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Town near Sandy Hook launches $25 violent video game buy-back
A Connecticut town thirty miles from Sandy Hook will give people $25 to incinerate their violent video games.
Southington, Connecticut is encouraging owners of violent video games to deposit them in a local dumpster near a drive-in movie theater, so that the games can be collected and destroyed. In return, the local Chamber of Commerce will give participants $25 gift cards to be used toward purchases of non-violent entertainment.
The Violent Video Game Return Program has the backing of a diverse coalition of groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, fire department, board of education, as well as town officials and clergy members.
The program was born out of a desire to respond proactively to the recent shooting at Sandy Hook elementary that left over 20 children dead, which some say was caused in part by violent video games.
Southington schools superintendent Joe Erardi hopes the program will prompt parents to talk to their kids about violent video games.
“There are youngsters who appear to be consumed with violent video games,” he said in a statement. “We’re asking parents to better understand what their child is doing. Have a conversation about next steps.”
RightWinger
January 4th, 2013
The town will run out of money shortly once they find out that people have been running to the game stores in the neighboring towns and buying old used copies of violent video games for $5-10 each and trading them in for $25 gift cards. Even if they limit it to 1 game a person, they will spend a small fortune doing so.
Eleanor in Hell
January 4th, 2013
Violent DVDs will be next.
F.D.R. in Hell
January 4th, 2013
Is this the same town that burned Beatles record albums in the 1960s?
Eleanor in Hell
January 4th, 2013
Franklin, those were Elvis Presley records.
Lucifer says they should have burned Guy Lombardo records. He hated that slogan: “The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven.”
Noelegy
January 4th, 2013
This makes me think of a scene in the dystopian graphic novel series, “Transmetropolitan.” It’s set in the future, and the scene in question shows a bunch of kids entering a high school through some kind of scanner. One of the kids is apprehended and told that the thoughts “kill,” “die,” and “gun” were in his head, and he was being thrown out of school. As he’s led away, he protests, “I saw an action movie last night.”
Noelegy
January 4th, 2013
Oh, and President Gary “Smiler” Callahan reminds me very strongly of Barack Obama, which is funny, because the series was published over a decade ago.
old_oaks
January 4th, 2013
In the words of Nancy Pelosi; “Bless their hearts, they act upon their beliefs.”
Now leave me out of it!
shakazulu
January 4th, 2013
I have a few I can’t get rid off I’d like to contribute. Borderlands was fun for only so long…maybe I’m just not violent enough at heart?
Stranded in Sonoma
January 4th, 2013
I’m with @RightWinger on this one. GameStop has old video games for $1 or $2. I see an enterprising family of four (parents included) buying a cheapo game and turning it in for the $25. They pool the money and go buy two copies of Sniper Elite V2, one for each kid.
Gov’t do-gooders = schmucks spending our money
Tom Mannis
January 4th, 2013
This fits well into the anti-Demand A Plan stories. So well, in fact, that I must now link to this post in my own humble and inferior blog.
Unneutral
January 4th, 2013
Yep, they have all the answers.
What’s wrong with discipline in the schools and at home, along with a healthy dose of Christianity and love of country?
marleenna1959
January 4th, 2013
What’s next, book burning?
Carlos The Jackal
January 4th, 2013
Next they’ll be burning books.
Volumes by Robert Ruark, Jack O’Connor, Jeff Cooper, Elmer Keith, and probably Hemingway & Twain will be first.
Immortal Fish
January 4th, 2013
Fahrenheit 451. Art imitates life?
F.D.R. in Hell
January 4th, 2013
Burn books??
You’ll have to pry my copy of HUCKLEBERRY FINN from my cold, dead fingers.
Oh, wait…
Jorel Lives!
January 4th, 2013
I have played Resident Evil 5 so much that I must have slaughtered 500,000 zombies by now. Try to take the game away from me, and you won’t have time to become a zombie. Hehehehehe!