Gaming, Slashdot article, and the US High School shootings

ChungKing

Hi all,

I'm a tribes player, & put up the following post in the tribes forum, but thought it might get some interesting comments from the forum thats generated 10000 posts plus!

Basically it involves an article about the shootings (url provided) plus some US experiences of my own - see what you think, as this stuff, while being in america, is close to the bone for many gamers/internet people - especially those in school who are not financially/parentally independant.

Cheers, Ck

I got sent this url (by my DAD I under the title 'DONT MISS THIS SPELLBINDING ARTICLE & MAILS' I might add) :

slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/04/25/1438249

It's a slashdot article - a MUST READ if you give a damn about gaming & kids & all the stuff going on in america following the columbine high school shootings.

If not, stop reading here

Basically it's an editorial by the slashdot guy, on the aftermath of the shootings & how the real issue isn't how games are turning kids into killers, but that, after the shootings, the 'alienated/different kids' are being even more alienated, abused, and tormented. The article includes some pretty scary emails from such kids.

Now, I have irish parents & grew up going to schools in denmark and spain & my last 2.5 years of school were in an american high school in minnesota before coming to college in dublin. Let me tell ya, it was a fuppin harrowing experience. And I was a lucky guy.

Basically, no one knew what to make of me on arriving - I was of normal size, normal looks. Dressed normal. Had no horrid disfigurement. Wasn't fat. All I mean by this is that there was no obvious way to categorise me or to pick on me. And the movies are real - US high school has a class system more similar in it's rigidity and harshness to the indian caste system of old (which still exists to many extents), than the tired british one. Jocks, geeks, fries (druggies), popular group, elite group, band group, blah blah- they all exist and inter-group relations are not good.

So - arriving, wondering where the hell I should be, I tried some sports, but wasn't good enough to be a 'jock'. Wasn't into computers at all then. Didn't take drugs - liked beer & missed the bars of Madrid & hated the tyranny of the american 21 system. Plus, here I was talking about places like Madrid, Copenhagen, dublin - I still remember the glazed look in their eyes. They had no idea, so I escaped much of the torments of life there. My best friend was a new arrival from st. louis & even tho he was wealthy & good looking & dressed in label clothes - it still took him 1.5 years to be accepted by the 'popular' (read reasonably normal) group. He wasn't trying out to join & didn't give much of a damn, but these people were the ones most like us & still there was this 'vetting' going on in the background. I got tentative acceptance about the same time as him - what this means is that we both avoided the 'hazing' going on & eventually started getting invited to parties & having a chance with some of the girls, etc.

So - my point is :

If you've read this far & are interested, read the article - it's good and creepy (the fascist undertones of US life - not the kids)
If you are a non-conformist, computer geek or otherwise 'different', be thankful you missed a world of sh1te that most US schools offer... (tho I understand Irish schools offer their own world, but that's another topic for discussion)

cheers,

chungking

[This message has been edited by ChungKing (edited 07-05-99).]