The image for this story is pretty insensitive and in bad taste. I understand the reference of the painting, but now is not the time to get clever. A kid was killed. #crime
@sandwiches: I think AJ has used this picture for a story before. So I don't think she intentionally sought after it, if that makes it any better. #crime
Gun control laws are bullshit. Do you really think that a felon is going to follow the rules when it comes to gun ownership? Get the fuck out of here.
A gun in the hands of the public would do more to curb violence then it would encourage it. If a criminal knew that more people were packing a firearm, I guarantee that things would get a lot quieter in a hurry. #crime
@teckmonkey: Yeah besides the fact that this obviously had some substance abuse issues, the average responsible gun owner shouldn't be the ones held responsible for this man's lack of self control. Also, i might add that if he could have been brought to the point to where he could use a firearm on his own child, what would stop him from attacking him with something else had the firearm not been available? #crime
You could blame alcohol, but really if he was then surrendering to SWAT AFTER a standoff, yeah I doubt he was all that into alcohol or sorry about what he did. #crime
A good friend of mine (I actually mentioned going to his intervention on Kotaku about 5 months ago) has a serious drinking problem. When he's sober, he's the greatest guy in the world. He's smart, caring, always willing to help a friend, and a complete pacifist.
Get him going on some booze and he begins telling everyone how much they suck, how awesome he is, begins yelling constantly, will talk over everyone so that no one else can possibly be heard over him, becomes physically aggressive by pushing people and getting in their faces.
His drinking, exhibited anger and frequency of blackouts got to be so bad that a few friends were worried that he was going to actually hurt them. So, we had an intervention. It was a cluster-fuck and didn't work. He lied about how much he drank and about how often he was getting drunk. People let it slide. It was one of the saddest moments of my life so far (and I've lived through some crazy shit, btw). Here was one of my best friends for 16 years and I now feel like, not only that I don't know him anymore, but that the type of person he has become is not someone I want to know.
After about 2 months of not showing up for shifts and forcing my roommate (another of his longtime friends) to come in and cover his shifts, making an ass out of himself around the customers (last night he was walking around shirtless with his fly down and screaming, "welcome to my world, bitch motherfuckers!"), picking fights with co-workers, being banned from drinking at the restaurant, and so on... it looks like he's going to finally lose his chef job. After everyone repeatedly giving him second, third, fourth, etc chances. They didn't call the cops on him because they didn't want that extra burden on him. Most places I've worked, if an employee or anyone started doing that shit, the cops would have been called almost immediately.
This will be the second job in a row where he's lost a prominent position because of his drinking and drug problems (the other was sous chef at a country club frequented by local politicians).
As for the man who shot his son; was alcohol to blame? No. Was the gun to blame? No. Was the individual in this story to blame? Yes. However, to try and say that he would not have shot his son even had he been sober is rather misleading and completely discounting the irrational and compulsive behavior people exhibit under high amounts of alcohol and during blackouts. Again, this doesn't excuse his actions, but given that he then fled the scene and engaged in a stand-off shows, to me, that he most likely had remorse and regret. Otherwise, why didn't he kill his wife, who was witness?
The man shooting his son was an impulsive action. He was angry and argumentative. The son tried to bat the gun away from him, making him angry that someone would try to usurp or hinder his authority, he became enraged, the kid ran and he shot his kid in the back. The shock and realization of his actions are, most likely, what caused him to run. #crime
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@stupid_mcgee: uber pyro flaming hunter ([k]): You're right, I don't. My brother died in an accident where both he and the driver were drunk, and my father was killed and another brother seriously injured by a drunk driver.
Forgive me if I am not as understanding when it comes to drunken bastards as I "should" be. #crime
@relic1980: Gee, what an ass I am for not knowing your personal life story. I don't know why you quoted "should" as I never mentioned how much your should or should not know about alcoholics.
Also, there is a huge difference between being a drunk driver and an alcoholic. The vast majority of DUI offenders are not alcoholics, but people who made poor choices.
