Is your child an Online Racist? Online gaming in America.
I have been online gaming for about 15 years and racism became a part of it the minute that communcation in-game was made a reality. Online gaming is my Golf, just like many others who play golf it is a means for relaxation, camaraderie and networking for me. I play and have become very good at the small number of games that I play regularly, I love the time I spend online "fragging" my friends. Give me a couple free hours and odds are I will be playing some first person shooter game or other linked over the Internet with a few of my clan members. Online gaming, currency trading and bicycling are my hobbies.
(A clan is a group of buddies who all wear the same prefix in front of their online Moniker, I am Husla3x so online my in-game name would be displayed as (HOOD)Husla3x. Funny how a "Clan" seems to partner with racism, even in innocent situations...?)
You have for the most part been able to communicate through text and in the last 10 years voice, with other gamers while playing online. The incredible popularity of gaming consoles over the last 10 years has given us instant voice chat through bluetooth headsets, wireless microphones and other forms of new media attached to online gamin. This has made internet gaming, through, xbox and playstation the latest form of social intervention. I told my wife in 1995 that gaming would become a new community, and it has, with all the pros and cons.
Pros: A great time, high technology and fun interwoven to allow you to connect with friends over the world wide web and play cards, games and communicate.
Cons: Unsavory characters also have access to the fun and strive to make your online "hobby" a less gratifying experience.
If you were to take 15 minutes and listen in on your child playing online you would be shocked and appalled (hopefully) by the racial terms thrown around like no harm no foul. The phenomenon is in no way a new trend, it has been going on since I have been online gaming, all 15 years. What is more surprising is that the racism trend in online gaming is rising, steadily and in great spurts. If you or your child ame online, they have heard racial remarks at a surprising frequency. I over-heard my own kid explaining to a friend exactly what a "Jigaboo" was. They had overheard a guy calling another player that. He said the guy even asked the other guy, and this is an exact quote, "Do you know how many of you ***gers my great grandfather owned and killed?"
Never-mind the fact that my child knew what a Jigaboo was (hurt my heart) I did not even know what it was, I had an Idea but not enough of an idea to explain or give a definition to another person. He explained that he looked it up on Google and found a website with a complete list of racial slurs, thank you website owner, You should not be proud of yourself. I can't speak for every parent but I never thought that allowing my child to play video games would subject him to a racist environment.
And for the record, the kids tossing the disgusting words around are only mimicking friends and what goes on in their little circle of family and friends.
This article is just another reason why a good parent should be vigilant on monitoring all of your childs online activities. Whether they are online on a computer, phone, gaming system, PSP or any other internet device that allows them to communicate in an anonymous fashion on an come one come all forum. Gaming is surely the Number 1 most racist arena in America.
Please stumble this post. It's instant and helps.
PLaystation 3 Blog
Online gaming blog.
3 comments:
EXCELLENT post. I too am an older online gamer (in my 30's) and I too am an internet safety advocate (see my blog: http://blog.pcpandora.com/) and yes, I too am absolutely appalled at the ridiculous racism that spews from these little brats mouths. But when you have a group of immature teenagers (online or at the mall), you re bound to hear some heinously ignorant sh*t.
Hi Child Predator News Web Administrator,
I was searching for information on home security, landed on your site, Child Predator News, and have really enjoyed reading through your articles and postings. Your site is extensive and well maintained as well as visually appealing.
I have a site that deals with personal and home security; http://www.personalsecurityplan.com . I don’t sell anything; I just post relevant information.
I think your readers would find my site useful and wondered if you would like to link to me. The sites are complimentary and we would both benefit from linking. I would be happy to contribute an article or guest blog post in return, as well as promoting your site with my Twitter and Facebook contacts.
Please contact me at personalsecurityplandotcom@gmail.com and we can discuss the idea.
Warm regards,
Lucas Gregson
I agree with you Pcpandora but the rest of you guys are saying nothing I can understand as I do not speak mandarin.
Post a Comment