Boris Johnson slams videogames

[wraggster]

via gamesindustry

Outspoken Tory MP Boris Johnson has declared that it's time to "garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation", blaming falling literacy rates on the rise of videogames.

In a recent opinion piece for The Telegraph, Johnson wrote, "Millions of seven to 15 year olds are hooked, especially boys, and it is time someone had the guts to stand up, cross the room and just say no to Nintendo.

"It is about time, as a society, that we admitted the catastrophic effect these blasted gizmos are having on the literacy and the prospects of young males."

According to Johnson, less and less children are enjoying reading and more and more students are arriving at university without adequate writing skills. He added, "I refuse to believe that these hypnotic little machines are innocent."

Johnson went on to quote figures stating that the number of computer games per household is higher for Britain than for any other EU country, and that 89 per cent of UK households with children own a console.

"These possessions are not so much an index of wealth as a cause of ignorance and underachievement and, yes, poverty," he continued.

"The nippers are bleeping and zapping in speechless rapture, their passive faces washed in explosions and gore. They sit for so long that their souls seem to have been sucked down the cathode ray tube.

"They become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious. These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory."

Although Johnson is not a regular commentator on videogames, he is well known in Britain for his controversial opinions on a wide range of topics. He has hit the headlines for describing George W. Bush as "a cross-eyed Texan warmonger" and Tony Blair as "a mixture of Harry Houdini and a greased piglet", and last year angered the embassy of Papua New Guinea by referring to "orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing".

He has become something of a cult figure in the UK, with some fans calling for him to become Prime Minister - but according to Johnson, there is as much chance of this happening as "my being reincarnated as an olive".

Another out of touch idiot blaming Video games when they should really be looking and education and upholding the law, always a $#@! trying to make a name for themselves.

[Shrygue]

That MP has better things to do than get rid of games consoles. It's simply a waste of time (and money) trying.

[Zargon]

Only way they can stop video games is to kill those that want to play them. He says that most of male teens play video games.
Translation--Boris Johnson wants to kill all male teens so he can destroy the human race!

[wolfpack]

hmm... these guys are getting crazier and crazier. i dont live in the UK, i live in the US but this still gives me the giggles

[Mc_Logical]

exactly this is just some damn MP who decides now 2 speak just because maybe its his job and he will get higher status if he pulls through this but like alot of this sort of $#@! never gets solved lol ppl known this 4 awhile and him saying sum1 needs 2 stand up 2 this????? lol yeah ok dude w/e u say u say that because u know it will get heard but we allready know lol ok ima idiot yes do i care NO!!! freedom of speach just like this $#@! , theres a thing called reality at the end of the day and hey lifes 2 short we all genna die some day anyway lol

[Hungry Horace]

a typical Tory point of view of things. the sad fact is, Johnson's party will probably still get voted in at the next electon

[shadowprophet]

Dont you guys see?
This isnt about some guy that cares about children..
This is abou some very selfish close minded individual that wanted to scream (WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS!!!).
Just so he can feel all important and bust a nut when he sees his name posted all over the news....
Just like jack thompson, and countless other empty shells of worthlesness out there......
This guy gets a hardy two thumbs down for not only being unoriginal, But for being a massive douche too...

[kcajblue]

why are there so many idiots trying to get rid of video games recently.

[Veskgar]

Outspoken Tory MP Boris Johnson has declared that it's time to "garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation", blaming falling literacy rates on the rise of videogames.

Parents, here is some suggestions:

Sony PSP: Mind Quiz

Nintendo DS Lite: Brain Age / Big Brain Academy

Video games are not the reason why schools are failing and kids are not responsible. Makes for a good excuse though don't it?

[sinjinn]

boris johnson is more of a comedian than a polotician.
seriously though, can he not see the flaw in his own reasonings?
has he not seen someone read a book? they just sit there and twitch . its the same thing , almost exactly . information is enters the mind through the eyes and the mind absorbs and reacts to it. the major problem he has is that he is part of the older generation. books have garnered this sort of status as being somehow intellectually superior than any other medium , but at its core all it is is information passing thru the mind. the new technologies come and change the way we absorb and interact with the information butthe principle is the same.
how many newspapers have you read? how much do u read about things that go on in the world? 10 minutes here and there , at the end it amounts to nothing. in the morning at teh train station you see people with newspapers reading the same stuff again and again. its a ritual, its soemthign to do, we all do it. at the same station you'll see people listening to music and playing ideo games. theres nothing scandalous about it .
anyway, in a couple of generations everything will be transformed. and i bet some of the gamers will be horrified by the latest newfangled stuff that is going to come out soon. and the kids will be livid. **** u gramps...go back to your video games