But, whatever. Feel free to ignore everything pertinent I said because of some perceived slight. #crime
@relic1980: I should ad that I am definitely sorry to hear about what happened and for your losses. But there is a difference between a drunk driving accident and alcoholism. #crime
@Vecha: Tired of America's Solution to Health Care.: I've had quite a few friends take this battle. Some came out okay, some did not. Hopefully your friends will one day come around. It's sad to pay witness to such decline and it's infuriating when it all too often seems like there is nothing you can do about it. #crime
@stupid_mcgee: uber pyro flaming hunter ([k]): Your figures for most DUIs being people who made poor choices? Give me a link.
And I didn't give a rat's ass if you knew my personal life story or not. I was just letting you know my view on it and where I was coming from. If you took offense at that, then I can't help that. Your world must be different than the world I come from. #crime
@Rajolae: Actually, we've tried to "have a talk" (informal intervention, if you will) with him multiple times. This was the first time a group of us tried anything formal. It didn't work because a bunch of people wanted to be "in" on the the talk and it was a mixed message. Some people giving him an ultimatum, others giving him unfettered support no matter what.
Why no one called the cops? Well, because that's not going to make the matter better. Despite what people might say, incarceration is purely about punishment, not rehabilitation. Calling the cops would only make a bad situation worse. Unfortunately, it's a matter of being between a rock and a hard place. You can call the cops and potentially cause more harm, or you can deal with it and, hopefully, try to mitigate the damage.
There's the theory of "hitting rock bottom", and most people don't want to be the one to cause that. Primarily because there is zero absolution that hitting rock bottom will == recovery. It's hard to call the cops on someone you've known and cared about for years on end. Especially knowing that doing so only exacerbates the situation.
As for drinking where he worked, it's common practice. Most restaurants give employees a discount on their drinks (as well as food). He was cut off from drinking there, but there's several other bars/restaurants within a few seconds walking distance. The GM (general manager) tried telling the nearby bars not to serve him, but they did anyways. In their mind, it's someone else's problems, not theirs, and they still get to make money off of selling drinks to him.
@relic1980: Funny thing is, there's no hardline statistical database for DUIs. However, from listening to public defenders and law enforcement, the repeat offender rate amongst DUI offenders is relatively low. This isn't to say that DUI offenders are not alcoholics, they certainly can be. But while MADD might like to say that all DUIs are the cause of alcoholism, it is vastly unfounded and lacks any proper evidence to prove such a claim.
Basically, there's no way to prove my point, nor the contrary. however, there is anecdotal evidence to support both, if one looks for it.
Don't give me this "your world must be different" bullshit. Pull the fucking butt plug of self-entitlement from out your ass. My world is NO different from yours. You make an apples-to-oranges argument and expect it to be some truth? Give me a break. A DUI does == alcoholism, and if you think it does, then you don't know shit about about the subject of alcoholism.
All you've stated is "you don't know shit. I know what I'm talking about." If you want to have an actual discussion, I'm all for it. But this "I know what it's really like, so fuck you!" exchange is mediocre high school bullshit that I don't care to entertain.
Again, I'm sorry for what you've endured. It's not easy and I understand where you're coming from. I've had 2 friend die from wrecks caused by drunk drivers. I've seen at least 8 people, first hand, ruin their lives through drinking. Throw in illicit drugs, and I got another 10 I could tell you about. My own personal life has been one hell of a roller-coaster in itself.
My main problem is that you are taking a VERY complex situation and problem and condensing it into "well, he was probably always an abusive shithead anyways." My position is merely that I seriously doubt, given the man's actions and responses after killing his son, that he would have done such a thing sober. Obviously, it's not alcohol nor guns at fault, but the individual. However, if it weren't for his alcoholism, I sincerely doubt this would have occurred. If he was always a cold blooded murderer, then why did he not kill the witness? AKA: his wife? This was obviously a crime of passion fueled by his lack of comprehension and reasoning due to his alcoholic impairment.
