Changing my mind on Stuttgart

I’m not afraid of expressing unpopular opinions. I’ve done it a few times on this site, and will probably do so again in the future. Recently, when I took a stance in favor of a lesbian gamer who had banned on the Xbox Live network, I got quite a few negative comments that implied more or less that I was wrong and lacking in the intelligence department. I felt somewhat vindicated when Microsoft did what I suggested they do in the first place: seek dialogue instead of indiscriminately banning people. Strangely, after I updated that bit of information on my site, the comments vanished.

I also took odds recently with the future of e-sports. I had one commentator who characterized my position as “simplistic and naive” and urged me to just “shut it”.  Ironically, a few days after my post, a poll showed that 65% fewer PvP arena teams were participating this season despite the immense amount of investment Blizzard has put into the arena system. Obviously, just because Blizzard failed to attract many people into its version of PvP doesn’t mean that e-sports are doing badly. However, I don’t think you could as easily dismiss my viewpoint as being naive and unfounded.

This gets me back to my opinion on Stuttgart’s mayor deciding to cancel a Counter Strike tournament a couple of weeks after Tim Kretschmer’s infamous shooting rampage. I characterized the decision as admirable and applauded him for his sensitivity. According to the source article, the mayor was reacting out of concerns of offending friends and family of victims. After the shooting it had come to light that video games, and its violent themes, may have had some corollary effect on Kretschmer’s decision to lash out.

Generally, when I write a post, I also give an off the cuff opinion of what I think about the article - sort of a first comment within the article itself. Most of the time, I write something I can be justifiably proud of and can defend, even though what I write is controversial or bucks conventional opinion.

I don’t think I can say the same thing about what I wrote this morning about the Counter Strike tournament cancellation. If I claim that I don’t believe that video games were to blame for Kretschmer’s rampage, then why am I supporting a decision by the mayor, though perhaps full of good intentions, that defies reason and rationality? Why cancel something that wasn’t a cause of the violence unless you are giving into the belief that violent video games cause violent behaviors? At best you’re giving into the hysteria, at worse you’re pandering to a populist belief that has no basis in fact.

I’ll just take this on the chin this time and just admit I was wrong. By canceling a Counter Strike tournament shortly after the shooting, the mayor has unconsciously given into the belief that video games cause violence. Like it or not, he gives ammunition to those that would like to see video games restricted, censored or even banned. That is a position that I cannot, I will not accept.

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