Examining the link between video games and the so-called “Beltway Sniper.”

“It’s easy to see where TV network news-types can easily point the finger at [video games like] Counter-Strike: Players can choose to be 'terrorists' and a 'realistic' sniper rifle is one of the weapons gamers use to achieve their team’s goals. However, there’s quite a difference between 'realistic' gameplay on a video game by clicking a mouse and actually shouldering a sniper rifle. News readers for most TV network have often never held any type of gun in their lives and many are ardent advocates of disbanding the National Rifle Association. Few news readers have no idea the skill and determination needed to accurately sight in a target and pull the trigger on a deadly weapon. That’s tough to do. By contrast, many news readers know all about sitting on their rears and clicking the mouse button. That’s easy.”

The Liberal Media, with their agenda for total Socialism, fail to note that it is their very political bent which is at the heart of more murder in the 20th century than from any other cause. So, naturally, they want to deflect attention away from that fact, and what better way to do it than to find someone or something else to blame. Socialism is a disease, and these events are but symptoms.

Players can choose to be 'terrorists' and a 'realistic' sniper rifle is one of the weapons gamers use to achieve their team’s goals.

Or, players can choose to be the 'good guys' and use those same weapons and skills to take terrorists out, which is in fact what the whole plot of the game is about anyway.

I am not a game player at all, and I am unfamiliar with any of the video games, either the arcade machines with their more realistic weapons or the home analogs that use a mouse or joystick to substitute.

But I think that arcade and other games (such as paintball) that train participants to find targets, aim, and fire quickly - all very desirable skills in combat - also help to remove the inhibitions we almost all feel about taking human life. This topic was explored pretty thoroughly by Colonel David Grossman in his book, "On Killing".

Not surprisingly, normal people don't like to kill other people. They delay, aim away, or simply fail to fire at targets of opportunity. This has always been a problem for modern armies to overcome, and much thought and effort has gone into overcoming this reluctance through training.

Much has been learned. Instead of bullseye targets on standard firing ranges, recruits now fire at pop-up targets in various situations. And they learn to see, aim, and fire very quickly, without thinking about the effect of their action, or even engaging their moral sense.

But now we are extending this kind of training to the general population, and particularly to young people that favor these games for amusement, but learn the lessons at the same time. Anyone has access, whatever your mental - or moral - state. For the vast majority of us, it is not a problem, and can even be considered beneficial, for the instance when you might be confronted by a home invader.

But what about the others? I am no advocate of banning the games, but I think that parents need to be aware of what their children are doing - for real, and "just pretending."

It is 7:15 p.m. Central. The founding member of Delta Force was just on FOX with his theory of who is doing this. I was wrapping baked potatoes to put in the oven, but what I could hear includes

--this is someone who is a "wannabee" sniper
--this is impossible for it to be just one person; it has to be more than one
--this is someone who is fixated on creating "realistic" sniper situations
--this is most definately NOT Al Quaeda

SOUND FAMILIAR?????

A "good guys" anti-terrorism game is more easily encapsulated in the Tom Clancy "Rainbow Six" line of games. "Counter-Strike" is really more of a free-for-all where experienced players are aware which maps give the terrorists advantage and choose their alligance accordingly.

Much of what the column is based on is the fact that a sniper in the real world cannot cheat with "scripts" and "aimbots" like the lion's share of Counter-Strike players are wont to do.

If you play without those cheats - good, so do I. However, you can't be blind to the fact that there are a whole lot of CS players that DO use all kinds of cheats...

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