It’s been approximately eight seconds since a politician said something stupid about videogames, so let’sreturn to Germany, where people are still screaming and vomiting and crying over the scary games and their dangerous effects on young people. Bavarian Minister Joachim Herrmann has potentially taken the trophy for “dumbest thing ever said about games” by likening them to illegal drugs and child pornography.
“In regards to their harmful effects, [violent video games] are on the same level as child pornography and illegal drugs,” he claims, “the ban on which is rightly unquestioned.”
Among other nuggets of juicy stupidity in Hermann’s statements is the obvious belief that school shootings are caused by games and kids get “lost to our society” because their being “mired” in gaming leaves them no time to find a job or go to school.
Hermann’s offensive statements come on the same day Munich held the very first German Videogame Awards ceremony. By way of retaliation, Hermann has been taken to task by the country’s game associations and an apology has been demanded. Quite right too. Such casual comparisons to child porn are at best irresponsible and at worst, thoroughly sick.
