US political activist Ralph Nader calls video games “electronic child molesters”
By Tim Colwill on January 24, 2013 at 8:56 pm
In the current debate around gun control in the United States, video games have somehow managed to be called up as the bad guy by a variety of people who perhaps like guns just a little too much, but political activist, author and failed Presidential candidate Ralph Nader has gone a step further and literally referred to video games as “electronic child molesters”.
Speaking at the annual Busboys and Poets Peace Ball, Nader used his speech to attack President Obama’s inauguration and then to launch a blistering tirade against violence in entertainment.
“We are in the peak of [violence in entertainment],” Nader claimed. “Television program violence? Unbelievable. Video game violence? Unprecedented. I’m not saying he (Obama) wants to censor this, I think he should sensitize people that they should protect their children family by family from these kinds of electronic child molesters.”
I was going to close out with something witty, but what can you say? Let’s just all sit here and look a little bit terrified. I know that’s what I’ll be doing.
Source: Gameranx
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To which I reply.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOwn2Tq_0Mw
As you approach a town to attack it, first offer its people terms for peace. If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you. – Deuteronomy 20:10-14
If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. – Leviticus 20:10 NLT
A priest’s daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death. – Leviticus 21:9 NAB
This is what the Lord of hosts has to say: ‘I will punish what Amalek did to Israel when he barred his way as he was coming up from Egypt. Go, now, attack Amalek, and deal with him and all that he has under the ban. Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.’ – 1 Samuel 15:2-3 NAB
My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. – Exodus 23:23 NAB
Is Ralph Nader even still relevant? Last I heard he was a laughing stock.
skitzor,
What has religion got to do with this?
Ok Ralph, just relax. Show us on the doll where Pong touched you.
LOL nicely done skitzor :D
Highlights the bullshit nicely ;)
violence has been a fundamental part of culture since the dawn of humans. the bible contains an immense amount of violent acts; why don’t people blame it?
Because the bible never touched their special area’s like games have.
ooo I aint touching religion. Last time I did I scored a 3 month ban…
Man, i’m not sure if any religion based on the bible takes Deuteronomy seriously, its chock full of crazy, and is not representative of even the rest of the bible – whether or not anything else.
As a general rule of thumb, if you have to quote Deuteronomy to back up an argument, your losing :P
Irrelevant. Its still printed in every version of the Bible and until its removed, is considered the word of God. As a general rule if you have to detract from how crazy the Bible/religion is by saying people just ignore those parts – you’re losing.
Same.
Its not safe to talk about people’s imaginary friends on this forum.
Thank ye, that quote is most excellent.
Yes, the bible does have a lot of violence in parts, but then in the New Testament, this Jesus fellow does a lot of calling for compassion and peace and such. But yes, these people who try to derail the anti-gun campaign by blaming “evil modern influences” are just plain stupid. I hope people eventually see him/them for the hypocrites they are.
Also, please try to abandon what looks like an anti-religious bias. Some of us don’t mind religious people. Some of us even follow a religion ourselves, see. The difference is, I’d never be involved in attacking a town and taking the inhabitants as “plunder”.
I wonder if Nader has even seen a video game? Apparently every now and then he goes on a crusade.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-economy/ralph-nader-typewriter-man-20120607
That’s not exactly defusing things, it’s risking de-railing this thread further. So kindly don’t. And try to respect others who do believe in “imaginary friends”. We have to respect those who consider us “idiots”, but again, please stay on topic.
gammad,
I see your (hilarious) video, and raise you another video
I found a site with a bunch of quotes. there are a lot of Deuteronomy, but there a lot from other books. I’m not going to start going through them all because it’s a waste of time. sufficed to say, if I restricted myself to non-Deuteronomy, I’m confident the result would be the same.
I’m not sure of your religious beliefs, but I’m sure a large amount of these people talking about violence from video games also base their beliefs on things from the old testament (Leviticus). there are a lot of violent passages in Leviticus.
the bible is full of rape, murder, slavery, and sacrifice. I get frustrated by people targeting one specific type of media. music, tv, movies, and now games. violence and aggression is not a modern invention. the book these people derive their beliefs from is full of it.
I’m not being anti-religious. I’m being fair. if you are going to attack one source of media for it’s violent content, attack all of them. don’t try to brush off my points by saying I’m anti-religious.
the fact is, media reflects people. aggressive music, suggestion scenes in tv movies, violence in movies and video games are a reflection of who made them. there was violence around before all these things, it’s just another one of expressing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vw2CrY9Igs
It’s becoming a reality, people.
