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[Update]: Newspaper Changes Anti-Video Games Headline
[Update]: English paper the London Evening Standard has changed one of its subheads that originally blamed Grand Theft Auto IV for inciting kids in the London riots.
CVG reports that the paper has changed one of its front-page subheads on the riot from "Children as young as ten, inspired by video game, among the looters," to "Children as young as ten hunted by police after riots across city."
[Original Story]: Remember the part in Grand Theft Auto IV where a riot breaks out during a protest over a father of four getting gunned down by police? Me either, but the London constable nonetheless blames the game series for inciting the violence that has resulted in over 160 arrests across the city.
While others are blaming Blackberry, Facebook, and Twitter for the senseless violence that has spread into four London boroughs over the last two days, an unnamed bobby speaking to the London Evening Standard reached deeper into the grab bag of convenient scapegoats. "These are bad people who did this," he said. "Kids out of control. When I was young it was all Pac-Man and board games. Now they're playing Grand Theft Auto and want to live it for themselves."
There you have it – in the age of Pac-Man, rioting over the actions of the London police would never enter into the minds of the innocent youth. But now, Rockstar has injected anarchistic tendencies into teenagers' brains. We couldn't possibly expect this old chap to remember the Brixton riots of 1981 and 1985, could we?
To read more about the riots, visit the Guardian's riot hub. To read more about video games being blamed for all of society's ills, google Jack Thompson.
[via GamePolitics]
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