Nonetheless, if this conversation is going to devolve into some "whatever, you don't know how it feels!" pissing competition, then I see no reason to continue this discussion. #crime
@stupid_mcgee: 1000 angels could save your soul ([k]): So what you're saying is that you THINK you know, based on what you've seen, as opposed to hard facts. Well, I can see your point. You are basing what you think you know on what you've seen, and pretty much, so am I.
For instance, the guy who murdered my dad (and IMO, it was murder, simply because if you decide to drink and drive, it's your fault if you kill someone even if it doesn't fit the legal definition of murder) , got 6 months for vehicular manslaughter. The day he got out of prison, he went straight to the local bar and got hammered (one of the benefits of living in a small village is that you pretty much know who does what.).
But I am not going to excuse a drunken bastard. If the person decided to drink (preferably in moderation) in his/her home, or in a bar where he/she could take a bus or taxi home, or go home with a friend, or not get violent, I am not going to hold it against them.
However, the moment they do, in my eyes they are a drunken bastard and they should be put away. Period. And that includes my own brother, if he were driving and hit someone.
And you seem to make a lot of assumptions about a guy you know nothing about outside of my comments on a blog. Self-pitying? Nah, I haven't been into that shit since HS. But ultimately you can think what you want about me,
I won't care.
@Hey_Blinkon: To be fair, not just as easily. The kid was running away. Tough to beat or stab a kid who is running away from you. Especially if you are 40 and the person running away is 17. #crime
@Hey_Blinkon: Yes. What good comes from drinking? Getting into car accidents, getting into fights, sleeping around because "the alcohol made me think unproper!" Oh, and shooting your kids, too, apparently. In my personal experience drunk people are abusive people. Not that I don't like to get hammered every once in a while, but at least I'm smart about it. #crime
@Hey_Blinkon: If beating/stabbing someone to death is just as easy as killing them with a gun then why isn't the army equipped with knives and clubs? Just think of the money they'd save. #crime
AJ your better than this, please remove that picture, it makes it seem that this was a joke when it clearly was not, a young boy 2 years younger than me died, show some respect and remove the image.
We arent angry at you AJ, we love you, just do what you do best girl and make this thread right;) #crime
Yes, somebody died. And Kotaku isn't trying to make light of the tragety. But accusing Kotaku of trying to make this into a joke is taking things a little far, and I don't see how using a relevant piece of art factors into this little equation. #crime
@Xenris: You know what the picture is, right? This shows AJ is intellegent and amazingly spot-on with her choice of images. Please research a bit before you fire off (weak) opinion. #crime
@Xenris: From the Wikipedia of Ivan the Terrible: His son, also named Ivan, upon learning of this, engaged in a heated argument with his father, which resulted in Ivan striking his son in the head with his pointed staff, causing his son's (accidental) death. This event is depicted in the famous painting by Ilya Repin, Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on Friday, 16 November 1581 better known as Ivan the Terrible killing his son. #crime
@ReynaldoRiv: Not to mention he indicated the victim was "2 years younger than me". So I suppose if had had been "6 years older than me" it would have been less of a tragedy... If anything the image adds a certain degree of dignity to a situation that is otherwise quite pathetic. #crime
@ReynaldoRiv: I am aware of the image and thought it was indeed a good pic that fit this topic very well. So I guess whenever somebody's dad kills their kid, we should salute them with this fabulous picture, yea! How about for 9/11, we post a picture of a plane blowing up into some other random building, thats seems sensible right? Its ok as long as its a piece of art right?
You see where I'm getting at? I have no problem with the image, in fact I was surprised AJ found it, but its kinda disrespectful to the family and those close to the kid, I really dont care about it, I just assumed the people of the kids family might not apprciate their trajedy being summed up by this artwork. #crime
@Chewbenator: I am aware of the image and thought it was indeed a good pic that fit this topic very well. So I guess whenever somebody's dad kills their kid, we should salute them with this fabulous picture, yea! How about for 9/11, we post a picture of a plane blowing up into some other random building, thats seems sensible right? Its ok as long as its a piece of art right?
