedly, not state mandated, but Gamepolitics has a report from the Daily Press, in which a Rev. Richard Patrick blames absolutely every single form of violent entertainment for affecting, it says here, 90% of his congergation.

But as we all know, 87% of all statistics are made up, including this one.

Anyway, Rev. Patrick is quoted as saying:

We are considering having something similar to a rally where parents and children can bring CDs and video games that they consider are destructive to the mind set of our youth and have a burning… 

 Young people are being influenced by what they see and what they hear. They are being influenced by television … television and videos are telling young people a vision but something that’s not reality…

[Violent media] has a tremendous influence on young people and violence. That’s basically all they see. Most of them try to emulate what they see, when in reality, the people they see don’t even live in those communities. Some of the rappers they see on TV portraying crime don’t live in the urban areas — they live in the suburbs somewhere. It’s all a facade.

Actually advocating burning of media forms because you and your flock are too bloody cowardly to take responsability for your own actions? Oh yes, Rev, well done - you’re a right model of what a citizen should be, aren’t you? And Rev, while I’m poking you in the chest with the imaginary indignant finger of justice, where’s your proof.

I never thought that someone would recommend anything like this ever again in History, not after the actions Hitler and his regime undertook in the late 30s and early 40s. Seems people really don’t pay attention.

(Yes, I know, Godwin, but the point stands).

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 4:57 pm and is filed under Gaming News and Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.