The Supreme Court Came Alarmingly Close to Allowing Video Game Censorship

[Banjo]

In June of 2011, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Brown v. EMA, a groundbreaking decision in which five justices held that video games were a fully protected form of First Amendment expression

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_t..._court_came_close_to_allowing_video_game.html

 

[jem]

whoa...this shows you how scary it is when liberals turn into progressives. We need more old school liberals or we will lose more rights.

 

[Ricter]

Just for a fun exercise, change "video game violence" to "video game sex" and reread the article.

 

[jem]

they have warming labels... like movies

Also the guys at Gamestop practice a very interesting policy.

I was once in there buying grand theft auto 3 or 4 when I knew less about games.

I was with 2 of my kids and the guy at the counter asked if I knew about some of the sexually explicit parts of the game. I said no... and did not buy it.

(and I buy plenty of games there as my kids get rewarded with a game if they get As. and I also like a few of them.)

 

[Tsing Tao]

Just for a fun exercise, change "video game violence" to "video game sex" and reread the article.

Doesn't change anything for me. Government has no place in banning that for sale. Rating it, sure. That allows parents to judge, like - as Jem said - movies.

 

[Ricter]

Doesn't change anything for me. Government has no place in banning that for sale. Rating it, sure. That allows parents to judge, like - as Jem said - movies.

True, but many Americans, thanks perhaps to our Puritan heritage, get a lot more upset about sex than they do violence. Like some toy that just got recalled because parents complained it looked too much like a penis.

 

[jem]

plenty of parents struggle with that.
how many parents including me wife and I were like no toy guns in the house.

but then you break down because sooner than later your boys start using sticks and throwing balls and pretending they are grenades. then their friends start playing air soft and then you realize... wow that was pretty useless.

whereas I have also seen the effect a bikini contest on t.v. had on my young boys. the reaction was visceral for one. I had to change the channel. they were not ready for that.

so while the issues roots may or may not be puritanical... I think that its more that parents are aware of what seeing naked women would do to boys.

I remember the first time I looked at playboy once I liked girls.
I was changed. I was like these girls in school can be like that?
I can still tell you where I was standing when the thought struck me.

I was just reflecting on how naive I may still be about this.
considering that I am sure my older boys are not to far away from getting pictures of girls of their phones.

True, but many Americans, thanks perhaps to our Puritan heritage, get a lot more upset about sex than they do violence. Like some toy that just got recalled because parents complained it looked too much like a penis.

 

[Tsing Tao]

True, but many Americans, thanks perhaps to our Puritan heritage, get a lot more upset about sex than they do violence. Like some toy that just got recalled because parents complained it looked too much like a penis.

Then they need to read a copy of the Bill of Rights. Don't like the toy? Don't buy it.

 

[Ricter]

Then they need to read a copy of the Bill of Rights. Don't like the toy? Don't buy it.

Agreed.

 

[Tsing Tao]

Agreed.

Good to see we share some space on freedom of expression.