Actually, the most likely encouraged behavior is ‘sitting on the couch, playing video games’.

😉

Compared to that, the violence is very detailed, smooth, and well-animated. It’s no wonder this game is selling so well.

Or, to take the example to an extreme, suppose you had a game that rewarded the player for 1) doing drugs and 2) blowing up a city. Which is worse? If the question is “Which behavior is worse in an absolute sense,” then of course the answer is “blowing up the city”. But if the question is “Which bad behavior is this game most likely to encourage”, then the answer is “doing drugs”.

I do believe it’s been said that sex involving kids is bad, as is exposing kids to sex or encouraging them to have sex. I don’t see what is so wrong about that.

This presumes that real world sex and real world violence are equally bad results. This unspoken (but implied) conclusion is where your argument falls apart.

Sex, in general is a positive thing. Even most religions approve of sex (albiet with a prerequisite marriage between the participants). Most people will have sex at some point in their lives. Sex can be a bad thing when it isn’t consensual (Not having seen the Hot Coffee mod ‘in action’ I presume that the sex portrayed in not rape), or when diseases are transmitted.

Violence, however, is usually frowned upon. There are some instances where violence is not considered a bad act, such as with self defence, or controlled violence of sporting events. The initiation of force (which players often do in GTA) is nearly universally considered a bad thing.

If nothing else states that sex is more preferable than violence, lets look at the most notorious side effects of each. With violence it is death. With sex, the creation of life is the most notable side effect.

Life is preferrable to death. Therefore sex is the lesser ‘evil’.

I actually never said that GTA should ever be banned or censored or controlled in any way shape or form. I’m merely making a case that the sex in GTA is worse than the violence in GTA.

Otherwise, I agree that censoring and fining Rockstar is a bad idea. I do believe that, based on principle, it would not be fair, and is authoritarian. I also agree that such controls of content should happen at the family level, and no where else (except in cases where we can agree that it’s just plain wrong, like kiddie porn.)

Premarital sex and pregnancy is _down_, largely because (despite media hype) parents by and large do their jobs and kids by and large are stronger than we give them credit for. Again, this isnt about that, its about not liking something and needing an unconscious excuse to make it go away. Yes some people abuse alcohol, yes some people abuse food, yes some people abuse sex. But we dont outlaw booze, food, and sex, because frankly life would be a lot less sweet without them. Ask the Afghans. Dont want your kids playing GTA? Heres a wild idea DONT LET THEM, and if somebody elses kid is allowed to, tell yourself what you tell your kids YOU’RE NOT THEIR PARENTS.

When I was a teenager, my upbringing and religious convictions made it easy for me to decide that I would not have sex before marriage. Actually KEEPING that commitment was very difficult, however, and was made still more difficult by the ease of access to sexual material on TV shows, magazines, and the Internet… even if you weren’t even looking for it. How much more so for someone who WAS drinking it all in as fast as possible!

Look at it this way: people who have an overweight friend who just LOVES food but is struggling to stick with a diet would naturally be sympathetic to the struggles that person faces. Their friend gets bombarded with countless ads on TV, magazines and billboards for delicious food, or is tempted just by walking down the street and smelling the wonderful aromas. Those are temptations that are hard to resist. People understand that.

So should it be any mystery that teenagers struggling with their blossoming sexuality should NOT be put into a position where their sexual appetites are stirred up and encouraged? Where casual sex is presented as perfectly normal, fun, and very cool?

You wouldn’t stick a box of Krispy Kremes under the nose of your dieting friend. Can you therefore understand why some of us object to Rockstar sticking GTA (Hot Coffee or not) in front of the eyes of kids?

Via Carnival of Gamers, blogger Finster at Top of Cool offers a response to some defenders of vendor Rockstar Games, whose surreptitious inclusion of a graphic and interactive copulation sequence in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas brought…

First of all, for the most part, the violence in Grand Theft Auto is not ok. However, I am a big believer in defending oneself.

On the same hand, I believe sex is something that needs to be handled responsibly. It is not a “bad thing”, but I do think that those who do not have a healthy or responsible attitude towards sex usually find themselves facing the consequences of what they believe to be a harmless act.

But we’re talking specifically about children here, and there is something fundamental about the nature of sexual activity and violence when it comes to children. My kids are going to encounter the schoolyard bully at some point, they are going to be exposed to violence at an early age whether I let them play video games or watch TV. Inevitably, they will experience or see an act of violence in the real world. At an early age it is my responsibility as parent to equip them to deal with violence in an appropriate manner. They need to know that it is ok to act in self defense or in defense of others, but it is NOT ok to be the schoolyard bully themselves.

At the same time, you don’t see too many schoolyard hookers, at least not until middle school. So the answer is yes, I am shielding my children from sex. Why the rush to strip them of any innocence the world might leave them? Not to mention, violence is relatively simple to explain. Protect yourself and protect your friends and family. Don’t be the one who starts a fight, but be the one who finishes it. That is it in a nutshell. How do you explain sex in simple terms?

Quite frankly, I believe that a minor needs a certain level of emotional and mental maturity before the concept of sex can really be understood. That does not give parents a pass to simply let them find out themselves though, or let the schools teach them. (Yeah, ’cause their non-offensive methods will just be soooo effective).

But hey, regardless of whether GTA: San Andreas is rated M or AO, it is still not suitable for kids either way, so I feel the arguement is somewhat moot. I wonder about any parent who thinks a game named after a felony is going to be ok for their kids.