Videogames DO NOT Make People Shoot Up Schools!

I'm sure many of you have heard about the school shootings in Germany by now.  It's a tragic event, and my condolences go out to those families that lost a child.

But an article I read today really burns my ass.  In it, they report the shooting, place, names, etc. etc, but then at the end tack on this crap about "he played video games a lot and so that's probably why he did it. VIDEO GAMES ARE EEEEVIL!"

Uh, no.

This kid was obviously deranged, because normal people don't look at a videogame and go "Hmm, this is fun. I think I'll go shoot up a school!"  I've logged HUNDREDS of hours on just about every console, and I've yet to have homicidal tendencies.  If anything, games are cathartic.  If you're pissed off at your parents, you don't get a gun and shoot them.  You play GTA or Halo or something and blow away some pixels until you feel better.  

Also, my parents kept an eye on what games I played when I was younger.  I wasn't allowed to play hyper-violent stuff because they didn't think I was mature enough.  GASP! That's right, my parents actually monitored me and didn't let a TV do the child-rearing.  Thanks to that, I can tell the difference between reality and and pixels on my computer/TV screen.

Another thing:  He was baited and taunted in a chat room (again, no one's watching) when he mentioned his intentions.  Hindsight is 20/20, I know, but you would think a red flag would go up when a kid says "I'm gonna go kill some people."

ANOTHER thing:  He had a history of depression.  That right there gives me probable cause for the shooting.  

So, a mentally unstable young man who is an expert marksman and feels unwanted and inadequate brings a gun to a school and kills people in a horrific shooting.

But that's the fault of video games, of course.