ON VIDEO GAMES, RALPH NADER AGREES WITH WAYNE LaPIERRE
(updated)

Politico decided to ask Ralph Nader how he's feeling as the second Obama inaugural approaches. Nader says he's anticipating "another rendition of political bulls--," and goes on to grumble about the lack of bankster prosecutions, the drone war, and the fact that the minimum wage hasn't been increased.

Fair enough (although isn't there, um, another political party that bears some of the blame of this?). But then is Nader is asked about Obama's gun control proposals -- and whether out of sincere disgust or just an absolute refusal to give credit to anything Obama does, he denounces the president for not doing anything about video games -- y'know, just like Wayne LaPierre.

Obama’s plan doesn't go far enough on the violent video game creators [Nader] called "electronic child molesters."

"We are in the peak of [violence in entertainment]. Television program violence? Unbelievable. Video game violence? Unprecedented," Nader said.

He added: "I'm not saying he wants to censor this, I think he should sensitize people that they should protect their children family by family from these kinds of electronic child molesters."

Well, that ought to get Nader another of his many appearances on Fox News.

Of course, violent video games are played all over the developed world -- but only in America do massacres like Sandy Hook happen on a regular basis.

So, OK, Ralph and Wayne, let's assume you're both right. Let's assume that violent video games really do inspire the desire to imitate the violence in some players. That doesn't seem to be a problem in other countries, because in those countries you simply can't imitate the shooters, because you can't get access to the weaponry. So you can no more imitate the games than you can go out and deal with your own zombie apocalypse. The games are pure fantasy for players all over the world -- except in America where (maybe) they're imitated because they can be.

So even if video games are being imitated -- and there's still no convincing evidence of that -- the problem is still the availability of guns. So you're wrong again, Ralph.

*****

UPDATE: For what it's worth, note this about Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old who's charged in the shooting deaths of his father (a minister named Greg Griego), his father's wife, and three of their kids in New Mexico on Saturday:

[Greg] Griego reportedly served in Desert Storm, and Nehemiah told neighbors he wanted to be a soldier. He always wore army clothing and camouflage, but he wasn't allowed to play violent video games, according to one neighbor, since the boy's parents didn't allow anything "dirty or violent" and limited TV watching.

Reports say the five were "fatally shot multiple times with a 'military-style' assault rifle and other weapons."