Destructoid has an interview with Brooks Brown, a Columbine Alumnus with personal ties to the shooters. Brown discusses his opinion on the validity of the Doom Deprivation Theory put forth by Oregon psychologist Dr. Jerald Block.
Brown claims Block’s theory is based on “massive inaccuracies” in the facts about the case. Brown was actually referenced several times in Block’s paper as a close friend of Klebold and because of the death threats he received from Harris prior to the shootings. Brown is the co-author of a book exploring the tragedy; No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine.
Brown told Destructoid:
Doc Block was wrong with his essential premise. He claims that Eric and Dylan were banned from their computers for quite a long time… we actually know factually they used their computers for games throughout that year and a half, as well as for various game editing, video editing, and writing. Other facts he gets wrong are how his parents treated him, how the police interacted, etc. The only thing I can say that he got completely right is that a shooting did happen.
I grew up with Dylan – my parents and his were good friends… He introduced me to Ninja Gaiden, and I introduced him to Mortal Kombat. He was my best friend… Once at Columbine, I met Eric through Dylan… we started fighting – personality mismatch… he threatened my life on the net, and started rumors around school that he was going to hurt me… My parents and I decided to call the cops… it ends with us burying our hatchet 4 months before the massacre.
[Dr. Block's] basic premise doesn’t fit the facts, the rest falls apart… Add to that his logic. Games create a world that people, when taken away from the world, murder children. Therefore, the games are not to blame. I beg to differ. While I agree with some degree of personal responsibility, if someone addicted to heroin robs a store to get his fix, heroin shares the blame. And if games are, as [Block] says, so addictive that kids can go through such extreme withdrawals they murder, games are to blame.
And everyone cheered his thoughts as pro-gamer?
via Destuctoid
2 Comments to Columbine Survivor Shoots Down Shrink's Doom Deprivation Theory
by: Peter
On August 20, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Pun intended on the title?
by: Meeshaw
On August 20, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Yes, its all violent video games’ fault. Not that they were bullied for years or because they had mental disorders; its all because they played Doom!
Where were the parents when they were making the bombs they planted at the school? Where the parents when they were shooting guns and practicing for the massacre? Why were they not monitoring their kids? Oh thats right, the boys were gamers. And we all know gamers are violent maniacs.