RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Just what we need - another report of a%$+&&&s that mentions D&D and videogames. I came across the following article late Sunday (7/15) morning.
Nev. Couple Blame Internet for Neglect
By Associated Press
Sun Jul 15, 4:11 AM
RENO, Nev. - A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.
The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said. Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care, prosecutor Kelli Ann Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence.
Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.
"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration.
Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection. His lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking, investigators said.
The Straws have been given public defenders. Jeremy Bosler, head of the county public defender's office, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Saturday.
Michael Straw is an unemployed cashier, and his wife worked for a temporary staffing agency doing warehouse work, according to court records. He received a $50,000 inheritance that he spent on computer equipment and a large plasma television, authorities said.
While child abuse because of drug addiction is common, abuse rooted in video game addiction is rare, Viloria said.
Last month, experts at an American Medical Association meeting backed away from a proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder, saying it had to be studied further. Some said the issue is like alcoholism, while others said there was no concrete evidence it's a psychological disease.
Patrick Killen, spokesman for Nevada Child Abuse Prevention, said video game addiction's correlation to child abuse is "a new spin on an old problem."
"As we become more technologically advanced, there's more distractions," Killen said. "It's easy for someone to get addicted to something and neglect their children. Whether it's video games or meth, it's a serious issue, and (we) need to become more aware of it."
Just what we need - another report of a!@%~%%s that mentions D&D and videogames. I came across the following article late Sunday (7/15) morning.
Nev. Couple Blame Internet for Neglect
By Associated Press
Sun Jul 15, 4:11 AM
...
Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.
Unfortunately, this is common stuff here in Spain. Not that parents don't provide proper tuition to their children, but gamer community being accused by media of terrible deeds just because of being...gamers. For example: "Several tombs have been opened today in local cementery. Police suspects of some kind of role-playing game" or "He killed his parents with a katana trying to emulate his online character". Surprisingly, no media seems to notice that of all the reported "crimes" commited by "gamers" in the last 25 years, just one was related to games :in 1994, two kids who were playing a role-playing game of their own invention, called "Races", killed a man on a bus stop in Madrid. Further trial proved both of them were psichopaths and racists, and the game was just an excuse to kill, not the cause. Anyway, media have constantly accused spanish gamers (specially role-playing ones) of all sort of foul crimes, without any evidence or confirmation. This is something we have fought against all these years, but is really difficult when you ask your own family or non-gamer friends and they say things like "well, gamers are weird people: you sometimes scare me".
Media know accusing a gamer is cheap. At least in my country.
daedel, el azote.
Last month, experts at an American Medical Association meeting backed away from a proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder, saying it had to be studied further. Some said the issue is like alcoholism, while others said there was no concrete evidence it's a psychological disease.
This is a tragic thing, but God I hate it when we slap the words psychological diease on everything. I don't know if my heart is to small or if I'm old school. If you get addicited to a video game you are a weak person, grow up. I have more lenience for alcoholism and drug use, but I still think you are a disgrace. I have both in my family. I know what it does to your family and friends. I don't give a flying flip about the user, die, but when your children get hurt, you have failed as a parent and a human. Get over it or get out of peoples lives and go drink or shoot up in a ditch. I know it's not always easy. I'm all for rehab, but being an alcoholic, drug user, or video game junkie (which is BS), does not wash you of past sins. I feel in today's world we give people lables to make them feel better, and to give them some thing to blame. It's never the person's fault. I was an addict. It was the bottle. It was the nose candy. It was the key board. Bah.
Fizz
I'm sorry if that ruffed anyone's feathers, but I'm tired of passing the blame. Which is society's fault not always the user's.
I hope they get the maximum sentence and both are sterilized. Child neglect/abuse is one of the most despiccable things there is, IMO.
...abuse rooted in video game addiction is rare...
At least they didn't say anything about "but it's a growing problem that needs to be dealt with" or some crap like that. Actually, I'm shocked they didn't.
I hope they get the maximum sentence and both are sterilized. Child neglect/abuse is one of the most despiccable things there is, IMO.
Here, here. Especially the sterilization bit.
