On Fri, 29 Mar 2024 13:15:39 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <
spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
(Ex-) US Senator Joe Lieberman passed away on Wednesday, March 27. >Condolences to his family, and the usual. But why mention it here?
Because Lieberman was a staunch advocate of the theory that video
games caused youth violence and crime, and pushed for stronger
governmental controls of censorship of the hobby. He - fortunately -
largely failed at that task. He was never the loudest proponent of the
idea, but his position as US Senator gave the theory more creedence
than it might otherwise have earned were it just nutjobs like Jack
Thompson yammering away about The Deadly Threat To Our Children That
Is Video Games.
Apparently he softened in his later years, and pointed to the various
rating boards (PEGI in Europe, ESRB in the US), which were a direct
result of various Senate hearings threatening stronger government >intervention if Something Was Not Done. And, arguably, the ratings
were an overall good thing for the video-game industry. Still, I can't
help but still feel a bit sore about his rhetoric at the time.
Although it's become a lot more toned down over the years, it still
flares up now and again (usually following the release of a "Grand
Theft Auto" game ;-); rhetoric that might have been taken a lot less >seriously if it wasn't endorsed by a US Senator.
So, farewell Senator Lieberman. I'm not happy to see you dead, but
neither will I mourn you too deeply.
*--
Only democrate I ever voted for! I hated Schweitzer.
-pw
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