Thursday, August 18, 2011

Great-Grandmother Killed Over Video Game

This is absolutely ridiculous. What is wrong with kids these days? Are the parents to blame for the way these kids actions? Seems to me that these kids are apparently not being raised right or if the parents of these kids are trying to raise their children right then it could be that these are rebellious children/teens that have estrayed & are too hard to handle. Hey I do have to give some parents credit, they really do try to raise their kids right yet their children go down the wrong path. But still most people are going to first blame the parents whether its their faults or not. I can't believe this 15-year-old is accused of killing his great-grandmother. Well, let me rephrase what I just said. I CAN believe that this 15-year-old is accused of killing his great-grandmother over a video game. I just can't believe that this 15-year-old would actually kill his great-grandmother over a video game. This just goes to show how today's youth is. One guy kills a kitten over a video game & now a 15-year-old is killing his great-grandmother over a video game. Is there something we're missing here? Could video games to be blamed for what is happening here? I wonder. I DID have that thought in my head, it DID cross my mind. What has happened to today's youth? Why have today's youth resulted in murder over a video game? And what kind of video games are these kids murdering over? Could they be playing a violent game? I ask that question surprisingly because not normally would I blame anything on a "violent" video game but could this really be what is to blame? Or are video games not to blame for these murders and only these children are the ones to blame? I would like someone to give me their opinion of what they think it is. I used to never think that a violent video game could be to blame but now I am starting to change the way I am thinking. I really want to know what video games these 2 children were playing that resulted in them committing murder. Its good that this 15-year-old will stand trial as an adult because really that is how he should stand trial. Obviously since he is a 15-year-old he clearly knew what he was doing & he is old enough to think for himself & make his own decisions. Definitely a good thing that he will stand trial as an adult because that is how he should stand trial because he has to learn a lesson. Then again, maybe he is too young right now to learn a lesson. I can't say that I think he didn't know what he was doing because he is 15 years old and clearly he knew what he was doing because is old enough to know right from wrong and obviously this was wrong but he did it anyway. I haven't read the rest of this news story only the first part so it should be interesting to see what the rest of the news story has to say.

According to the news story, a family friend said the teen was angry that he was told to stop playing the video game, Halo. Now I used to be a huge video gamer when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm 30 I don't play much video games but if I am correct, isn't Halo a violent game? I think I will Google the video game Halo real quick to see what type of video game this is. This is what I found when I searched for what the game Halo was all about. It said the Halo series has been praised as being amongst the best first-person shooters on a video game console. Halo being amongst the best first-person shooters to me sounds like Halo is clearly a first-person shooting game. Hence, its one person playing the game & that player is shooting hence, killing. So basically its a killing game where you shoot an alien, a person etc. & kill them. Yeah, okay so with that said, I do stand with what I said earlier when I said my opinion of violent video games possibly being a factor in these children & teens behavior. First of all, this 15-year-old teen was angry that he was told to stop playing the video game. Okay so he was angry that he was told to stop playing it but this didn't mean that he had to resort to violence much less murder. That right there makes me think this teen had anger issues apparently. I know many teens are angry & rebellious at that age but killing your great-grandmother because you've become angry because you were told to turn the video game off? That's no excuse if you ask me. Clearly this teen should have been seeking psychiatric treatment for anger issues & maybe other issues. Also, he didn't just murder his great-grandmother which is really the worst of it, he also used a 34 to 36 inch sword to cut his grandmother. Now once again, he was told to turn off the video game Halo & this made the teen become angry & he resulted to violence by cutting his grandmother & he resulted to murder by killing his great-grandmother. Does anyone else see what is wrong with this situation? I wonder if this could have been prevented? I wonder if there were warning signs that something like this was going to happen. In most cases that you've heard about over the years in the news, there has been warning signs just no one paid close enough attention to those warning signs. Like I said before, my opinion that these violent games can be a factor as to why a child or teen acts the way they do still stands. I still agree that they could be a contributing factor to the behavior of these children & teens. Its just like the Columbine Massacre, where playing violent video games were to blame & listening to a certain kind of music was to blame. I don't blame music in this particular situation but I do blame the game Halo which from what I read sounds to be a violent video game in which you murder/kill/shoot something, probably someone, I do feel that the video game might be party blamed for the way the teen acted. Its like this, a teen plays a game like this over & over & plays it constantly & all the time & they become wrapped up in it & there brain starts thinking a certain way. They start thinking as if they are a part of the video game or in the video game. Does that make any sense? I mean this is not what I am saying that I think, but I am trying to make sense of all this. And I'm guessing this is the scenario if the video game Halo is to blame. I mean if video games are to blame for these teens & children's behavior then well, I'm trying to make sense of it & figure it all out. I wonder if any studies have actually shown that video games could be a contributing factor in a situation like this. Normally I wouldn't be one to blame a violent video game in fact in 2000 when music & video games were blamed for what happened at Columbine I just really laughed it off & said that it was crap because those two were not to blame but I am really starting to wonder if they really might be to blame. I mean really we don't know what goes on in these kids minds, so we can't really say or not & even if you asked one of these kids that question I'm not even sure they would give you the answer that you're looking for. Okay, so there is more to the news story so I will read on.

