For decades now, politicians and the media have been looking for things to blame when it comes to gun violence, with video games often targeted as one of their favorite scapegoats.Video games are blamed whenever a mass shooting occurs; in the 1990s,Doomwas blamed for influencing the Columbine school shooters, and nowFallout 4is said to have influenced Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, according to a recent report byInside Edition.
In its coverage of the Michigan school shooting,Inside Editionpointed out how Crumbley’s Instagram stated, “Now I Am Become Death, The Destroyer Of Worlds. See You Tomorrow Oxford.” The reporter then says that the quotation can be found “in a gory video game,” showing a clip ofFallout 4where the characterNick Valentinesays, “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Of course, this completely ignores the fact that the quote does not originate inFallout 4and is one of the most famous quotes of all time.
The quote comes from the ancient Hindu scriptureShrimad Bhagavad Gita, famously repeated by theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer after he helped create theatomic bomb. It’s entirely possible that Crumbley saw the quote inFallout 4and had no idea that it was first spoken by Oppenheimer, but the quote did not originate in Bethesda’s open world game.
Video games have been blamed for real-world violence pretty much since they originated, and it doesn’t look like that trend will stop anytime soon. Despite the mitigating circumstances surrounding the Oxford school shooting (like Crumbley’s parents buying and giving him easy access to a gun),Inside Editionstill implied that Crumbley was influenced byFallout 4to shoot and kill multiple people at his school.Inside Editionalso showed videos where Crumbley talked about other violent games he owned likeBattlefield 4,Call of Duty, andGrand Theft Auto 4.
While mainstream media has been known to pin the blame on video games when mass shootings occur, it’s usually politicians who do it. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have publicly condemned video game violence and have tried to make a connection between games and mass shootings. Multiple studies have shown that there isno major link between video game violence and real world violence, but this hasn’t seemed to stop anyone from pointing the blame at games.
Politicians have suggested that something might be done about violence in video games and movies in response to mass shootings, but nothing has materialized so far.Video games are protected by the first amendment, and it seems unlikely that will change.
