I don't know what's more surprising, someone in US politics not immediately jumping on top of an easy scapegoat or whether it's recognising the success of other countries in combating an issue. Cultural satire, folks.
Sitting in on an interview with Chris Wallace over at Fox News Sunday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told viewers that she'd work to use federal money to fund research into the effects of video gaming and exposure to other forms of violent culture. This follows on from the clearer public interest in examining the media that we choose to consume in the wake of recent tragic shootings.
Her judgement was questioned by the host who informed audiences that "We don't need another study", following with the pointed attack of: "we know that these video games, where people have their heads splattered, these movies, these TV shows — why don't you go to your friends in Hollywood and challenge them? Shame them, and say, 'Knock it off?'". It's unclear at this time whether conjecture from an angry irrelevant man-shaped suit can be submitted for peer review.
Following Wallace's statement, Pelosi replies "the evidence says that, in Japan, for example, they have the most violent games and the lowest death mortality from guns. I don't know what the explanation is for that except they may have good gun laws."
As stated over at the Huffington Post, there's no correlation between countries that play the most games and perform the most shootings. There's even possible evidence to suggest that the inverse is true.