You see where I'm getting at? I have no problem with the image, in fact I was surprised AJ found it, but its kinda disrespectful to the family and those close to the kid, I really dont care about it, I just assumed the people of the kids family might not apprciate their trajedy being summed up by this artwork. #crime
@Kovitlac: I am aware of the image and thought it was indeed a good pic that fit this topic very well. So I guess whenever somebody's dad kills their kid, we should salute them with this fabulous picture, yea! How about for 9/11, we post a picture of a plane blowing up into some other random building, thats seems sensible right? Its ok as long as its a piece of art right?
You see where I'm getting at? I have no problem with the image, in fact I was surprised AJ found it, but its kinda disrespectful to the family and those close to the kid, I really dont care about it, I just assumed the people of the kids family might not apprciate their trajedy being summed up by this artwork. #crime
@Xenris: Sure. Find me a photo of a plane 'blowing up into' a building (I'm not quite sure what that means, but I'm sure you'll find me something good).
I also highly doubt that the close friends and family to this kid are currently checking up Kotaku for the latest news. My regards go to the family, but political correctness really gets to me. It's like, naive viewer, meet the internet. #crime
Once again a story less about games and more about complex family issues and narcotics and/or alcohol abuse. I really really wish Kotaku would stop reporting this crap as it only serves to make them seem hypocritical anytime they go after a media outlet trying to make an odd connection between gaming and violence. #crime
First of all, this is something I believe belongs in the Kotaku gaming news blog. The kid was killed by his alcoholic father because he lost a game... how exactly does this not relate to videogames? Although the connection is a sad one, it's still there.
Also, how exactly is this hypocritical? Nowhere in the story are videogames given the blame for this horrendous incident. They clearly state that the father was heavily drinking and that he had a previous DUI record, which leads me to assume that his alcohol problem is to blame, not videogames.
Kotaku isn't just a GAMING blog, it's a GAMING NEWS blog. It would be downright hypocritical of them to censor this story and not post it up just because some people feel uncomfortable with it. #crime
@Modus_Operandi: No, they'd be hypocritical if they went out of their way not to report on this. Kotaku neither is nor should it be in the business of protecting gaming's image. This kind of reporting acknowledges the fact that gaming speaks for itself.
Complex family issues beget tragedies under myriad circumstances. Video games happen to be a part of this family's culture, in one way or another, so it's reported on here because it's an event that happened in a family that shares some interests with Kotaku's readership. #crime
@Marcos Velazquez: That's like saying that if someone gets killed over a pair of air-jordans then it should be reported on ESPN. The reason I dont object to this story being posted here is because it is an example of the general media blaming videogames for things that obviously had nothing to do with them and that is an issue relevant to gaming news/culture. #crime
I'm amaze at how people from the US assume that everybody will know each police department of the country and each crime type by the acronym. That certainly infers that you are very used to talk about crimes, which doesn't seem to be something very positive, :( #crime
@High Speed Indeed: He has a valid point though. I lived in Italy most of my life and no news source or media outlet ever uses acronyms to define crimes, they simply state what the crime is.
Yet here in the US, crime is pretty much the only thing the media talks about, and thus we need to shorten the crrime names so that we can say as many as possible in as little time as possible... #crime
Why do almost all of these stories start with the opening "The accused had been drinking...", and the attention is still on the "videogame" part.
I'm not saying prohibition is needed, as we all know it didn't work too well the first time it was tried.
But something needs to be done.
I don't want my hobby ruined for me because some totally wasted idiot rage-slaughtered a small village because he got fragged.
Question:
Would this story have the same cultural impact if it was an argument over a lost chess piece?
