Video Game Theory

Ol' Doc Wertham lied. (First of all when he claimed anyone is "innocent.")

But given that we live in a moment when 67 percent of Republicans think [Ed. note: We doubt that anywhere near that many Republicans actually think.] that violent video games present a “bigger safety threat” than guns according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey, the same kind of incentives to find video games guilty exist today that existed when Wertham went after comics. And even if a rigorous study does emerge from our current debate over guns policy, I’d be amazed if it was publicly accepted. The public doesn’t blame comics or video games for crime and violence because they have strong evidence and day-to-day demonstrations of the impact of that media. They blame comics and video games because they have relatively low levels of cultural capital relative to mediums like film and television, and because it’s easier to think about regulating culture than it is to go after other, more systematic elements of American life.

Also on the comic front:Via.