It is horrable of what they did, I play Video games, I am not one of those people who stares at the TV with a controler in my hand playing for 5 to 10hrs. People should do something else (like draw, read, just go outside,or in there case take care of their children.)
thing, but God I hate it when we slap the words psychological diease on everything. I don't know if my heart is to small or if I'm old school. If you get addicited to a video game you are a weak person, grow up. I have more lenience for alcoholism and drug use, but I still think you are a disgrace. I have both in my family. I know what it does to your family and friends. I don't give a flying flip about the user, die, but when your children get hurt, you have failed as a parent and a human. Get over it or get out of peoples lives and go drink or shoot up in a ditch. I know it's not always easy. I'm all for rehab, but being an alcoholic, drug user, or video game junkie (which is BS), does not wash you of past sins. I feel in today's world we give people lables to make them feel better, and to give them some thing to blame. It's never the person's fault. I was an addict. It was the bottle. It was the nose candy. It was the key board. Bah.
Fizz
I'm sorry if that ruffed anyone's feathers, but I'm tired of passing the blame. Which is society's fault not always the user's.
You probably said that a bit stronger than I would, but I agree with you basic sentiment. It seems these days no one is willing to take responsibility for their own actions, instead looking to find something to rather be a "victim" of.
I think we would find society functions much better when people take responsibility for their own actions, and accept the consequences like a man. (or woman as the case may be).
It is horrable of what they did, I play Video games, I am not one of those people who stares at the TV with a controler in my hand playing for 5 to 10hrs. People should do something else (like draw, read, just go outside,or in there case take care of their children.)
I go on the computor for hours at a time, but I don't neglect other important stuff completely, nor do I have kids.
The article really didn't say anything bad, even if it didn't correctly identify the game (presumably D&D Online). Seemed by and large factual to me, not a hatchet job.
To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. The main thing the reporters are guilty of is not realizing that there might be a difference between Dungeons and Dragons and DDO.
On my world reactionaries existed only as a medical experiment to ascertain the effects of severe oxygen deprivation on those unlucky enough to be born with only half a brain.
Once the study concluded we held a celebratory cookout. The reactionaries were simply delicious. To taste is to die.
*Sigh* I hate stories about children being hurt. That said, it seems to me that poor parents are just that, poor parents. It isn't going to matter what the distraction was, something was always going to be more important to them then their kids, it was a case of screwed up priorities. A parent who puts anything above the health of their child needs help, regardless of whatever "addiction" they claim to have.
Looks like I am a couple of hours late.
I just hate that these parents have kids and treat them so poorly, and a friend I work with just had to deal with her child dieing the day after Mother's Day. It was a SID thing. he was like 6 months old. My friend would have given her child anything. Why should these two people be allowed to have their kids? Why do crack babys get to live and good people's kids die from nature?
On a brighter note maybe Hasbro will freak out over some bad PR and tell WotC to sell the D&D brand to everyone's favorite publishing company??
Palladium?
:p
Addictions are bad, mmkay?
Palladium?
Do you really want Palladium's "Yeah, we'll publish this book by X date" when X date was three, four, five years ago to come into the D&D/Paizo world? I sure as hell don't.
Back to the topic - I'm with Greer on this one. It's stupid, tragic, and the crucifying of games (any games, be it RPGs or computer games) because somebody committed a criminal act who played them pisses me off. Not only do the journalists fail to accurately research, it gives the rest of us a bad name.
Addiction is addiction folks, it takes many forms. Addictive personalities will become addicted to something - it's sad that kids almost died because of it. F+@~ up your own life, it's yours to do that with, but the second you start affecting someone else - get the hell off the computer, jackass!
FWIW, the DDO community (of which I'm a part of) isn't pleased about this either, and are up in arms about it as well. As someone pointed out, journalists tend to paint anything with swords and fantasy creatures as D&D. :|
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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*Sigh* I hate stories about children being hurt. That said, it seems to me that poor parents are just that, poor parents. It isn't going to matter what the distraction was, something was always going to be more important to them then their kids, it was a case of screwed up priorities. A parent who puts anything above the health of their child needs help, regardless of whatever "addiction" they claim to have.