I think not. #crime
@Vecha: Tired of America's Solution to Health Care.: You know, that's something people don't usually like putting thought into. It's almost as though everyone in American can only see in black and white. #crime
@Vecha: Tired of America's Solution to Health Care.: Even so drink causes negative effects and can cause people to be more violent or stupid than they normally would. That's why courts and people do find intoxication or being on drugs to be a contributing factor to crime a lot of the time. Gaming doesn't do any realistic harm, it can get you in a bad mood if your in one but it doesn't turn a killer out of a reasonable man whereas alcohol seems to do that in some people. It's obvious not everyone on alcohol acts violent but it does effect enough people to be a problem whereas gaming is an obvious scape goat. Still alcohol may just do the same as gaming and make already violent and sick people then go on to do the things they wanted to do but then it's acting as a enforcement to there desires whereas gaming mostly satiates it instead.
There's more punch ups, throwing up and littering around pubs and teens loading themselves with alcohol than there is at your local game shop. Wonder why? #crime
"Still alcohol may just do the same as gaming and make already violent and sick people then go on to do the things they wanted to do "
I think some people should not touch the stuff. Just like I think some people should not play video games, or do drugs, or anything else that may mess with an unstable mind. #crime
@Vecha: Tired of America's Solution to Health Care.:
I wasn't blaming the alcohol, I was merely stating that if this story didn't have a videogame in it, no one would be interested in it.
Plus, how many times have you lost your inhibitions from a Halo marathon or Unreal match?
Rage from playing a game may lead to anger outbursts, but that could come from anywhere. Like loosing a sports match, or breaking up with a spouse.
But alcohol causes a change in the way you think and react. It's a drug, altering the perception of everything.
And more importantly heightening emotions. People that are hurt easily become depressed, even to the point of hurting themselves, people who care a lot become emotional towards others, and more importantly, and more appropriate to this story, people who are easily angered become dangerous.
The facts are that a man under the influence of alcohol took another life. And for what? A petty, inconsequential thing.
I do blame the alcohol this time, because it is the reason for the act. The lost videogame was just a match to the fuel.
But, the reason this is news, where all the countless other alcohol related killings/attacks are not, is because a videogame was involved.
Alcohol crime happens all the time, and no one sees it, but as soon as a "hook" is there suddenly the "hook" is the reason. In this case the "hook" was the lost videogame. #crime
Are people being a litt sensitive here? The news story as written in the Chronicle is in my opinion far from being "sensational crap". It's short and factual withouth any odd emphasis on this being the fault of video games. If the father shot his son after an argument about a toaster, the paper would write the exact same article (with video game being replaced by toaster references, of course). But I guess then toaster fan boys would also be in uproar. #crime
The shown painting is a little ironic, though appropriate.
It's by the Russian painter Ilya Repin and named "Ivan the Terrible And His Son Ivan".
That's, what Wikipedia is saying about it:
"In 1581, Ivan beat his pregnant daughter-in-law for wearing immodest clothing, which may have caused a miscarriage. His son, also named Ivan, upon learning of this, engaged in a heated argument with his father, which resulted in Ivan striking his son in the head with his pointed staff, causing his son's (accidental) death. This event is depicted in the famous painting by Ilya Repin, Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on Friday, 16 November 1581 better known as Ivan the Terrible killing his son." #crime
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A gun in the hands of the public would do more to curb violence then it would encourage it. If a criminal knew that more people were packing a firearm, I guarantee that things would get a lot quieter in a hurry. #crime
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Neither of these things caused this domestic tragedy. The guy is just an idiot. People kill people, no matter what outside enablers are involved.
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Let me share a bit:
A good friend of mine (I actually mentioned going to his intervention on Kotaku about 5 months ago) has a serious drinking problem. When he's sober, he's the greatest guy in the world. He's smart, caring, always willing to help a friend, and a complete pacifist.
Get him going on some booze and he begins telling everyone how much they suck, how awesome he is, begins yelling constantly, will talk over everyone so that no one else can possibly be heard over him, becomes physically aggressive by pushing people and getting in their faces.
His drinking, exhibited anger and frequency of blackouts got to be so bad that a few friends were worried that he was going to actually hurt them. So, we had an intervention. It was a cluster-fuck and didn't work. He lied about how much he drank and about how often he was getting drunk. People let it slide. It was one of the saddest moments of my life so far (and I've lived through some crazy shit, btw). Here was one of my best friends for 16 years and I now feel like, not only that I don't know him anymore, but that the type of person he has become is not someone I want to know.
