Media glorification is to blame for Virginia Tech killings, not computer games

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, some pundits such as Jack Thompson have sought to blame shooter Cho Seung Hui's actions on violent computer games such as Counterstrike. However, if anything, it is the media that is to blame for his actions, because the media hypes and glorifies every mass killer that comes along, inspiring people who seek attention to act out in tragic ways.

Millions of youths and adults play violent computer games and video games, without being inspired to go on mass-killing rampages. Counterstrike is just one of many popular violent games. Any rational, sane adult can distinguish the difference between video game violence, and real life killing. The courts agree, as Thompson's 1997 suit against the video game industry was thrown out of court for failing to present a legally recognizable claim.

Clearly, there is no reason to believe any of the content of the video game inspired Cho to send a video-taped message to NBC News. The real question is whether Cho would have performed his killing had he not known it would make him famous. The Columbine killers proved that one could become an instant celebrity by performing a heinously violent act. After their crime, the media saturated America with the killers' names, sickly glorifying them for eternity.

This media glorification of killers gave a motive to Cho, a loner seeking attention and recognition. He knew he would instantly become a household name and his videotaped message would be viewed by millions. There are currently no laws preventing the media from broadcasting the messages of mass killers like Cho. The New York Times was not prohibited from spreading Ted "Unabomber" Kaczynski's rambling "Manifesto." It is highly doubtful that, had he not killed anyone, Kaczynkski's rant would ever have been widely known.

Why should a mass killer have enhanced freedom of speech, receiving weeks of free glorification in the media? Especially when the dissemination of their sick message is exactly what they sought? I am a law-abiding citizen, and if I send a tape to NBC News, they would never show it on TV because I haven't killed anyone.

The media should be prohibited by law from saying a mass-killer's name, showing his picture, and especially, the media should not be allowed to show a mass-killer's twisted video-taped messages. If killers, and even terrorists, thought they would die anonymously and receive no post-mortem attention for their heinous acts, it would take away a huge part of the motive for these acts.

No, video games are not to blame for inspiring people like Cho, the Columbine killers, and Charles Whitman before them. Whitman was a US Marine and performed his shootings in 1966, when Bill Gates was was 11 years old and the first version of "Pong" was just being perfected. Or maybe Jack Thompson thinks video games travelled back in time and caused Whitman to act?

The only point I may concede is that having played violent games may have made Cho a more effective killer -- but the same can be said for the troops of the US Armed Forces who protect our freedoms. Realistic "first-person shooter"-type games are commonly used in US Military training and even recruitment. The US Army currently runs TV ads depicting two youths playing a violent video game, and then one of the soldiers on the screen turns and says something like, "You guys seem to like this. Want to get in on some real action?"

The Army and Marines even make their own violent game, "America's Army," which they use primarily for recruitment, but also for training of soldiers. Obviously these violent computer games are helping to protect America from terrorists, by training our troops. You don't hear Jack Thompson arguing that the Army's use of video games to train soldiers has led to an increase in friendly fire.

Further, there is a huge difference between being trained to be a good killer via computer simulations, and making the mental choice to kill someone in cold blood. If conservatives like Jack Thompson want to say that guns themselves cannot be blamed for enabling violence -- that "guns don't kill people, people do" -- then their arguments about computer games are not only wrong, but also hypocritical.

Being trained to be able to kill effectively, and having the actual tools to do it, are all part of America's gun-happy culture. You don't see Republican hypocrites like Thompson going after chains of shooting ranges where gun-owners hone their killing abilities, or gun stores where they buy their tools of death.

Clearly, the immoral decision to commit a tragic act is inspired and motivated by other factors than a video game. It is the media that spreads the idea to shoot a bunch of people at a school, and it is the media that makes the killers famous. One could argue that Osama bin Laden's act on 9/11 got the terrorist more media time than he would have received just stating his points without killing anyone.

The media makes these horrible tragedies become much more about glorifying the killer than about mourning the dead. Laws need to be passed to prevent the media from making anti-heroes out of the Cho's, Unabombers, and Bin Laden's of the world by giving their sick missives massive airtime.