Sex in Video Games

Lately the whole scream in the news has been how the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game has some hidden nudity content, and how parents and politicians alike are throwing a shit-fit.

Waaah.

Cry me a river.

This solves nothing. In the 1950's, politicians blamed comic books and rock n' roll for the degeneracy of their kids, and in the 1980's, Tipper Gore and her PMRC nazis said it was Heavy Metal music and the hidden message content kids would hear when you would play an Ozzy record or a Judas Priest record backwards. For an artist to actually admit to doing something like this would be the worst career-move they could make, especially if the majority of their fan base ends up killing themselves as a result.

The way I see it, nobody wants to tackle the real issues in society - instead we have this crappy "say no to drugs" solution which has the drug lords laughing in their cocaine-frenzy, we turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, and the whole "no child left behind" policy is a royal joke. Instead they all want to hide behind the safe issues everyone can agree on, especially during an election year when the politicians pander to all the soccer-mom hyper-sensitivities. Is this really the best we can do as a nation? I'd hope not.

I've played all the Grand Theft Auto games in the series and love them. They're a great way to blow off steam at the end of the day without going postal on your co-workers or family members. It's an excellent alternative to REAL violence, and for all the worried parents out there, it's a great way to keep tabs on your teen-ager. He's at home and not out getting in trouble with his thug friends, and if the fucker starts acting psycho, you can just pull the X-Box for 15 minutes until he's cooled off.

Not once have I ever wanted to live the lifestyle of some street-thug because I was playing this game, nor the majority of people who own this title. If anything, the game serves as a watered-down reflection of real life in the ghetto and how horrible it really is. No way in hell would I want to go live in South East San Diego where all the crack dealers and gang-bangers hang out and try to roll with them or talk trash. That's just plain stupid.

But chances are most teens and pre-teens have already been exposed to sex in one form or another - either they've stumbled upon their dad's porno stash, or they watch scrambled porn on TV when nobody is looking. I was doing that when I was 10 years old with the Playboy Channel and my parents were completely oblivious to the fact. If you really want to push the issue, any children growing up on a farm will see animals reproduce sooner or later. Now that's a fact of life nobody can ignore.

Parents can argue that they don't want hidden content sneaking into their homes like this, but if they're going to let their kids play video games that glorify the 7 Deadly Sins, they shouldn't bitch and fuss about it. Instead they should take their medicine like grown adults and learn next time when their kid starts pitching a fit for the new Grand Theft Auto game, to exercise some responsibility before making the purchase. I hate it when people bitch about giving the Devil his due.