Whilst rummaging the GAF I came across this thread (via GamePolitics) about a new law just passed in Venezuela, which bans the sale of “any violent videogame”.

I couldn’t help but be struck by this quote:

Venezuela’s parliament has approved a law that lumps in toy weapons with videogames and bans the import, production or sale of both groups of items within the country.

The law was approved late last week and will go into effect within three months, reports Russian news agency Ria Novosti. The law features strict penalties of up to three to five years of incarceration for each offense. Previous reports also claimed that campaigns would be launched to warn about the dangers of videogames and that Venezuela’s consumer protection society would have full decision making abilities over what games to ban.

On BoingBoing, a 26-year old Venezuelan gamer named Guido Núñez-Mujica has penned an article detailing his distaste for the new law, even in the face of government harassment that could emerge from his public denouncement.

Some excerpts:

“This law makes selling video games to anybody actually worse than giving real guns or cigarettes to a minor, or even forcing him or her to work, as you get less jail time and lower fines if you do any of those things.”

“These games are a cherished part of my life, they helped to shape my young mind, they gave me challenges and vastly improved my English, opening the door to a whole new world of literature, music and people from all around the world. Now, thanks to the tiny horizons of the cast of morons who govern me, thanks to the stupidity and ham-fisted authoritarianism of the local authorities, so beloved of so many liberals, my 7 year old brother’s chances to do the same could be greatly impacted.”

“But I’d rather go to jail than betray the gamer culture, partially responsible for making me the person I am today.”

Kind of takes your breath away, doesn’t it.

Guido Núñez-Mujica is absolutely right, of course. And further to the excellent points he made, I would add that a truly responsible approach to dealing with violence and the violent tendencies inherent in humans simply must address explorations of violence throughout history. You can’t just ignore it. There practically is no history without violence.

Sometimes I really do wonder what it will take to put the interactive entertainment industry on equal footing with the film industry, in terms of ratings and clout. The money’s there. Do they just need better lobbyists? The phrase “dangers of videogames” goes routinely unchallenged. I still have yet to see any research or study that is remotely compelling, much less proof and a fait-accompli assumption. Germany is the usual culprit in this regard.

Remember the snarling over Manhunt for Wii? These precious soccer moms didn’t want to see their colourfully bright Wii section corrupted with the likes of this. The stabbing and maiming with the Wii Remote, my god, what will it do to our kids?! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for children to play Manhunt. That shit’s fucked up. I’m specifically addressing the root argument which states that interacting with violent content is worse than simply watching it. A notion I completely reject, and seems unsupported by credible research. By the same argument, Michael C. Hall would be in mortal danger of becoming a socioopath for playing one in Dexter. All acting of “violent” characters would be far, far worse than even the (naturally bad) violent videogames. Because after all, you are really trying to get into the killer’s mindset there, doing all the motions… it’s obviously damaging to a healthy mind, is it not?

I wish Guido luck. What an infantilizing legislative move. He can take some comfort in the fact that it will be practically impossible to enforce.