Why I HATE Our Government

It's full of people who think this:

"I know that they all probably assume they have better, much more important, urgent, timely, things to campaign on, but I sure would like to get their individual takes on the new video game that one company is marketing to fifteen year old boys.

It's called "Mass Effect" and it allows its players - universally male no doubt - to engage in the most realistic sex acts ever conceived. One can custom design the shape, form, bodies, race, hair style, breast size of the images they wish to "engage" and then watch in crystal clear, LCD, 54 inch screen, HD clarity as the video game "persons" hump in every form, format, multiple, gender-oriented possibility they can think of.

The objections to such filth should be simple to understand.

Starting with the disgusting idea that one can "create" their own versions of what people look like, removing warts, moles, and bald spots while enhancing - shall we say - the extended features of the game's characters tends to objectify women, sex, and human relationships. Right? We can all agree on this?

Then there's the dishonesty behind the game' title. "Mass Effect" sounds like a war game with a deadly virus that is spreading unless the GI-Joes are able to defeat the evil and deadly substance and it's covert war plan. By it's design, kids could ask for it, or for their parents' Best Buy Card to go purchase it with nary a raised eye-brow. Generic, non-descriptive, and relatively harmless.

But it IS marketed for the X-Box 360, perhaps the most visually stimulating gaming system ever made. The software for such allows the blending of DVD video, component graphics, and the manipulation of actual pictures so that an alternate reality engulfs the fifteen year old boy playing it without much objection.

Now if I have trouble with my son taking his James Bond 007 games a little too emotionally, imagine the powerful effect that hormones add to the mix when the player's own character is copulating like jack rabbits with super-models, actresses, and anyone else they can spend the patience to create, name, and "put into play."

I hear the libertarian Ron Paul's answer already, "Government has no business censoring freedom of expression." Figures, he's a libertarian.

In the race for President there has been a lot of discussion about faith and it's impact on the lives of the individual candidate. Some pretty inane ones like Carl Cameron's less lucid moment this past week when he posed the inquiry about marital submission to Governor Mike Huckabee.

Yet here's a question that deserves to be asked, and in all likelihood will not be: "How much moral judgement should the President push into legislative issues that are likely to severely damage our children's innocence, function, and capability?"

I hear the nay-sayers claiming I'm being the wild and crazed Bible thumper I've always been - but its a worthwhile question isn't it?

If a pre-teen, teen, young adult, or adult male plays such a game in which the women DO submit without choice, are made to appear as Barbie streetwalkers, and perform whatever act can be imagined, what's to stop that same male from assuming that the women in his "other world" shouldn't be forced to do the same.

We now know because of the lengthy track record of serial killer after another that addictive use of pornography was prevalent in case after case - long before the switch got flipped and what their masturbatory imaginations have given into became what they were forcing real live human beings to do.

And because of the digital chip age in which we live - "Mass Effect" can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however, the game player wishes.

With it's "over the net" capabilities virtual orgasmic rape is just the push of a button away.

Yes there will be many snickers that I decided to bring this issue up in the Presidential cycle of 2008 but how refreshing would it be for a President to prove to the nation that his own manhood was not in question and put his pen and signature to a bill that dealt with such simulated sex excess in a way that was punitive to its creators to such a degree that they would never recover from it?

As technology continues to push the limits of imagination and interaction more and more the brain, the emotions, the feelings will integrate with physical responses in reality. And while the makers of such trash seem to be pushing our next generation of young men through the gates of hell as fast as is humanly possible, it needn't be that way.

Here's hoping that as the next President will be forced to deal with this continual emerging reality - and enemy that has set its site to our destruction from within - that we will have elected a man of such character that he will have precision in the clarity of his response.

How would that be for a bold and uncompromising "Mass Effect?"

As someone who's played Mass Effect and LOVED it, I can tell you straight off that this guy is even more factually incorrect than he is a douche. I can't believe I'm even responding to this, but for the sake of the non-gamer audience (however non-existent you may be) let's cover this.