Okay so the next sentence in the news story stated that this attack marks the third time that deputies have encountered the teen. So this tells you right here that yes there were warning signs & no this wasn't the first incident concerning this teen. So the deputies knew already about this teen's behavior because this was not the first time that the deputies had encountered the teen but this was actually the third time. I hate to say it but, they always say third time is a charm, or 3 strikes & you're out. According to Sheriff Phil Miller, on two previous occasions, the teen was sent to a hospital to be mentally evaluated & then turned over to Juvenile Justice. But both times, Miller says, the boy was released, despite his violent history. Well, you know really all I got to say about that is whoever it is that released the boy is the one at fault. So they DID know of his violent history and he WAS sent to a hospital to be mentally evaluated, yet nothing was done after he was mentally evaluated & then he was turned over to Juvenile Justice but both times the boy was released even though they knew about his violent history. So maybe my opinion has changed about the violent video game maybe contributing to his behavior but maybe not. I think I still do believe that the video game possibly had something to do with his behavior or it just added to his violent behavior. Really if a violent person plays a violent game then that is only going to make that person worse & more violent in my opinion. I am just in shock right now that there were actually 2 incidents before this one & even though he was mentally evaluated & sent to Juvenile Justice that he was just released. YEP, I blame whoever it was that let this boy go. OBVIOUSLY there had been signs that he was violent & yet they did nothing about it or either ignored the warning signs. YES, I do believe now that this tragic incident definitely could have been prevented yet it wasn't prevented. You would think after the Columbine Massacre & the many events that followed that by teens across the nation that people would have started paying closer attention to teens & the way they act & their violent behaviors. All I can do is shake my head & really point fingers. I mean this is definitely a situation to point fingers because fingers do need to  be pointed & the responsible individuals need to take blame for not preventing this from happening. Its ridiculous that this happened & that they boy was released even after they need about his past. I'm just shocked & can't believe this happened because it so could have been prevented. And with this happening would this cause other responsible people to pay closer attention to violent teens like this? I doubt it. I don't think this is going to make the people who are responsible start paying attention to these teens, I just don't think this is going to make them start paying attention because if something like this would make them start paying attention then for God's Sake the Columbine Massacre that happened in 2000 would have been the cause for these responsible people to open their eyes & start paying attention but look, years later & more incidents like this are still happening even though all the warning signs were there right in front of them. I do believe there is more to the news story, so let's read on shall we.
Sheriff Miller said that it seemed like to him that somebody may not be doing what they could do, or may be dropping the ball somewhere in the system. And I would totally have to agree with Sheriff Miller, somebody just may not be but they ARE NOT doing what they could be & what they should be doing. They are NOT doing their job because if they were this incident would have been prevented & it would have never happened & this 15-year-old teen's great-grandmother would still be alive today.Sheriff Miller said that someone else was recently killed by a mentally ill person who slipped through the cracks. And these mentally ill people apparently keep slipping through the cracks & I wonder & have to ask, how many more will slip through the cracks before something is done about this? I bet no one can answer that question. Sheriff Miller said someone else was killed by a mental ill person that had slipped through the cracks & on July 22nd, a deputy shot a man who was described as schizophrenic after the he used a knife to kill a man. So this is NOT the ONLY incident where a mentally ill person slipped through the cracks as Sheriff Miller said. Yet another example that this teen was NOT the only one whose warning signs were ignored as you see because this man described as schizophrenic killed a man even though the warning signs were there. Why is the warning signs there but the people responsible are ignoring them? What is wrong with these people? So many warning signs were there & even the teen's mother cried out for help many, many times to many, many different places & obviously didn't get the help she asked for. It is clear her cries for help went unheard because if her cries for help had been heard then this incident would have NEVER taken place. How much longer does tragic incidents like this have to go on before people start paying attention & doing what needs to be done to prevent incidents like this?

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/28885316/detail.html