After about 2 months of not showing up for shifts and forcing my roommate (another of his longtime friends) to come in and cover his shifts, making an ass out of himself around the customers (last night he was walking around shirtless with his fly down and screaming, "welcome to my world, bitch motherfuckers!"), picking fights with co-workers, being banned from drinking at the restaurant, and so on... it looks like he's going to finally lose his chef job. After everyone repeatedly giving him second, third, fourth, etc chances. They didn't call the cops on him because they didn't want that extra burden on him. Most places I've worked, if an employee or anyone started doing that shit, the cops would have been called almost immediately.
This will be the second job in a row where he's lost a prominent position because of his drinking and drug problems (the other was sous chef at a country club frequented by local politicians).
As for the man who shot his son; was alcohol to blame? No. Was the gun to blame? No. Was the individual in this story to blame? Yes. However, to try and say that he would not have shot his son even had he been sober is rather misleading and completely discounting the irrational and compulsive behavior people exhibit under high amounts of alcohol and during blackouts. Again, this doesn't excuse his actions, but given that he then fled the scene and engaged in a stand-off shows, to me, that he most likely had remorse and regret. Otherwise, why didn't he kill his wife, who was witness?
The man shooting his son was an impulsive action. He was angry and argumentative. The son tried to bat the gun away from him, making him angry that someone would try to usurp or hinder his authority, he became enraged, the kid ran and he shot his kid in the back. The shock and realization of his actions are, most likely, what caused him to run. #crime
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Forgive me if I am not as understanding when it comes to drunken bastards as I "should" be. #crime
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I know exactly where you are coming from. I have a few friends and a father who have major issues with drugs and alcohol. #crime
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Also, there is a huge difference between being a drunk driver and an alcoholic. The vast majority of DUI offenders are not alcoholics, but people who made poor choices.
But, whatever. Feel free to ignore everything pertinent I said because of some perceived slight. #crime
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And I didn't give a rat's ass if you knew my personal life story or not. I was just letting you know my view on it and where I was coming from. If you took offense at that, then I can't help that. Your world must be different than the world I come from. #crime
10/27/09
Why no one called the cops? Well, because that's not going to make the matter better. Despite what people might say, incarceration is purely about punishment, not rehabilitation. Calling the cops would only make a bad situation worse. Unfortunately, it's a matter of being between a rock and a hard place. You can call the cops and potentially cause more harm, or you can deal with it and, hopefully, try to mitigate the damage.
There's the theory of "hitting rock bottom", and most people don't want to be the one to cause that. Primarily because there is zero absolution that hitting rock bottom will == recovery. It's hard to call the cops on someone you've known and cared about for years on end. Especially knowing that doing so only exacerbates the situation.
As for drinking where he worked, it's common practice. Most restaurants give employees a discount on their drinks (as well as food). He was cut off from drinking there, but there's several other bars/restaurants within a few seconds walking distance. The GM (general manager) tried telling the nearby bars not to serve him, but they did anyways. In their mind, it's someone else's problems, not theirs, and they still get to make money off of selling drinks to him.
@relic1980: Funny thing is, there's no hardline statistical database for DUIs. However, from listening to public defenders and law enforcement, the repeat offender rate amongst DUI offenders is relatively low. This isn't to say that DUI offenders are not alcoholics, they certainly can be. But while MADD might like to say that all DUIs are the cause of alcoholism, it is vastly unfounded and lacks any proper evidence to prove such a claim.
Basically, there's no way to prove my point, nor the contrary. however, there is anecdotal evidence to support both, if one looks for it.
Don't give me this "your world must be different" bullshit. Pull the fucking butt plug of self-entitlement from out your ass. My world is NO different from yours. You make an apples-to-oranges argument and expect it to be some truth? Give me a break. A DUI does == alcoholism, and if you think it does, then you don't know shit about about the subject of alcoholism.
