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What is this world coming to when a church can hold a Halo 3 tournament to draw "aim-less" kids to God's house? Dr. Susan Bartell responds with foot in mouth.

Recently on Fox's The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet, the use of Halo 3 to draw teens to libraries and churches came under scrutiny. Fox's pundit-psychologist Dr. Susan Bartell made an appearance to give her expert opinion. Game Politics points out that Dr. Bartell speciallizes in the behavior of teens and tweens - namely their eating habits - and is quite under-qualified in the field of video games. Here's what Bartell had to say:

When kids play violent video games, we can see that their brains are different than when they play non-violent games. That they actually change and their levels of emotional arousal increase dramatically. It's remarkable. It's really remarkable to see... We can see a very big difference in their brains which tells us how dangerous these games can be.

Of course, as we are all aware, heightened brain activity is a clear indication of an increasing urge to kill other humans. Game Politics, again, points out the flaws in her argument and presents this; her weak attempt to correlate brain activity with violence:

No, it's negative activity that the child really has to get into the CHARACTER of the person that they're playing that's killing all these poeple. So when they walk out of the ROOM and they go out into the streets and someone might bump into them, what are they going to do?

Well, when someone accidentally bumps into me on the streets, I kill them, brutally. Walking down the street with me is like watching an unrated version of 300. Anyway, Bartlett then goes on to condemn churches that use Halo 3 as a draw for un-Godly pagan children:

people who are leading churches should not be allowing such dangerous games into their churches. There are other ways to bring teenagers in...

What I love most about this topic is the recent response from The Harvard Crimson's art editor, Jessica Coggins. She gets to what I think is the real dilema, which is the distracting nature of video game controversy in general. Coggins puts it best:

For starters it's ridiculous for the government to prioritize protecting children from the perils of the "Grand Theft Auto" world. Ever since the tragic school shooting at Columbine High School, media pundits and politicians have tried to illustrate how video games have a direct impact on children's behavior. While the narrative makes for a compelling segment on the local newsand provides a reason and a target for a traumatized nationit's false and truly damaging.

Thank you so much, Jessica Coggins, for making this point. And from such a reputable source too. She continues in reference to Hilary Clinton's stance on protecting youngsters from violent games:

"The senator, of all people, should know that the deplorable state of children's healthcare is a far more serious problem when it comes to protecting kids. But, most of all, the whole saga speaks to the laziness of D.C. politicking. Censoring video games is an easy way to score sound bytes that seem meaningful, but are ultimately fruitless."

This is the direction I'd like the debate to take because it gets right to what I feel is the real problem. The issue of violent video games only distracts us from what's really going on. These days it's easier for a 14 year old to get a copy of Halo 3 than it is for them to get a flu vaccination...

Hey, Thanks: Game Politics

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