It's called "Mass Effect" and it allows its players - universally male no doubt - to engage in the most realistic sex acts ever conceived. One can custom design the shape, form, bodies, race, hair style, breast size of the images they wish to "engage" and then watch in crystal clear, LCD, 54 inch screen, HD clarity as the video game "persons" hump in every form, format, multiple, gender-oriented possibility they can think of.

First and foremost, yes, there is one sex scene. As someone who's played the game every possible way through every time, I can tell you that this statement is true. It's a cutscene (meaning you have absolutely no control over what is happening), and the long version lasts about 15 seconds. The short one (which is the same thing with a couple seconds cut out) lasts about 10 seconds. At the risk of sounding like an artsy douche, it's also not an erotic thing. It's a culmination of a relationship that you build from the beginning of the character interaction (that is, your character and one of three teammates). You have to beat 3/4 of the game to see this.

Let's talk about character creation. You can fully customize race, hairstyle, eye color, facial features...and THAT'S IT. the only customization options you choose from start at the top of the head and end at the bottom of the chin. All males and females have the same body types (not just your character, but every male and female in the game). Now, if you go to the trouble to buy a 54" HDTV then yes, you're also going to see this in HD. While I appreciate that he's trying to make what he's describing sound more heinous by throwing in more situational detail, 80% of his information is incorrect and therefore the extra imagery is just...clunky. Universally male, no doubt, because everyone knows women don't possess the intellect to operate the device known as the Xbox 360. They just see it as a form of captured demon magic, that is, the few times they leave the kitchen. Hey, if you're going to be presumptuous and try to scare me with sex, I can jump back to the 1950s too.

Starting with the disgusting idea that one can "create" their own versions of what people look like, removing warts, moles, and bald spots while enhancing - shall we say - the extended features of the game's characters tends to objectify women, sex, and human relationships. Right? We can all agree on this?

Well, actually, wrong again. You can't remove moles. You certainly can't adjust penis size, which is what is being implied. You don't get to see genetalia ever, not even in the sex scene. You can pick a face template that doesn't have moles, and you can pick to have hair or you can choose to be bald or balding. Actually, this game goes with the soldier motif and allows you to add an array of battlescars, to add character to your character. Now, in Mass Effect you have to spend a good 18 hours with your crew building up relationships before sex is even a possibility. After 18 hours of working together, you have the possibility of sex. How sex in the context of an established relationship is objectifying anything is beyond me. And how can you objectify a relationship? That doesn't even make sense.

Then there's the dishonesty behind the game' title. "Mass Effect" sounds like a war game with a deadly virus that is spreading unless the GI-Joes are able to defeat the evil and deadly substance and it's covert war plan. By it's design, kids could ask for it, or for their parents' Best Buy Card to go purchase it with nary a raised eye-brow. Generic, non-descriptive, and relatively harmless.

There's dishonesty all over this article too. I find it interesting that lying is okay to you but reading what you perceive as a lie is not. But let's cover the name since we're being children. Project Manager Casey Hudson explained the term "Mass Effect" as follows"

“ Inside the game universe, mass effect is a newly discovered (for humans anyway) physics phenomenon that has properties along the lines of other physics forces such as gravity and electromagnetism. It's what physicists in real life are currently calling "dark energy," as an explanation for the accelerating expansion of the universe -- which has only recently been discovered and flies in the face of the previous notion that the universe's expansion should be slowing down because of gravity."

