Red Cross : gamers could be war criminals

reply to post by Awoken4Ever


I wasn't hating on the red cross. They have done enormous good in the world and they continue to do so. They are just missing the point here.

The breakdown in our society isn't due to video games. It won't be solved by forcing games into some backstreet vice shop ghetto.

The damage done to our society by things like 'i'm a celebrity' and celebrity tattle magazines dwarfs any harm from video games. We've built a society where the ultimate accolade is to be on the TV and getting paid with no noticeable skill or ability.

When you add that its a society where children aren't disciplined by adults for fear of getting arrested and you get where we are now.

As an addition some people just waste their teenage years. If you wasted yours playing games its probably better than a number of more destructive ways you could have wasted it. You are still alive at least.

Originally posted by 74Templar

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

Well considering our own Secretary of State once pushed to ban any game with a gun in it (Hilary.. *sigh*) she backed off a little when a guy asked her at a Q&A whether she had ever in fact even played a game in her life.. gotta hate it when someone slips past the question screener.

Yeah from the same woman that laughed when Gadaffi died...

The smell of hypocrisy permeates the air around that woman...

That smell is actually undigested mastodon meat from her childhood.

I do find it interesting the Australian media did the report. ICRC states it was not accurate however something must have occurred for them to run the story in the first place. From what im seeing maybe a side conversation during the meeting took on a reality of its own via the game of telephone?

Wow... don't know whether to laugh or cry. By their standards I'm then: A mass murderer. A rapist. A thief etc. To list all crimes I have committed would be impossible. I've literally killed entire planets.

Swiss-based humanitarian group The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was forced to deny rumors Thursday it was planning to hold gamers accountable for violent gameplay crimes under the rules of the Geneva Convention.

So pull out your console from under the couch and carry on.

The strange rumor was started when Kotaku first reported members of the ICRC were looking into video game violence, hoping to get developers to incorporate rules of the Geneva Convention in gameplay scenarios to raise awareness for war crimes. Other media outlets caught a whiff of the story but missed a step, and reported the Red Cross might actually prosecute gamers themselves.

As my mother always says, you know what happens when you "assume …"

Naturally, the rumor raised hackles all over the world. Some felt the ICRC was wasting time looking into video games. Others felt surely the Red Cross hadn't read the reports of helpful gamers helping scientists find cures for HIV or locate new planets.

To put rest to the story the ICRC was forced to clarify "serious violations of the laws of war can only be committed in real-life situations." That said, they do have an interest in ways "the rules could feature in simulations."

Not only do they want to raise awareness of international humanitarian law in general, but also because some game companies also develop war simulations for armed forces. The ICRC trains armies how to abide by the rules of war that forbid targeting civilians so they felt the interest was relevant.

It raises interesting questions —CAN battlefield games and shooters co-exist with "rules for combat?" Is gameplay just gameplay?

dvice.com...

It's a hoax, no one is going to arrest you. Just let it go already.

reply to post by antonia


this is ATS - what do you expect ???

we are all becoming complacent about what we,
and especially kids. whats on TV and the games they play.
a Armed drone has a soldier sit at a big games consol and Kill !
when they play the games the desensitise the kids.
have you ever watch't the kids have FUN.
as they blow limbs of people!!! in a computer game.
Death, killing and brutality are just daily life.
No one has any feelings any more. they dont care.

Are you shock't and horrified by what you see on TV?
maybe years ago you where but not now.
THEY want you to see WAR as a normal thing.
and not fight to stop it.

Disinfo.

Video games reduce violence.
Violent video games doubly so.
It doesn't take long for anyone to
realize that if you play, you too can die.

Maybe we should be carpet bombing with x-box's instead.
If we truly want world peace.


David Grouchy

reply to post by davidgrouchy


We are carpet bombing with Xbox

www.youtube.com...#!

Notice the gloating from the players behind the console. Pay extra attention to the end of the video "COMON LET US SHOOT!" "THIS GUY JUST DROVE OVER A BODY." Listen to the laugh.

It can't be that hard to push a button and kill people when you have been doing it most of your life on a TV screen huh? 15:57 mark says it all.

Seems to me Red Cross they havent played a single game if gamers could be war criminals what about GW Bush or Bill Clintion? shouldnt they be war criminals for starting wars killing inncent people by bombs? oh i guess they cant because in there view to them bill and bush are saints.

Originally posted by Agent_USA_Supporter
they cant because in there view to them bill and bush are saints.

Could you please support this ridiculous argument? Please site any information you have on this statement so I can wake up to this information. You are now grouping a bunch of people that literally go out and volunteer their time to help humanity in the absolute worst of times, in with these monsters. Let me take a wild guess here, you are under the age of 20, and completely hooked on games right?

There isn't a single other reason I can think of on why you would make this statement, and based off your supporting argument, the closest you can come to in your mind as supportive evidence is Bill and Bush, which off your argument, I am guessing you probably weren't even old enough to vote for either of them were you?

The red cross is making a drastic statement because they want to wake people up to something. They have more trained professionals throughout the world, dealing with normal people every single day, and probably have a better outlook on society as a whole than all of us at ATS put together have. I would imagine they are making these statements purely based off of some type of experience and what they are witnessing first hand. Remember, Red Cross has teams and teams of Psychologists that work with people and kids all the time. I would imagine they aren't blindly throwing this statement out there because they are religious nuts and have a beef with the gaming industry. I would venture to guess they are basing it off of real life experience, which will surpass any argument you can come up with, especially if all you can say is "Bill and Bush."

FYI, the Red Cross is not a federal agency, nor do they receive funds from the federal government. Why would they make a statement against a president, when stepping on the wrong toes can possibly hurt them from getting into areas where they help the most? Just putting that out there before anyone makes a blanket statement about their ties to the government. I would assume it wouldn't be in "our" best interest if they started making comments against the same people that control where and when they can get into the most affected areas. That is just a wild hunch though.