With the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 this week, traditional news outlets — FOX, MSNBC, and all of those other chumps — are jumping at the opportunity shift the blame for gun violence directly onto Rockstar's newly released sandbox game. Blaming "violent video games" like GTA 5, or Call of Duty, is nothing new for the mainstream media (who really doesn't understand the gaming industry). As we've already written, violent games are being blamed for the recent Navy Yard tragedy.
What you don't hear about, particularly from outlets like FOX, is how a game such as Grand Theft Auto sometimes helps save lives. As reported by Breakfast Television, two brothers who were out late Monday night (for the midnight release of GTA 5) helped save the live of a 70-year-old man who was trapped inside of his home during a housefire. The two brothers helped break down the door (obviously a skill they learned while playing video games) and, upon being forced out by heavy smoke, called 9-1-1 for fire rescue.
Obviously, violent video games taught them everything they know.
Okay, in all honesty, Grand Theft Auto 5 didn't save the this man's life. Brothers Colten and Luke Rybuck did. They are the ones that deserve to be commended because they are the heroic ones who rushed into danger. But it's that same reasoning why "violent games" like GTA 5 don't deserve the blame directed at them for gun violence. It's not the game that makes someone act-out, whether in bravery or insanity. The games don't give someone the power to break down a door and save a life or go on a shooting rampage.
If we are going to blame video games for violence, let's at least praise them for the good they bring. But most of all, let's give credit where credit is due: Colten Rybuck and Luke Rybuck are heroes.