For some reason, I cannot picture Nader without a jester’s cap on every time he opens his mouth.
It’s like he sets out to never be taken seriously.
For someone that believes technology to be the root of all evil..
sure as fuck doesn’t make any sense why he’d have a majority of shares in Cisco Systems.
My video was in relation to, stop accusing us of this when the church blatantly does it for real, hence the major investigations that are going on right now into the church.. they are the ones you should be attacking, not us.
People within a church do it for real, not THE church. There are various Christian denominations, some of which are better/different than others. Also, this whole “religion” distraction is again de-railing this discussion. Again. Also, if this twit really is a stakeholder in Cisco systems, it’s just about money, most likely. Yes, hypocrisy, but nothing new at all that a fundamentalist is a hypocrite, happens all the time.
to give him credit he was a very important and forceful individual in getting seatbelts in cars.
however since then he has gone crazy, and this last statement from him leads me no longer respect him any more.
Redshirt, you’re username is Redshirt…. You’re clearly a discarded pawn in the scheme of things if Star Trek has taught me anything :B
Seriously don’t try to defend Religion in this, you’ll just get flamed beyond belief. Skitzor’s point, and I agree, has already been explained carefully. As for other derogatory comments about the church or Christianity in general, I’d just leave them. The people making those comments already have a pre-determined bias against the Church, hence their generalisation that it is the whole Church that is the problem, rather than as you correctly stated, extreme denominations/sects.
At the end of the day Ralph Nader is a nob and the whole things reeks of a desperate man trying to grab some attention and press time. Oh he just got it, damn…
ashigaru,
I suppose you’re right. I just get annoyed at bias, bigotry, thread hijacking, and shenanigans in general, but I suppose you’re right. As for my username, I was a trekkie in another life, and couldn’t be bothered thinking up a more creative username at the time.
As for the nob who brewed up this storm in a teacup, I am at least thankful that he’s half a world away, and there are few enough who take him seriously in the first place. He does get far too much attention though.
heh minus that whole catholic church thing …
His point in increasing violence being displayed in the media is rather accurate, it is more prominent in media now then it once was. The issues of desensitisation to violence and it’s effects on emotional health will be a much bigger issue one day after longitudinal studies show results, be it good or bad results.
Computer games hardly “molest” children and they aren’t lurking in the shadows waiting to leap out for such a nefarious deed. That said you show a hyper-violent movie/game/tv show to a young child you could argue that it is tantamount to a psychological molestation.
If Ralph was more sensible he would talk about parents actually perhaps monitoring what their young ones are playing and placing consideration in what they introduce into their homes – ie what sensible parents already do.
Also good to see that the anti-religion sect of GoN have decided to rip things into a religious debate, because argument is somehow tantamount to a discussion? I’m not a religious person but whenever you see people start spraying things around as “proof of argument” well it’s only designed to inflame and troll (and that really goes for both sides of the argument) and it is something that is, not sanctioned, but becoming more prominent on GoN, for the worse.
I read GoN to discuss games and discuss gaming news not fly into attacks on personal beliefs or lack thereof. People need to check their prejudice at the GoN door.
meji,
prejudice in general? Cause that’s never going to happen. people are prejudice against orange juice, or gliders or nintendo etc.
For instance, you didn’t check your prejudice when you lashed out at the people interfereing with your ‘discussions’. seemed perfectly alright for you to have a go, but other can’t?
I think you need to further refine your statement a bit to make it appear less righteous and less offensive.
Doesnt this Ralph Nader guy refer to both TV shows AND video games as being child molesters?
I dont agree with what he says but I can sort of understand what he means by this. To me it sounds like he wants parents to be more aware of violence in both TV shows and video games because parents may simply assume its for children. If the internet is involved it could well end up being a “grooming place” for online predators. Regardless he should have used different terminolgy.
are you talking about my posts?
Ralph is right, I am always being digitally molested by video games.
well i dont know about u guys, but i cant play doom 3 at night because its too scary :S i just got through the ‘hell’ level, my nerves are shot! SOoo many hell knights…
The people that read them do tho…. >.>
Molestation only occurs after the second hour of screen time. Max 2 hours per day (incl TV)for ur own health and well-being, or that of your children.