It may not "matter", per se, but I'd considering it poor reporting if the activity the parents neglected their child for wasn't mentioned in the article.
*Sigh* I hate stories about children being hurt. That said, it seems to me that poor parents are just that, poor parents. It isn't going to matter what the distraction was, something was always going to be more important to them then their kids, it was a case of screwed up priorities. A parent who puts anything above the health of their child needs help, regardless of whatever "addiction" they claim to have.It may not "matter", per se, but I'd considering it poor reporting if the activity the parents neglected their child for wasn't mentioned in the article.
Very true. I just hope that people see that it wouldn't have mattered what the addiction was, people like that are going to find any excuse. I agree with Lilith on this.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I work full-time. I have a World of Warcraft account. I have a character who is level 68. I play in THREE pen-and-paper RPGs a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). My wife also has a World of Warcraft account and her character is the same level as mine. She's a full-time mom.
Our daughter is the poster child for cute, wonderful, healthy children. Despite all of our so-called 'distractions' we manage to perform (in my opinion) very well in our parental duties. There is no priority greater than one's family. I have zero sympathy for these people. They deserve the maximum penalty.
I don't care what the addiction is, you don't neglect kids.
Does that still apply when kids are the addiction? On my world, children, once atomized and placed inside mist cannisters, are rendered into a fiercely sought narcotic called . Very few make it to adulthood.
I don't really see it as blackeye for D&D. It's a blackeye for videogames maybe.
I mean,, if these people were playing D&D, an actual human being probably would have come over to their house and reminded these idiots to feed their kid.
While child abuse because of drug addiction is common, abuse rooted in video game addiction is rare, Viloria said.
Child abuse (IMO) is most often due to the parents being worthless piles of cow manure.
Of course (as others have said), nowadays it's more popular to externalize blame for a person's failures.
Child neglect is horrible, and those parents should be severely punished.
However, I think it is total b#!#@%$$ that they quote D&D as a game that made them neglect their kids. It's not a video game! They just used that name because people would recognize it, and because people already think it does bad stuff to people.
Luckily, these boards are proof that being on the computer often and playing D&D have nothing to do with child neglect. Just look at the "Whoa..I'm A Geek Moments" thread or the "Some Happiness in Your Life" thread to hear about how loving the people around here with kids are to their kids.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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However, I think it is total b!%%~~#% that they quote D&D as a game that made them neglect their kids. It's not a video game! They just used that name because people would recognize it, and because people already think it does bad stuff to people.
Actually, I think they were playing D&D Online... which is a video game and does bear the D&D name, unfortunately.
However, I think it is total b!%%~~#% that they quote D&D as a game that made them neglect their kids. It's not a video game! They just used that name because people would recognize it, and because people already think it does bad stuff to people.Actually, I think they were playing D&D Online... which is a video game and does bear the D&D name, unfortunately.
Oh yeah. I didn't think about that. Well D&D Online is very different from D&D. It would be like comparing WoW to D&D. They should at least mention that it is D&D Online.
People like these are the reasons why guns and shovels were invented.
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As the father of one adorable 2 year old girl, with another baby on the way, I have to say that these two worthless piles of s--t need to be taken out for a dose of southern justice...my personal suggestion would be Florida style... take them out to the middle of the swamp, cut the achles tendon, then let the gators handle it from there...
oh by the way my wife and I are both gamers and we always put aside our games for our daughter, I don't see how anyone could do any differently...
on a slightly unrelated topic, and correct me if theres already a thread about this, did anyone mark the passing of the greatest villian in the lives of old school gamers, the reverand Jerry Fallwell(spelling?)... it's probably vicious of me but I did a little jig
game on
...nor do I have kids.
And it's a good thing, too. Muahahaha.
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on a slightly unrelated topic, and correct me if theres already a thread about this, did anyone mark the passing of the greatest villian in the lives of old school gamers, the reverand Jerry Fallwell(spelling?)... it's probably vicious of me but I did a little jiggame on
I literally did a happydance when I found out he had died. I did the same when Jack Valenti got recalled back to hell. Yay!