Don't Let One Bad Apple Ruin the Bunch

If you know me personally or have been keeping up with my blog, then you know that I am "A Gamer." Meaning I play video games quite frequently. I would say that it is my number one hobby, although I don't jump into it as far as others, I greatly enjoy the games and the entire industry.

When I read stories about people using video games as an excuse for doing terrible things, I always wonder why this hasn't happened to me and my friends. I've played games as tame as Mario Paint and as violent and brutal as God of War and the Grand Theft Auto series, including everything in-between. Why have I not yet gone on a violence binge? How come I still can't even think about purchasing a gun? Why is it that I haven't been "trained" by these violent games into becoming a cold-killing machine? I would think that it's because video games are not the reason people are doing the things they are doing. I don't know if it's parenting or that our younger generation is just really that impressionable from violence in the media. I would tend to lean towards the first.

Now, I absolutely love my parents. They have given me every opportunity to become an upstanding citizen in our society by nurturing, not spoiling, me throughout my adolescence. I strongly believe that parenting is a large part as to why these kids are flying off the handle left and right. Mind you, I do not have any children yet so I cannot speak to the difficulties of parenting first-hand, and I'm sure that every single scenario is different. But I would think that if it was strictly the video games, wouldn't I be some psycho killer too?

I don't know the solution for this (if I did, I'd be more rich than Dr. Phil!), but I hope that more and more people prioritize family values in front of video games and TV, especially our young people. Now that I'm off my soap-box once again, here's the story that got me off on that tangent. And again, don't let this characterize what "Gamers" are in your mind. The vast majority of us are quite normal and polite!

Here's today's Web Waster:

Zilok - This site allows you to rent anything online. Maybe you have a project that needs to get done around the house, but you don't have the proper electric saw to get it done. It's far too expensive to buy the drill for just this one job, so why not just rent it for a day for $20 and get it done! There are so many different categories, it's ridiculous. Pool tables, tools, electronics, appliances and more. Better yet, put your stuff up for rent and make some extra dough!