A "veteran" talks about war video games

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:42 pm

http://www.mediumdifficulty.com/2012/03 ... e-in-war/
Someone hooked me up with this article, and I'm just not sold on it. The picture he paints, doesn't strike me as correct. So Iwas gonna ask some guys who've been there, done that. Whattaya think?

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:20 pm

Setting aside whether you like what he has to say, I think there's a strong point to be raised to stop confusing modern military deployments (and the military/personnel that undertake them, as well as the circumstances that breed them) and historical ones (read, WWII and others). Everybody feels happier when we think we're just killing mean ol' nasty Nazis.

On the context of video games, yeah, that's about my opinion of the Call of Honor/Medal of Warfare crowd of games.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:38 pm

I'm on the way out the door, so I've only briefly read this article and while I think some of it has merits-some of it also very clearly bullshit in my personal experiences- I'd like to read it more before I sa one way or the other anything else.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:25 pm

Obviously some people commenting on the article posit that the author isn't really a veteran-something that is at least plausible. However, it is also plausible that he's also some sort of veteran; maybe even with combat experience who then became a "private military contractor." I'm going to avoid that whole discussion, and simply assume he is who he says he is, and address the things I feel are worth commenting on.

I do agree that many video games portray a more glamorous portrait of military life, and "combat." However I guess isn't that the point? I mean it seems unlikely you'd sell too many supply chain based video games. I guess I understand why we seem to want our entertainment to be responsible, as it were, at times. However I guess I feel like sometimes over the top, irresponsible fun is what often attracts us to stuff like Vice City and Call of Duty.
I agree that often the military controls what the people on the other side of that screen see, but I'm not sure how that makes them noticeably different or worse than...well anyone or anything.
I agree that often stress can affect people, often in a variety of unsavory ways. However I also counterbalance that with the fact that a lot of people are morons, or fucked up even before they get in a dynamic use of force situation. (Combat!) Was the guy who's parents locked him in a closet and beat him with a belt whenever they felt like it better or worse when he had to light up a Panamanian Patrol when his airborne unit dropped in on the Airport? I'll bet it didn't help, but there was a lot going on even before that happened.
I'm not sure the word sociopath means what he thinks it does.
I chuckle, and grudgingly agree that often heroism is accidental, or coincidental-however some people really are just those guys. They're few and far in between.
I get why he's appalled by the collateral damage in combat (His story about the terrorist who uses a woman and child as body shields, and the cat who forgets about them even existing.) However that's actually often as not a defense mechanism. People forget stuff because if they didn't they'd go frickin' nuts.
I'm not sure his description of "uneducated maniacs" who have no other place is entirely fair or even accurate, but I can see where some people could argue it, or even feel that way.
I get the many people volunteer, and I get what the implications are of that fact, but I'm not sure in retrospect that any of us really got what we were volunteering for

PTSD...I'm not going to get too bogged down on this, but everyone has their own way of coming into contact wit this, and handling it. It's not easy on a good day, and can be much worse on a bad day.

My initial thought is that this guy is some sort of fraud. Whether it's because he's just a douche, or because he's not a real combat vet? I have no idea.

paladin2019 · Post by **paladin2019** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:26 am

DrunkenMaster · Post by **DrunkenMaster** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:56 am

After reading Serious Paul's post, I pretty much agree with everything he said. I'll only highlight one thing.

This dude writes like he has cast himself in a certain role and is writing to live up to it. Whatever, how he gets his jollies on the internet is his business. However, his speaking for all infantry and SF personnel is bullshit. The U.S. military is as varied as the population it recruits from. Infantry and SF is skewed somewhat, i.e. they've all got dicks, but outside of that bit of anatomy, the demographics represent most every race, religion, politics, orientation, education level, and background. His idea of who is to the left and right of him is skewed because of who he believes he is and how he frames his choices.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:16 pm

Serious Paul wrote:I do agree that many video games portray a more glamorous portrait of military life, and "combat." However I guess isn't that the point? I mean it seems unlikely you'd sell too many supply chain based video games.

Yeah, this is like complaining that Law & Order doesn't give a good representation of police: yep, it doesn't. Nor did The Odyssey give an accurate representation of what it was like to come home after a war. Fantasy makes lousy reality, and sometimes, when people forget that, they can forget that their fantasy figures aren't like the real men and women those fantasies represent. We should school ourselves and those around us to keep fantasy and reality nice and distinct.

I mean, duh.