I usually pass up the slew of asinine articles proclaiming video game retailers as the plight of all morally upstanding parents. After all, we already know that if retailers would only do their part in looking after everyone else’s kid’s well-being, the world would be a crime-free utopia where all kids under the age of 17 got good grades, would stay far away from drugs and alcohol, would never beat up on the “freak kid” to the point where they’d snap & bring their father’s gun to school, and we would never, ever have any teen pregnancy issues. Right?
I recently came across some religious site’s report about retailers selling M-rated games to minors. In the report, one woman confronted a store manager about a 12-year old kid buying an M-rated game, and I couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of a parent lets their 12-year old kid go buy a video game all by themselves? I mean, wouldn’t they be more concerned about their kid being snatched up by some perv on the way to or from the store (because, you know – the perv played Leisure Suit Larry or Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, I’m sure)? And what the heck is a 12-year old doing with $60.00 in his or her pocket in the first place – isn’t that just asking for trouble? Good thing the 12-year old didn’t wander into a strip club – to play that Galaga video game machine of course…
Here’s the deal: I don’t care if you want to stand on a soapbox and preach the evils of video games. I don’t care if you think you’re the epitome of righteousness. I don’t even care if you claim to have proof from some right-wing nutbag religious fanatic website that video games are satan’s tools designed to drag the world into another Sodom and Gomorrah. If you want any credibility whatsoever with the video gaming public, you’re going to have to first prove you’re a parent that has the ability to look at themselves before throwing rocks at others. Otherwise, the only people you’re actually getting through to are people in your own flock who want to believe exactly what you do.
When it comes to minors, the problem isn’t video game retailers, but parents who don’t take control over what their kids play. Don’t give the lame excuse that you weren’t aware of the ESRB, or the excuse that you have no control over what your kid plays over at his or her friend’s house: do some research, call your kid’s friend’s parents. There is no excuse for parental apathy.
It’s called responsibility.
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