All you've stated is "you don't know shit. I know what I'm talking about." If you want to have an actual discussion, I'm all for it. But this "I know what it's really like, so fuck you!" exchange is mediocre high school bullshit that I don't care to entertain.
Again, I'm sorry for what you've endured. It's not easy and I understand where you're coming from. I've had 2 friend die from wrecks caused by drunk drivers. I've seen at least 8 people, first hand, ruin their lives through drinking. Throw in illicit drugs, and I got another 10 I could tell you about. My own personal life has been one hell of a roller-coaster in itself.
My main problem is that you are taking a VERY complex situation and problem and condensing it into "well, he was probably always an abusive shithead anyways." My position is merely that I seriously doubt, given the man's actions and responses after killing his son, that he would have done such a thing sober. Obviously, it's not alcohol nor guns at fault, but the individual. However, if it weren't for his alcoholism, I sincerely doubt this would have occurred. If he was always a cold blooded murderer, then why did he not kill the witness? AKA: his wife? This was obviously a crime of passion fueled by his lack of comprehension and reasoning due to his alcoholic impairment.
Nonetheless, if this conversation is going to devolve into some "whatever, you don't know how it feels!" pissing competition, then I see no reason to continue this discussion. #crime
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For instance, the guy who murdered my dad (and IMO, it was murder, simply because if you decide to drink and drive, it's your fault if you kill someone even if it doesn't fit the legal definition of murder) , got 6 months for vehicular manslaughter. The day he got out of prison, he went straight to the local bar and got hammered (one of the benefits of living in a small village is that you pretty much know who does what.).
But I am not going to excuse a drunken bastard. If the person decided to drink (preferably in moderation) in his/her home, or in a bar where he/she could take a bus or taxi home, or go home with a friend, or not get violent, I am not going to hold it against them.
However, the moment they do, in my eyes they are a drunken bastard and they should be put away. Period. And that includes my own brother, if he were driving and hit someone.
And you seem to make a lot of assumptions about a guy you know nothing about outside of my comments on a blog. Self-pitying? Nah, I haven't been into that shit since HS. But ultimately you can think what you want about me,
I won't care.
Or in other words, xin loi.
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My deepest condolences to the family.. #crime
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We arent angry at you AJ, we love you, just do what you do best girl and make this thread right;) #crime
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Yes, somebody died. And Kotaku isn't trying to make light of the tragety. But accusing Kotaku of trying to make this into a joke is taking things a little far, and I don't see how using a relevant piece of art factors into this little equation. #crime
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You see where I'm getting at? I have no problem with the image, in fact I was surprised AJ found it, but its kinda disrespectful to the family and those close to the kid, I really dont care about it, I just assumed the people of the kids family might not apprciate their trajedy being summed up by this artwork. #crime
10/27/09
You see where I'm getting at? I have no problem with the image, in fact I was surprised AJ found it, but its kinda disrespectful to the family and those close to the kid, I really dont care about it, I just assumed the people of the kids family might not apprciate their trajedy being summed up by this artwork. #crime
10/27/09
You see where I'm getting at? I have no problem with the image, in fact I was surprised AJ found it, but its kinda disrespectful to the family and those close to the kid, I really dont care about it, I just assumed the people of the kids family might not apprciate their trajedy being summed up by this artwork. #crime
10/27/09
I also highly doubt that the close friends and family to this kid are currently checking up Kotaku for the latest news. My regards go to the family, but political correctness really gets to me. It's like, naive viewer, meet the internet. #crime
10/26/09
10/26/09
First of all, this is something I believe belongs in the Kotaku gaming news blog. The kid was killed by his alcoholic father because he lost a game... how exactly does this not relate to videogames? Although the connection is a sad one, it's still there.
Also, how exactly is this hypocritical? Nowhere in the story are videogames given the blame for this horrendous incident. They clearly state that the father was heavily drinking and that he had a previous DUI record, which leads me to assume that his alcohol problem is to blame, not videogames.
