Many people have made the accusation that Quake, and other, violent games like it, are to blame for many acts of violence. I admit without reservation that Quake is a very violent game, but I do not think that these people have much of an understanding of the human mind.

   Anyway, I find this rather stupid because there are innumerable people, such as myself, who play such games and do not become psychopathic killers, or indeed appreciably more aggressive. A friend of mine once said something to the effect that he did not play Quake because he liked killing people, but because it allowed him to vent much of that anger that accumulates during the course of the day, thus preventing him from actually hurting somebody. Someone else who has caught flak from these accusations is my favorite band (at this time, at least), the now defunct KMFDM. Quite frankly, I think that blaming the hobbies and musical tastes of crazed killers is totally moronic! I can understand using these common traits (the Columbine killers did both) as warning signs, for profiling purposes, but if one understands either Quake or KMFDM, then they'd stop blaming them for what, at the very most, are simply warning signs that something might be amiss.

(This pic is from a scanner, as you can tell from the plastic shining on the upper left, which you can click on to bid on a copy of it on eBay)

   These days (perhaps all days, but these suffice) people are far too quick to find, to need, blame for a crime, when Occum's Razor offers us more than enough. I am horrified by the actions of those kids at Columbine High, but I think that it may be almost as bad to villify things and people that are in no way responsible for these murders than to commit them. Truth is important, as is honesty. Pardon the ranting, I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

(Another one that's been scanned)

(My last scanned pic, Skold was in KMFDM)

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