[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun

[Chris Gray]

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock:]

 >I've argued for a long time that violent or otherwise 'unacceptable' games,
 >movies, art, literature, or what have you tends to act as catharsis a lot
 >more often than it acts as an instigator. Basically, if someone wants to do
 >something, they're going to have to do it in one way or another... and if
 >they do it vicariously, no one gets hurt. If we take away all the outlets,
 >where are all those urges going to go?

This isn't a discussion I'd normally jump into, but a thought occurred
to me on this....

OK, so violent games, movies, etc. can server as a catharsis, letting
out the supressed violence that folks have bottled up inside them. Fine.
However, that presupposes that folks have been taught (and have learned!)
to supress those violent impulses. If someone is raised in a society
where explicit violence is seen everywhere, and that someone is not
taught (or does not learn) to supress violence, then perhaps more
violence in games doesn't server as a release, but instead is just one
more reinforcement of the habit of violence? A somewhat dismal view,
but can we be sure it is wrong all the time?

--
Chris Gray     cg at ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA