Congress: Rap is more concerning than video games

Chaos Swordsman | September 26, 2007 | News | Misc

Sure, video games have an impact on young, impressionable children and the occasional idiot like Jack Thompson, but to have a committee in Congress on them? I mean, seriously. Yes, the occasional child will get their hands on Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and think that it's perfectly acceptable to go around shooting people and stealing their cars, but such cases are few and far between. Rap, on the other hand, is more influential in that it's got a wider listening base as opposed to M and AO games, so it's more understandable for Congress to be looking into it.

What's next, a committee for how people use public urinals?

As reported by GamePolitics, Take Two interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick was among entertainment execs on the Congressional hotseat yesterday.

However, the members of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection generally seemed more concerned with rap music than video games.

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tallteen86 | September 27, 2007

Geh...

People should be less worried about games, and more worried about important international concerns, like...poverty...and the environment...and uhhh, HIV and stuff...

Certain Rap when exposed to minors excessively, can really created a skewed perception on what is socially acceptable and what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'...Imagine you're an impressionable kid who has not yet hit double digits...Imagine hearing about girls being referred to as 'hoes' and basically, sexual playthings, and that slapping them (or whatever) is OK...that would be pretty bad IMO...other related stuff involved in the less...pleasant (IMO) rap music, is similarly bad for children's minds...

With Rap, there is MTV, which any child who knows how to change channels, can find...Games? You got to PAY for those (or borrow them)...

But rap in itself isn't bad, just some of it has bad language (cursing), and negative portrayals of persons (usually women), or social/ethnic groups (like, African Americans/blacks as thugs/gangsters)...

On a developing mind, this is a bad thing for them to be exposed to...

It's up to parents, as usual, to make sure they are not exposed to that stuff...
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  Reenee | September 27, 2007
  
  quote
  But rap in itself isn't bad, just some of it has bad language (cursing), and negative portrayals of persons (usually women), or social/ethnic groups (like, African Americans/blacks as thugs/gangsters)...
  Some of it? Then why the hell is it blaring out out of cars most of the time when you're on the road? Or why you hear the "harmless" stuff the least of the time?
  
  I'd say this is a victory that we've moved from one scapegoat to another, more valid scapegoat.
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    tallteen86 | September 27, 2007
    
    Rap in itself is not bad. It is just, a majority of the music produced these days, is like that "Gangsta" stuff...
    
    Rap, as a music style, is basically just about the flow, not the words...These days, the words tend to be "Gangsta" type PG13 or R rated lyrics...
    - 0 thumbs!
      Chaos Swordsman | September 27, 2007
      
      Which is why it's more concerning than video games.
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Seeker X | September 27, 2007

I don't even want to touch this topic, but I do believe that music + peer pressure are the bigger influence over video games.
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huntyr | September 27, 2007

hmm, what about a rated-M video game that has rap only for the soundtrack?
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iLLmatic | September 27, 2007

I can't wait to hear the ignorant comments for this article. The one thing that people in society love to do, is generalize. They do not know, or care to acknowledge, that 95% of the rap you hear on the radio or see on TV today is fake. Its manufactured. Its a charade. These "artists" are portraying characters, because it sells. They are attention grabbers. These same ignorant "artists" are controlled by those cutting the checks, only to be lashed for their lyrical content later. Why don't they care, you ask? Because they are getting paid. Nobody cares about anything, as long as you get dead presidents. So while I'm sick to my stomach of what Hip Hop has become today, I place much of the blame on the sheep who buy their CDs. We all know its useless to blame parents these days.
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Synthesis | September 27, 2007

As much as I agree with all the things mention in the article, I don't think they should just look at rap, there are other music genres that have a negative influence on children these days.