The news is ablaze with the great Chicago -> Grand Theft Auto IV connection because, basically, too many people have been shot for every influence under the sun to not fall under scrutiny. For those that don't know the story, the Cliff's Notes version is basically that Chicago has seen a bunch of inner city shootings in the last week and this recent weekend that just passed saw approximately 30 shootings (not all lethal, but that doesn't matter too much to those that were shot). Well the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), which is in charge of public transportation in the inner city including the subway/elevated train and bus systems, has allowed Rockstar/Take-Two to purchase a $90,000 media buy in the city to advertise Grand Theft Auto IV. Since those that are heavy in influence as well as those most likely to be blamed for crime issues (politicians and high officers of the police force) are being questioned, the urge to blame others (namely GTA IV) has become too overwhelming. It was so bad that in Chicago, Fox news actually made a connection between seeing a banner ad on a bus for GTA IV to the actual street violence.

Okay, when Jack Thompson went nuts over Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, it was actually a positive thing: video games were no longer seen as "playthings" and rather seen as an interactive force of influence. Truthfully, no one other than those who were heavy in the industry really took notice. Then Grand Theft Auto came along and the blame game, in true form, began. Now it has expanded into a vast empire of blame and guilt that, sadly, has come to nothing but negatives in the video game realm. Here's why:

1.) Video Games Are Still Seen As A Toy - Sounds stupid to us, but most people who aren't from the golden age of video games (and didn't go from game geeks to influential members of the professional world) still view video games as toys. Intended for kids, toys. How many people in my life have told me that I'm just playing with "kids stuff"! It's funny, too, because these people don't have a steady, well-paying job (like I do), a wonderful person who loves and supports them (like I do), and they will never own property like a house or condo (like I soon will). Who's really being the kid? All **** aside, video games still aren't seen to society as a whole as intended for, or targeted at, adults. It's like the cigarette debate that claims that cigarettes are only targeted at kids, it's just that adults happen to smoke them. Oh wait, except that the danger of playing video games is mostly in the judgemental person's head.

2.) There's A Rating System - Don't get me wrong, there should be a rating system. In order to prevent censorship in this country, there needs to be a third party police or we'll see our content stripped against our will quicker than you can say, "1st amendment". On the other hand, the moment there is a rating system is the moment it is taken apart to it's core, criticized, and blamed for the sake of bad parenting. Video games aren't alone in this realm, either, for the ratings board on movies (MPAA) is highly scrutinized as well. Only difference is that society accepts that movies can be made for adults, which is why AO is available but banned by all hardware manufacturers and XXX DVDs are one of the highest selling products in America today.

3.) Bad Parenting - I don't know if you have kids (but perhaps you have parents you can relate this to), but there is one cardinal rule when dealing with parents or being a parent yourself: You have no right to tell anyone how they should parent their child. Accept it, you don't. Do you want to raise that kid from now on? Then who the hell do you think you are to judge anyone. On top of that, the parents and people that usually say this have kids that are breaking into my apartment and stealing my hard-earned property! At the same time, I think all parents are responsible for their kids. Hey, I roll my eyes with the person who has 130 out of their 135 cable channels blocked to their kids. The person who actually sets up a parental code, but has no movie over PG to require a parental code in the first place, or the person who won't have sex at home in case their kids walk in. Not the lifestyle I'd lead, but live and let live, right? At least these people take responsability for their actions! At least they are TRYING to decide what their kid should and shouldn't do, should and shouldn't be exposed to. The parents that go out and buy their kid a copy of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 at 13 and just hand it over without question is the only reason we deal with this crap. Trust me, I've played online, some of these kids are even my "friends" on XBL and PSN, but you can just tell when playing with them that they are some spoiled little jerk and if he went nuts and shot up a school, his parents would be the first to blame video games.

These are the three solid things that have screwed all video games out of being taken seriously to the point that people are cliaming the words "Grand Theft Auto" is influential enough in the minds of kids to cause them to shoot each other. It's also influential enough that when 3 24-year-olds beat an 80 year old man to death with more than 40 blows that he's innocent because a video game tarnished his mind. And the words "Mortal Kombat", so age old and poorly spelled, is still influential enough to justify two 17-year-olds violently beating a 6-year-old child to death, one of the teens being the child's sister, and because they blame the game, society considers giving them a pardon. Let's cut the crap people. Video games are no more responsible for violence and sex than any other media source. We were having sex, seeking perversion, watching disgusting acts, and committing violence on each other way before the word "medium" even meant something. That is, unless Jack Thompson wants to start claiming that video games influenced mankind even before the Bible was written.