cooldudebro (CON)
Hello! Good luck!
Case 1: The Case Against Censorship
What is censorship?
Censorship is the case when a country or ruler prohibits the sale/ownership/manufacturing of certain products. This means that whatever they deemed fit would be censored. The First Amendment reads as follows:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." (2)
By censoring certain media such as games, you would be violating the first amendment; which was made to guarantee us freedom from oppression. Censorship would violate the first amendment as it would violate their right to freedom of speech. Once the flood gates that hold back censorship is opened, the government and people alike can censor anything that they deem "obscure". This is exactly what communist Russia did.
"The Provisional Government that succeeded the tsars in March 1917 abolished censorship. However, two days after the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917, they reintroduced censorship and extended it to films, art, and music. Though labeled a “temporary measure,” censorship lasted until the late 1980s. Even labels on bottles were subject to censorship; the knowing eye could discern the censor’s individual number, stamp, and date of issue. Violation of censorship rules could be construed as “divulging state secrets,” a crime punishable by imprisonment.
Soviet censors worked with a large volume called Perechen’ svedenii ne podlezhashchikh opublikovaniiu v otkrytoi pechati (List of Information Not Suitable for Publication in Open Sources). It was informally referred to among censors—many of whom were Jews—as the “Talmud.” Among the items “not suitable for publication” were crime statistics, reports of natural and man-made disasters (such as airplane crashes), price increases, individual incomes, the names of many officials, and the identities of their spouses. The censorship system was administered by Glavlit, established in 1922 as the Chief Directorate for Literature and Publishing Houses at the People’s Commissariat for Education (Narkompros). Immediately following the Bolshevik Revolution, works on Judaism and almost all publications in Hebrew were banned. Foreign Jewish literature was strongly censored in the 1920s and thereafter. By the 1930s, the list of forbidden subjects included Lenin’s Jewish ancestry on his mother’s side. Although in 1936 work critical of antisemitism was passed by the censor, at the same time Jewish themes began to disappear from Soviet prose and poetry, except in Yiddish. By 1938 brochures critical of antisemitism that had been published just a few years before were removed from libraries. The recording of Lenin’s 1919 speech condemning antisemitism was removed from record sets. It was reported that a six-cornered star, used as an illustration in a geometry text, had to be excised before the text could be published." (3)
As you can see, the people did not want censorship. They tried to repeal it many times. However, it took them many years until the censorship was finally removed. This oppressed the people; and made them ignorant to many beautiful pieces of art and literature. Censorship greatly reduces freedom and our ability to learn.
There is a funny meme that is known as "The Streisand Effect". It is mocking Barbara Streisand for her mess up when it came to censorship. When private photos of her leaked, she jumped to censor them. However, this act just made the pictures more popular. This leads me to my last point for this case. Attempts at censorship will just make that piece of media more popular. If you ban all violent video games, people will disobey and play them more than ever. You can't regulate it as well since they will now be illegally made and bought. (4)
Case 2: There Isn't A Good Reason To Censor Violent Games
This will be a very short argument; but with a lot of evidence. Evidence shows violent games do not affect humans negatively. (5) (6) (7) (8)
"Annual trends in video game sales for the past 33 years were unrelated to violent crime both concurrently and up to four years later. Unexpectedly, monthly sales of video games were related to concurrent decreases in aggravated assaults and were unrelated to homicides. Searches for violent video game walkthroughs and guides were also related to decreases in aggravated assaults and homicides two months later. Finally, homicides tended to decrease in the months following the release of popular M-rated violent video games.""Finding that a young man who committed a violent crime also played a popular video game, such as Call of Duty, Halo, or Grand Theft Auto, is as pointless as pointing out that the criminal also wore socks." (5)
With this overwhelming evidence in support of my position, it would be foolish to claim that video games cause violence or delinquency in our society.
Case 3: Games That Would Be Censored
Let me go over my favorite first!
Saya No Uta:
Saya no Uta (translated to Song of Saya) is a horror and romance visual novel made by Nitro Plus. This visual novel is very violent and has rape. However, the story is one of the most beautiful pieces of media I have ever read. It even brought me to tears.
