Manhunt 2 Banned, to Face Trial

We discussed the possible British ban of the Rockstar video game, Manhunt 2, just the other day. I said then that I wasn't sure when the whole thing was actually going to trial, since this has been brewing for several years now, but it appears the ban, momentarily lifted, has been reinstituted.

While some may decry this as a matter of free speech, I just can't buy that. On the other hand, I also don't accept that when it comes to pornography. You just can't pick and choose which subjects - or people - you apply the law to; either the law is applied uniformly or it cannot be applied at all. And while there is obviously a difference between outright violence and porn, that line is becoming more and more blurred with each passing day - but that is not my point.

No, my point is: how can you say that Manhunt 2 and similarly violent material encourages violence without saying that pornography encourages irresponsible sexual behavior and the objectification of others? Or even rape?

I agree that if these types of games fall into the hands of minors, they can be dangerous, but let's be honest: how many adolescents do you know who would rather play a violent video game than watch a porno? In an overcrowded Western world where the prisons are overflowing with those who turned to crime because they were unwanted children who suffered abuse and cruelty and were ignored and outcast by society as a whole only to find acceptance from the "bad element," which is truly more dangerous: a violent video game which may possibly be indirectly linked to the murder of a single boy, or an entire industry which can be directly linked to underage pregnancy, rape, murder, drug abuse, suicide, and a host of other crimes?

Don't get me wrong: I am not advocating violence or murder, for goodness' sake, and I am certainly not suggesting this poor family's loss (or the loss of that young man's life) is in any way excusable; I am suggesting we keep this in perspective. You cannot apply the law to one person or subject differently than you do similar ones.

I don't live in Britain and I don't play video games, but this does remind me of the 1980s, when heavy metal musicians, including Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest (both British bands), were brought to trial for similar reasons.