Computer Games and Firearms

Yesterday the home secretaries of our 16 federal lands came out with a demand to our federal government. They want them to stamp out the so called "Killerspiele" (lit. killer games, pronounced "killershpeeleh") what is a demotic term in Germany for computer or video games where you have to fight.

Background is a school shooting in March which happened in Winnenden, a small town near Stuttgart. (I mentioned it in my article about World of Warcraft in Germany). Not willing to change the things that really lead to school shootings (and to many other things like suicides of minors too which no one talks about) politicians are trying to find simple answsers and apparently logical measurements to mollify people.

Along with the ululation about "Killerspiele" there was a big whining about private gun ownership too. Another serious tightening of our in any event ridiculous gun law could be avoided curtly. 

Nobody with an IQ at least a bit higher than that of a fencepost would serioulsy believe that some checkered pixels on a computer screen could cause someone to go out and kill people nor that a firearm casually lying about would do so. The real shame is, that a lot of people believe this bullshit because they are too lazy, too stupified by TV or both of these to really reflect on things happening.

There are not only the school shootings which happen once in a while and than make the headlines for days. They are only the peak of the iceberg which consists of a lot more things which most of them - sad enough - already have become trivial like the already mentioned suicide rate among minors, school mobbing, juvenile deliquency and more. 

Everybody who has at least a bit of common sense should see that elbow society and pressure of performance is poisoning interpersonal relations as well as family life and self-development of young people. Real and important values like family bond, charity, respect and gratefulness are terribly neglected in our society.

We need to change these things rather thant ponder about the next thing we can stamp out to make the world a safer place.