Bullying Maybe???

Today in Grapevine, Texas, a 15 year old 9th grade student had to be air lifted to a local hospital after a possible neck injury.  Events like this are all too common during football practices and games, however in this case, the victim was merely in the school hallway. 

According to this brief report, a 16 year old classmate

""blindsided" the freshman about 1 p.m. today, knocking him onto his back"

All the details have not been released, however the 16 year old is in custody in a juvenile detention center. 

It is easy to speculate at what the reasons were behind this "attack".  Maybe the boys have a history of aggression towards each other.  Maybe they were involved in an argument over a Facebook status.  Maybe they were fighting over a female.  Or maybe the aggressor in this situation is a bully and the 15 year old was just another target for him. 

Either way, head injuries can be devastating.  There are many videos online which show the effects of students getting slammed onto their head.  Some have laid on the ground unconscious and seizing, others have barely been able to walk away. (see Richard Gale, the bully in Australia who was slammed by his victim) The true effects sometimes are not known until a few days after the event.  And what may start as a mutual fight or an aggressive bully taking advantage of his opportunity can end with very serious consequences. 

Video Games – Others

To wrap up the segment on gang influenced video games, I am going to quickly run threw a few which are far less popular then the Bully and Grand Theft Auto Series, but can be as equally negative.

25 To Life – released in 2006 to terrible reviews, this is a third person shooter (you see the entire character before you, unlike “Doom” which was previously discussed).  The game allows you to switch between play as a police officer and a gangster.  It also allows online play.

The Warriors – released in 2005 (also by Rockstar Games) and is based on a 1979 movie of the same name.  The game centers around the popular “gang rumbles” of the 1970’s and is centered on fighting.  The use of weapons and spray painting graffiti is also a factor in the game.

Crime Life: Gang Wars – released in 2005 also to negative reviews.  The game is based on gang turf wars with large scale fighting.  The plot centers on the main character wanting to join and then climb ranks in the gang.  Fists, pipes, bats, and guns are the weapons of choice, and killing is the point.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel – newly released in July 2011 to mixed reviews, the game is questioned by some for glamorizing drug cartels.  Although the main characters are DEA and FBI agents, the game centers around a drug cartel, local street gangs, sex traffickers, and drug houses.

 

Ride to Hell – the game has not been released as of yet.  It has been in development for several years and its anticipation is growing.  It is basically a Hell’s Angels game.  A Vietnam Veteran returns to society, has trouble conforming.  It is a time of sex, drugs, hippies, and motorcycles. 

And this concludes the brief series on video games.  If this is your first read, go back a few and you can see the point about writing about video games in a "Gangs and Schools" blog.  And again to clarify, I'm not saying that video games contribute to school violence, just that they can be an easiyl overlooked factor.  And as with anything else, parents need to monitor what their children are doing, watching, and playing.

Video Games – GTA

Probably one of the most controversial games of all time has been the Grand Theft Auto series, also developed by Rockstar Games.  Grand Theft Auto, or GTA, was originally released in 1997.  There was a format change beginning with GTA 3 which was released in 2001.  GTA has been highly scrutinized for the actions allowed in the game.  Aside from the story and missions of the game, players can spend hours exploring the city.  Players earn skills, points, and money for stealing cars, assaulting, robbing, and/or killing innocent civilians, picking up hookers, and killing police officers.  Stealing a police car, ambulance, or fire truck unlocks side missions which are necessary for 100% completion of the game.

In 2004, Rockstar games released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and introduced gang life to millions of people who may have never been exposed to this lifestyle.  I’m not sure who the creators of the game consulted, but the lengths that were taken to mirror real life gangs are pretty amazing. 



CJ

When the game starts, the main character, known as CJ, moves back to this fictional city after the murder of his mother.  He is quickly drawn back into his gang.  The game allows for customization of tattoos and bandanas on the player, and includes some styles that are highly recognized as gang identifiers.  Early missions involve spray painting over rival gang graffiti, recruiting more gang members, taking over rival territories, and drive-by shootings.    Later missions involve working with crooked police, harvesting marijuana, killing music producers, and operating casinos. 

