Devaluing Human Life?

Something frankwu said on spacekatgal's LJ, which she dittoed is a major point of contention for me. They say video games, especially first person shooters which exploit violence for the sake of violence, devalue human life.

Hogwash.

It's a game. You're using harmless electrons to attack harmless electrons on an electronic screen attached to an electronic box. If anything, video games are therapeutic - they allow you to take out your aggression on imaginary objects in an imaginary scenario, using imaginary weapons. It's almost as therapeutic as whacking an effigy of your boss with a baseball bat. One could argue that it takes kids off the street who might otherwise be outside with real weapons, in real scenarios, killing real people.

I hold every sharpshooting medal the NRA offers, and I'm here to tell you that first person shooter games are about as useful as a marksmanship training tool as Seinfeld is as a tutorial in nuclear physics.

The argument that video games lead to real life violence is as valid as the argument that book, TV and movie violence leads to real life violence. Yes, there are examples of people who commit crimes inspired by TV, movies and video games. But they are few and far between, nowhere near a significant number compared to the number of people who love to read violent-themed books, watch violent TV shows and movies, or play violent video games.