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Okay... sorry, I don't get it. Call me slow if you like. Someone's aunt likes you because she (probably mistakenly) thinks that her children are ignorant of the realities of war and that somehow you might be in a position to enlighten them.
Two points need to be made: 1. Not all gamers are young kids. 2. Not all young kids are as stupid as the world likes to think they are.
People who play games don't immediately think, as another letter writer has implied, that it's cool to do the things in real life that you accomplish in a game. This summer I played a bit of a game called Saint's Row, which is more or less a prettier version of the Grand Theft Auto games. The most amusing thing I did in that game was hijack a propane-laden semi and drive it head-first into oncoming highway traffic. I've also played Half-Life, a game that requires you to shoot up aliens, Marines out to exterminate your character, and black-ops assassins while you teleport in and out of an alien world. I've played the Thief series of games, sneaking through all manner of castles, manors, and crypts in the pursuit of wealth. I played Nintendogs, a game that allows me to raise cute little pixelated puppies and enter them into obedience trials and more. And, of course, I've played MMOs like Guild Wars and Star Wars: Galaxies, which have allowed me to play as a macho, brainless warrior and a shrewd merchant, respectively.
I'm a 3.8 college student looking at the seminary, a classical musician with all the awards and commendations I can stomach, a State AP Scholar for my home state. Whatever you non-gamers might think, please don't assume that I, or any competent gamer, would automatically think of ACTUALLY hijacking semis, blasting away aliens, stealing treasure from Medieval castles, entering the AKC championships, or devote my life to saving the kingdom of Ascalon by defeating the evil Charr. Having volunteered for environmental groups, left-wing activist organizations, church outreach programs and more since the age of 15, I also find it presumptuous that people assume that kids have no idea what's going on in the world. Come on, now. We see the news too. "Adults" are not as wise and worldly as they think they are.
Gamers are not stupid. We are not duped by the alternate reality that a videogame creates. We don't assume that a fun game about the Iraqi occupation makes joining the Army (or any branch of the military) a really good idea.
And at the end of the day, we're not going to listen to people who sermonize to us while we're trying to have a little escapist fun in this horrible, cruel, beautiful, amazing, divided world we live in. You can pray all you want. It will not change reality.
God bless