Going back to the detail involved in the game, here is the list of gangs in the game

Grove Street

• Grove Street Families – CJ’s gang with members named Sweet, Ryder, and Big Smoke
• The Ballas – a rival black gang, who have a subset named Rollin Heights
• Varios Los Aztecas – a Mexican gang
• Los Santos Vagos – a Mexican gang
• San Fierro Rifa – Involved in international drug trade
• Triads – Chinese gangs in the Chinatown version of the game.    



The Ballas

• One of them is named the Red Gecko Tong
• Da Nang Boys – a Vietnamese gang who control the docks
• The Mafia – 3 mob families ran by the Leone, Sindacco, and  Forelli’s.  They control the casinos.

 Over 20 million copies of this game were sold across the various gaming platforms.  While many adult males enjoy the game, there are many teen and pre-teen boys and girls who spent hours playing this game.  Many of my son’s friends had the game and he often would ask why I didn’t let him play it when his friends could (another story for another day). 

Parents – monitor what games your children are playing.  If they ask for a specific title, look into it. Search the game online and especially on Youtube for ideas of what will happen in the game.  Set and enforce the appropriate boundaries for your home.  While the game might be very fun, it can also introduce negativity.

Video Game - Bully

As mentioned in the previous post, the first video game I am going to highlight is called “Bully”.  Bully is made by Rockstar Games, the same company who is responsible for the Grand Theft Auto series of video games (next post).   

Here is a brief intro from makers themselves, which can also be read here; 

“As a mischievous schoolboy, you’ll stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the worst school around, Bullworth Academy - a corrupt and crumbling prep school with an uptight facade.” 

The gameplay is what earned this game a spot in Yahoo! Games top 10 most controversial games of all time.  Since the game is centered around a school, naturally taking classes is needed.  When you excel at the classes, you learn to talk the police into letting you off the hook or how to make firecrackers.  “Playing pranks” as mentioned in the overview involves sling shots, bats, and bottle rockets.  Fighting and bullying are also a central theme of the game.  Winning some fights, hence beating someone up, is needed to advance in the game.  Violence against females, smaller children, and teachers is also possible. 

The game also some sexual content, and allows the player, a male character, to kiss both male and female students. 

Bully is available for the PlayStation 2, the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360, and there is a PC version.  The game has been rated from T (teen, 13 and up) to M (mature) and won several awards upon its release.  While it may be an entertaining game to some, it is also very inappropriate for the younger consumer.

Video Games - Intro

I am going to begin a series on video games which parents should watch out for. 

While video games to not directly affect school violence, there are a few reasons for this series.  After the Columbine massacre, many people blamed the killers’ obsession with the “Doom” video game, which is a first-person shooter style game.  First person shooter games are those in which the game is played from the perspective of the person shooting the gun.  Advanced players, such as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, could create their own worlds and levels.  In their case, they created levels filled with violence and shooting, which led many to believe that this influenced their behavior leading up to the shooting at the school. 

I also understand that it is very cliché to blame video games for bad behavior.  Many times when people blame games or music for violence, they are looking for an easy answer.  People will get in heated debates over this.  Interestingly enough, these same people often praise the use of video games for learning or positive activities.  So the question to ask is simple; do video games influence behavior?

The EA Sports Madden franchise is often used to predict the real outcome of football games.  Kids across the world learn plays, positions, and strategies from playing this game. 

The Rock Band and Guitar Hero video games have been credited with teaching people musical skills, or at least piquing their interest.

The Nintendo Wii game system has successfully created fitness games which allow users/gamers to workout, track calories, and actually lose weight by playing a video game.

On the negative side, the hijackers who flew the planes into the Twin Towers on 9-11-01 were said to have learned how to fly by using flight simulators, which are nothing more than highly sophisticated video games.

So while the use of video games is not a direct cause of behavior, positive or negative, the argument can be made that these games can have some influence.  Couple that with the amount of time kids spend playing these games as parents often use them as a babysitting tool, and that influence can grow exponentially.  The next few posts will each be about a specific game.