Uninformed… but not necessarily Ignorant

Video Game Media Watch posted a minor rant in response to an editorial published in the Dixie State College of Utah’s collegiate newspaper.

It’s obvious that the Dixie State writer is misinformed about the video game industry and especially about the games that they specifically cite.

Since I am also living in Utah at the moment, I’d like to shed some light on the paragraph Kyle at vgmwatch.com quoted above and I’ll translate for the Utah-impaired.

I am not what most would call a feminist;

Around here, feminist pretty much just means “radical militant femi-nazi”. Either you’re a militant feminist, or you subscribe to Ferengi attitudes towards the fee-males. So, she’s just saying that she isn’t a militant.

I don’t fight for equal rights

In Utah, there was a lot of opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment that was a big deal in the late 70’s. If you are fighting for “equal rights” then you obviously support the ERA. There is still stigma attached to that phrase because of the very strong feelings members of the LDS church had about the ERA.

I truly do believe there are some things men can do that (most) women can’t do and I’m OK with that.

Why does anyone have a problem with this? It’s true. The converse is also true, that women can do some things better than men. *GASP* Men and Women really are different!

I don’t know how we, as a society, can sit back and let video games teach our children how the world should be.

Whenever a writer starts talking about “we, as a society” I start putting up my guard. I don’t think that “we, as a society” do anything. We are individuals. Independent, free-thinking, money-spending units. Sure, there are trends and influences, and people can act as a unified group, but I have a problem when someone starts talking about the societal whole acting as one. Just say, “I don’t know how anyone could sit back and let video games teach their children how the world should be.” Okay?

In summation, I can kind of see where the writer is coming from, as I’m not a big fan of using sexually charged materials to sell something. However, vgmwatch.com is correct that the writer is uninformed about video games. Would her viewpoint be taken more seriously if she had gotten her facts straight?