Grand Theft Fire-Bomb

For years, video games have been the target of conservatives and much harsh criticism. And since the levels of violence in video games has risen, video games have also been blamed for many miscellaneous crimes. Critics say that children (and some adults as well) see the violence and crimes committed in video games and believe it is okay to do the same. And although video games sometimes seem like scapegoats for critics just needing something to blame, at times, the games may have influenced rash behavior. But then again, how can we tell what the truth is?

In the last couple weeks, there has been a spree of fire-bombings in suburban Georgia. After three cars were damaged with incendiary devices, three teens were arrested and charged with using Molotov Cocktails to set the vehicles ablaze. When questioned, they immediately blamed the Grand Theft Auto series for educating them as to the manufacture of such a device. Needless to say, this has fueled a great deal of debate and societal blame on video games.

Whether it was the suggestion that pixelated blood in Doom inspired the Columbine shootings or Mortal Kombat leading children organizing elaborate martial arts tournaments, video games have taken the role of the hidden coercive force initiating violence in otherwise stable adolescents. Now in this most recent case a popular gaming series that has already been attacked by the concerned parents of the country is filling this role. The confession of the kids is directly tied to the game because they claimed the blueprints for such a bomb were actually given away on the screen.

Now, at no point in the game is it explained how to build a Molotov Cocktail; rather, they come simply as a pre-made item. The actual design is so simple that anyone with a certain amount of common sense or a reasonably quick modem could figure this out on a commercial break. It is also hard to say that the mandate for the device to be used was created in the game because Molotovs have been in common use for destructive activity for decades, and the media representation of them has followed. Grand Theft Auto is not the first media outlet where these kids could have seen them being used, nor is it the first use of the Molotov in history (Molotov Cocktails have been in use since the early 20th century). No, the image of this simple bomb is well in the collective consciousness of American culture.

The basic answer is that they are providing a common scapegoat that has been used several times over the years to explain horrendous crimes. Instead of a deep social analysis as to the reason behind random acts of violence, as with the spree of school shootings in the last decade, video games were provided as an easy way to reconcile this behavior and create a perfect enemy to point a country’s grief and frustration. This method of passing blame was adopted by the kids who now hope to get a certain amount of sympathy for their crimes. After all, everyone already knows the real evil here, video games. Now these kids want you to know that they are just another victim of an artistic outlet bent on transforming our children into uncontrollable killing machines.

The truth is there is no simple answer why random crimes occur, but you do not need to blame a third-party for teenagers engaging in socially destructive behavior. It has been a common institution in teen development to strike out at a culture that they do not feel welcome in, and that is part of the reason that artificial worlds in video games have become a favorite retreat and outlet. Instead of just jumping on a popular franchise that models itself of popular gangster genre’s found in film and literature, try to look at social inequalities found in techno-capitalism that may lead youngsters to striking out when they do not feel at place.

Yes, video games have been shown to aggravate aggressive tendencies in young children who already have them, but not that they will go out and specifically commit acts of arson. When you are charged with fifty-seven felony counts, as these kids were, you begin to throw around excuses as well. So what is really to blame here, video games or society’s tendency to find a scapegoat for teens in need of actual help?