Playing At Violence Summary

Violent video games have been a controversial topic ever since even the classic hits like Doom or the original Mortal Kombat to modern blockbusters like Counter Strike and Grand Theft Auto. As they are often enjoyed by young audiences, they have been blamed, with little evidence, to cause everything from anti-social behaviour and increased levels of violence to school shootings and youth gang activity. Often the individuals who make these claims have never played video games themselves and have natural biases to video games either because of their own past experiences or from lack of knowledge on the subject.
In the article Playing at Violence, Pacifique Irankunda tries to relate violent video games to the culture of violence he experienced during the civil war in Bhundi. His story is told in the first person and be begins in a Deerfield Academy dormitory where he, a survivor of the civil war in Burundi, is perplexed on why his dormmate,
Irankunda extensively describes his experiences during his time in Bhundi. The author shows signs of being traumatized by his experiences. of being challenged by one of such conditions caused by his traumatizing past experiences. as such I agree that some activities, such as playing video games, may trigger memories to past trauma and that the author was in the right to choose not to play the games himself. It makes sense to personally avoid activities that may trigger lasting memories to past trauma.
Pacifique talks extensively about a “culture of violence” he experienced while in Bhundi. He stated he knew “ that violence can become almost a culture in itself, and that it twists not all but many of the people who are trapped in it. Of course, not all the children who grew up in the war became violent. How you responded to your own resentments, whether you seethed with thoughts of revenge, how your parents, neighbors, and friends responded to the bloodshed—all of these things helped determine your own taste for violence.”