Sorry that the company wanted a title relevent to the plot. I know your point is that every game should be called Ultra Violence and Graphic Sex, but that's not what this game is about. And if you think teenagers are racing out in stores to buy an RPG (roleplaying game, not the rocket-propelled grenade I want to introduce this guy to) so they can work for a week or two to unlock 15 SECONDS OF SEX instead of just going on the computer and getting something a million times more graphic in under a minute...you're an idiot. I like how casually he pardons parents for just buying this game. Guess what, Deer Hunter and Trainspotting are innocuous names too, and I wouldn't want a little kid seeing them. Mass Effect is an M-Rated game; that means it is the equivalent to an R-Rated movie. For a long time, politicians have been ignoring this to further their agenda. If you are a parent, it's your job to make sure what your kids are doing. The same attitude that goes into buying movies should go into buying games. Games are not a fad as once thought; they are a legitimate form of media and should be treated as such. If you buy your child Grand Theft Auto, then you have no one to blame but yourself. Period. The ESRB is the MPAA of games. You are the parent, use your judgement, because your kids are your responsibility. You can't purchase these things with nary an eyebrow lift; no store will sell an underaged kid an M-Rated game. And unlike movies, game ratings are on the front of the box in inch and a half letters. It's not hard.

And it's its, not it's. It's means it is, for example, "It's ironic that the author of this piece fails to know basic grammar yet writes a condescending article attempting to teach people about a video game." You got that wrong four times in this article, and your job is to write? God, I hope you don't get paid more than I do.

Now if I have trouble with my son taking his James Bond 007 games a little too emotionally, imagine the powerful effect that hormones add to the mix when the player's own character is copulating like jack rabbits with super-models, actresses, and anyone else they can spend the patience to create, name, and "put into play."

I hear the libertarian Ron Paul's answer already, "Government has no business censoring freedom of expression." Figures, he's a libertarian.

And here's your tell, people. Kevin McCullough is too busy to be a parent to his kid. He doesn't want to spend the time to make sure what his kid is subjected to is safe for his age. He'd rather spend that time writing a smear piece with very little factual basis. We've already covered that you can't make supermodels, actresses or whatever you want past the face. And if jackrabbits only have sex once in their lifetime then your analogy is correct. I find it very telling that he is SO afraid of his son being exposed to sex, like seeing it is going to turn him into a rapist.

Oh that crazy Ron Paul, he read the First Amendment. What a tool.

In the race for President there has been a lot of discussion about faith and it's impact on the lives of the individual candidate. Some pretty inane ones like Carl Cameron's less lucid moment this past week when he posed the inquiry about marital submission to Governor Mike Huckabee.

Yet here's a question that deserves to be asked, and in all likelihood will not be: "How much moral judgement should the President push into legislative issues that are likely to severely damage our children's innocence, function, and capability?"

And now we have a little role-reversal: the game is now the rapist. Jesus Christ, next thing you know he's going to say that video games turn kids into serial killers by exposing them to sexual elements.

I hear the nay-sayers claiming I'm being the wild and crazed Bible thumper I've always been - but its a worthwhile question isn't it?

You are. It isn't. And we've covered this, its implies possession, while it's is short for it is. Sigh.

If a pre-teen, teen, young adult, or adult male plays such a game in which the women DO submit without choice, are made to appear as Barbie streetwalkers, and perform whatever act can be imagined, what's to stop that same male from assuming that the women in his "other world" shouldn't be forced to do the same.

Okay, here's where I become a broken record. Women in this game don't just have sex with you. You have to woo them, much as you would a real woman. It's a game, meaning that your character won't be socially retarded and thus has a much better chance of achieving said relationship. Mass Effect's depiction of humans is actually quite flattering, the males and the females being at peak physical shape. This does not mean huge boobs and muscles. This means well-toned and proportionate. Behold.
Tell me where you see the 7 foot tall, anemic blondes with giant boobs. Please. Because EVERY FEMALE AND MALE HAVE THESE BODY TYPES. And again, if your kid is being taught by a game what's what in society, you have failed as a parent. And this game isn't even one that teaches you that all women are rapeable. I have NEVER played a game that implied that.

We now know because of the lengthy track record of serial killer after another that addictive use of pornography was prevalent in case after case - long before the switch got flipped and what their masturbatory imaginations have given into became what they were forcing real live human beings to do.

And because of the digital chip age in which we live - "Mass Effect" can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however, the game player wishes.

