Halo I Must Be Going

"Yutes" as Fred Gwynne called them in "My Cousin Vinny". Yutes are hard to reach. They can tell when you're talking down to them and when your motives aren't quite sincere. That plus the difficulty of nailing down the elusive quality that is "cool" make it hard to capture a young person's attention. This has led many a church to improvise creative BFG's for their evangelical arsenals. One such tool is the use of the video game "Halo". The game which is as much of a social outlet for youths as well as an excuse to "blow things up", has proven to be a great out-reach activity despite controversy over it's violent themes (see story).

Not that I don't think video game violence isn't a useful tool in corrupting children, but the theme of war is a sticky business. There is a time and a place for war, as the Enemy says in Ecclesiastes. Also since the bad guys in "Halo" are aliens, and you are nobly defending planet earth, it's hardly useful for turning a kid into a psychotic killer. Many a human adult has played "war" as a child, and only a small percentage actually became violent when they matured. Sadly exposure to violent themes doesn't automatically make one violent. If reading about how a guy killed three hundred people with the jaw bone of an ass doesn't warp children, I don't know what fragging aliens is going to do.

I do wonder how it will affect the Enemy's message, though. Will they say that "He Who Sits on the Right" is their Master Chief and he fragged the power of death and pwned the Devil? I suppose if they use "World of Warcraft" they could have had Leroy Jenkins as a guest speaker.

Personally, I wish they used "Grand Theft Auto" instead. At least in that game you learn such useful skills as how to pick up prostitutes and beat them to death with baseball bats. I got a merit badge for that one in Imp Scouts. Or maybe they can have a "Hitman" night and they can learn how to kill people for money. Mix it with career counseling, and you have a winner.

Isolation my friends, that is what will twist a child into a useful tool. Hours and hours of playing the right games alone without the involvement of parents or close social ties, those are the shaping forces we need. That is why we should NEVER condone the use of a Wii. There is too much emphasis on playing with a group, and do I have to mention the physical activity?

So in summary, there are violent games that are beneficial to us and there are violent games which are not beneficial to us. It depends on the underlying themes being taught. But at all costs social interaction should be avoided. This is especially true if the Enemy's propaganda is to be spread. Harumph, relating to children through what interests them. What's next, getting involved in their lives? *Shudder*

Kicking tail in Katamari Damacy,

Brackish