It's about a man named Fuminori who got in a car crash and almost died. They perform brain surgery on him. After the surgery, he sees everything distorted. Everything beautiful and clean looks ugly and smells horrible. It follows his decent into madness until he meets a girl named Saya. He falls in love with her. As the story progresses, (will avoid spoilers just in case anyone wants to play) Fuminori goes deeper into his madness as he realizes a certain secret. It's a horror visual novel about unconditional love.
Does this beautiful story of romance and horror as well as its impact deserve to be censored just because of the violence it has in it?
On top of that, places, like Japan, that have the most lenient censorship laws in the world have one of the lowest crime rates. Despite animated incest and child porn, (10) Japan has close to the lowest rape rate in the world. (11)
Censorship is suggested to lead to more crime and a "forbidden fruit" complex which make people more likely to do a bad act. Without censorship, it is suggested that there are lower crime rates. My point stands. Vote Con!
1. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/censorship
2. https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
3. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Censorship/Censorship_in_the_USSR
4. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-18458567
5. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/violent-video-games-dont-lead-to-increases-in-viol/1100-6422421/
6. http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/08/27/in-new-study-video-games-not-tied-to-violence-in-high-risk-youth/58934.html
7. http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/23/study-violent-video-games-do-not-cause-real-violence/
8. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/05/10/video-games-dont-cause-children-to-be-violent
9. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/01/25/editorials/crime-rate-dips-again-in-japan/#.V7OTf4-cHIU
10. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/18/japan-bans-child-porn-but-excludes-manga-anime.html
11. http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Violent-crime/Rapes-per-million-people
Return To Top | Posted: 2016-08-16 10:36:27
| Speak Round
MaddyBear164 (PRO)
Judge: lannan13
Judge: Bi0Hazard
Judge: fire_wings
This could be argued for in a different way. Most people would assume that censoring means the government examines games and removes whatever is inconsistent with the legislated morality. However, parents can censor too. People can examine games themselves(being the censor). This is really a debate on whether violent video games are unhealthy for society/people. Otherwise, censorship is pointless. Posted 2016-09-03 07:17:45
No, it should never be done. The harsh realities have to be taught to the people. That is what hones the character of a man. Strong willed, tough yet good human is what a society strives for. Hence, presenting violence to kids in popular media is not that bad. Posted 2016-08-19 21:57:42
@Zer0
And what does that meanPosted 2016-08-18 13:55:32
Its supposed to mean what it means.Posted 2016-08-18 13:28:43
@Zer0
and what's that supposed to mean?Posted 2016-08-17 18:36:11
Fine, No wonder why your the way you are.Posted 2016-08-17 16:05:06
@Zer0
Go on... Finish your sentence.Posted 2016-08-17 10:05:21
@cooldudebro
"I played my first rated M game at 6 and turned out just fine."
No wonder why your..............
Oh wait, never mind that.Posted 2016-08-17 08:14:55
Call of Duty: CENSORED Posted 2016-08-17 08:13:52
Lol funny I think they need to be sold in a way similar to cigarettes, hidden out of view and in a locked cupboard bought over the counter so kids don't ask their parents for the game hahaha and only to people a certain age and up with id proof lolPosted 2016-08-13 16:56:02
@MaddyBear164
the debate will start soon. Bye bye.Posted 2016-08-13 16:51:49
lol i gtg anyway my laptop is gonna die its on 5% so ya ttyl lolPosted 2016-08-13 16:50:42
@MaddyBear164
I played my first rated M game at 6 and turned out just fine.Posted 2016-08-13 16:46:50
Lol funny I think they need to be sold in a way similar to cigarettes, hidden out of view and in a locked cupboard bought over the counter so kids don't ask their parents for the game hahaha and only to people a certain age and up with id proof lolPosted 2016-08-13 16:45:37
@MaddyBear164
*Gasp* How dare thee threaten my games XDDDDPosted 2016-08-13 16:38:48