Okay, I was kidding before but good God, he actually just indirectly said Mass Effect will turn you into a porn-addicted SERIAL KILLER. Let me go over EXACTLY what makes a serial killer right from Wikipedia and see if video games has any part in it:
"A serial killer is someone who murders three or more people with a 'cooling off' period between each murder, whose motivation for killing is largely for psychological gratification. All serial killers suffer from some form of Antisocial Personality Disorder but rarely psychopathy."

"Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a mental disorder defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: "The essential feature for the diagnosis is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." Considered essential features of the disorder are deceit and manipulation. Therefore it is essential in making the diagnosis to collect material from sources other than the individual being diagnosed. Also, the individual must be age 18 or older as well as have a documented history of a conduct disorder before the age of 15."

The cause of this disorder is unknown, but biological or genetic factors may play a role. However, the statistical correlation between the disorder and biological factors is weak, leading many experts to believe otherwise.

A family history of the disorder — such as having an antisocial parent — increases the chances of developing the condition. A number of environmental factors within the childhood home, school and community, such as an overly punitive home or school environment may also contribute, according to the Mayo Clinic Website.

Robins (1966) found an increased incidence of sociopathic characteristics and alcoholism in the fathers of individuals with antisocial personality disorder. He found that, within such a family, males had an increased incidence of APD, whereas females tended to show an increased incidence of somatization disorder instead.

Bowlby (1944) saw a connection between antisocial personality disorder and maternal deprivation in the first five years of life. Glueck and Glueck (1968) saw indications that the mothers of children who developed this personality disorder tended to display a lack of consistent discipline and affection, and an abnormal tendency to alcoholism and impulsiveness. These factors all contribute to a failure to create a stable and functional home with consistent structure and behavioral boundaries.

You may notice the lack of recent data to account for new media forms. That's because there is NO conclusive evidence that links video games to increased incidence of APD.

Now if you ask me, it looks like what creates serial killers are alcoholic, abusive fathers and non-present mothers. Hrm. Interesting. If I want psychological theory, I will get it from a doctor, not a news columnist who can't be bothered to research.

And because of the digital chip age in which we live - "Mass Effect" can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however, the game player wishes.

With it's "over the net" capabilities virtual orgasmic rape is just the push of a button away.

Yeah, it's a rape simulator. Any points I make here would be restating, so I'll just let you reread that: virtual orgasmic rape is just the push of a button away. Maybe in disturbing porn, but not in a commercially successful video game. Nevermind the lack of sodomy (even in the traditional sense of the word.)

As technology continues to push the limits of imagination and interaction more and more the brain, the emotions, the feelings will integrate with physical responses in reality. And while the makers of such trash seem to be pushing our next generation of young men through the gates of hell as fast as is humanly possible, it needn't be that way.

Here's hoping that as the next President will be forced to deal with this continual emerging reality - and enemy that has set its site to our destruction from within - that we will have elected a man of such character that he will have precision in the clarity of his response.

"and enemy that has set its site" ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER! DO YOU SPEAK IT?! Are you kidding me? You don't have full grasp of the English language and you want to dictate what laws our next president - a man no doubt as you've implied - will preside over? And that's just ignoring the previous implication that only a president who's man enough will pass said laws. Who's being the primitive now? To imply that greater technology will free us from personal responsibility is an insult. You are in fact giving people who won't be responsible in the future an excuse to blame that doesn't involve their decision-making skills. Every step you take towards the gates of Hell are done with your muscles. Not Bioware's, not Microsoft's, not anyone's but yours. If you play Mass Effect and then rape someone, it's because you are a rapist, not because you are a gamer. It's as simple as that. The phenomenon of losing control of personal responsibility is one that has ONLY been pushed by people who object to graphic depictions of sex and violence in the media. We live in a country where people get outraged at consensual sex in the context of a relationship. I shouldn't have to tell you how crazy that is. And furthermore, they're saying that this simulation will make children go into the streets and rape and murder.

How would that be for a bold and uncompromising "Mass Effect?

Yes, clever and biting. Your wit is about as honed as your ability to fact check.


Sigh. The world is doomed.