Kotaku isn't just a GAMING blog, it's a GAMING NEWS blog. It would be downright hypocritical of them to censor this story and not post it up just because some people feel uncomfortable with it. #crime
10/26/09
Complex family issues beget tragedies under myriad circumstances. Video games happen to be a part of this family's culture, in one way or another, so it's reported on here because it's an event that happened in a family that shares some interests with Kotaku's readership. #crime
10/26/09
10/26/09
I am damned. #crime
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
Talking about DWI?
Well...there sure are quite a bit of DWIs in our country....sad, huh. #crime
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
Yet here in the US, crime is pretty much the only thing the media talks about, and thus we need to shorten the crrime names so that we can say as many as possible in as little time as possible... #crime
10/26/09
I'm sure they have DWI too.
They are different.
DWI- Driving While Intoxicated
DUI- Driving Under the Influence.
DUI can also be drugs...while DWI is mainly alcohol. #crime
10/26/09
You must never have watched Japanese new then... #crime
10/26/09
I'm not saying prohibition is needed, as we all know it didn't work too well the first time it was tried.
But something needs to be done.
I don't want my hobby ruined for me because some totally wasted idiot rage-slaughtered a small village because he got fragged.
Question:
Would this story have the same cultural impact if it was an argument over a lost chess piece?
I think not. #crime
10/26/09
Why does something have to happen to one thing, but not the other.
You find people who blame videogames for the problem to be ridiculous...then go and blame something else?
You aren't any better than those who point at videogames as the cause of all woes when you try to blame some external cause.
Not everyone on alcohol acts violent, not everyone who plays videogames becomes violent. #crime
10/26/09
10/26/09
There's more punch ups, throwing up and littering around pubs and teens loading themselves with alcohol than there is at your local game shop. Wonder why? #crime
10/27/09
"Still alcohol may just do the same as gaming and make already violent and sick people then go on to do the things they wanted to do "
I think some people should not touch the stuff. Just like I think some people should not play video games, or do drugs, or anything else that may mess with an unstable mind. #crime
10/27/09
I wasn't blaming the alcohol, I was merely stating that if this story didn't have a videogame in it, no one would be interested in it.
Plus, how many times have you lost your inhibitions from a Halo marathon or Unreal match?
Rage from playing a game may lead to anger outbursts, but that could come from anywhere. Like loosing a sports match, or breaking up with a spouse.
But alcohol causes a change in the way you think and react. It's a drug, altering the perception of everything.
And more importantly heightening emotions. People that are hurt easily become depressed, even to the point of hurting themselves, people who care a lot become emotional towards others, and more importantly, and more appropriate to this story, people who are easily angered become dangerous.
The facts are that a man under the influence of alcohol took another life. And for what? A petty, inconsequential thing.
I do blame the alcohol this time, because it is the reason for the act. The lost videogame was just a match to the fuel.
But, the reason this is news, where all the countless other alcohol related killings/attacks are not, is because a videogame was involved.
Alcohol crime happens all the time, and no one sees it, but as soon as a "hook" is there suddenly the "hook" is the reason. In this case the "hook" was the lost videogame. #crime
10/27/09
We are agreeing more than disagreeing.
I just believe that anything can cause problems with someone who already has problems.
I've never done anything totally different from the way I normally act on alcohol, however, alot of people I would assume do. #crime
10/26/09
10/26/09
It's by the Russian painter Ilya Repin and named "Ivan the Terrible And His Son Ivan".
That's, what Wikipedia is saying about it:
"In 1581, Ivan beat his pregnant daughter-in-law for wearing immodest clothing, which may have caused a miscarriage. His son, also named Ivan, upon learning of this, engaged in a heated argument with his father, which resulted in Ivan striking his son in the head with his pointed staff, causing his son's (accidental) death. This event is depicted in the famous painting by Ilya Repin, Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on Friday, 16 November 1581 better known as Ivan the Terrible killing his son." #crime
10/26/09
*nods* That's what it was. Thank you. This would've bothered me all day. #crime