The current focus upon violence in video games by likes of Jack Thompson is merely the latest target in the on-going blame game, in which any target other than society itself is blamed for all of society's ills.
In the 1950's, Fredic Wertham published a book entitled
Seduction of the Innocent, which used fraudulent anecdotal evidence to blame the then-relatively-young comic book industry for violence committed by juvenile delinquents. (Even more laughably, Wertham claimed that Batman and Robin promoted homosexuality and paedophilia!) This lead to a moral outcry that included Congressional hearings, public burnings of comic books, and the creation of the laughable Comics Code Authority that effectually terminated such titles as E.C.'s
Tales From the Crypt and
The Vault of Horror. Oddly enough, the cancellation of particularly violent comic books and the neutering of those that weren't cancelled had little impact upon the statistics regarding juvenile violence--almost as if there weren't a causal link after all! And, shock of all shocks, it was eventually revealed that nearly everything in Wertham's
Seduction of the Innocent was fabricated! (The only truth in the entire book seems to be the commentary regarding Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston's interest in sexual bondage and extended relationships. And on that count I would say that everyone is entitled to their own private lives behind closed doors, so long as it strictly involves consenting adults and no one is harmed!)
Later, in the 1980's, there was
an absurd moral panic regarding supposed acts of violence and depravity committed by secret sects of devil worshippers! Heavy Metal music and RPGs like
Dungeons & Dragons were among the many forms of media blamed for inspiring such acts of violent devil worship. And again, there were protests, public burnings of blamed media, and even the imprisonment of people for alleged crimes that were patently absurd and clearly fabricated! And again, shock of all shocks, the reported incidents inciting the panic all proved to be fraudulent in one form or another!
I view the scrutiny placed upon video games by the likes of Jack Thompson to be merely the latest iteration in a cyclic moral panic blame game that would be laughable if it weren't so sad!
One day, I hope that society runs out of targets in the media to blame for all of society's ills and instead begins an introspective process of self-examination to identify and subsequently tackle the real socioeconomic and mental health root causes behind violence!