The tragic shooting at Virgina Tech hadn't even been cleaned up before pundits like Jack Thompson were already placing the blame squarely on violent video games.
In response, gamer group Empire Arcadia is organizing an anti-violence rally to be held in Manhattan, May 5.
Fed-up with the bad rap given to video games after such incidents, the New York City-based community group states on their
website that they want to gather as many gamers as possible to "protest, morn and show how real gamers play videogames peacefully and responsibly."
To show this, gamers are asked to bring their Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance, Sony PSP or whatever portable console they play, along with their favorite games to link-up and play.
Dubbed "Fellowship of the Gamers," the anti-violence rally is set to take place at 1p.m. in Bryant Park on Broadway Avenue.
As of this writing, the group's
MySpace event's page shows 39 people planning to attend, but with all the media attention they're getting (this new item first appeared on
CNet) there may be many more.
The organizer (writing anonymously as TriForceGameMaster) is also encouraging similar gaming communities in other cities to hold their own rallies.
Following violent shootings, gun groups have always been quick to organize and strike back against the blame placed on the weapons, but this is possibly the first time the video game community has done the same.
On the Empire Arcadia website, the organizer writes that it's time for everyone, gamers and non-gamers to take responsibility and do something about senseless violence.
"As human beings we need to contribute and fight this violence with a solution," writes TriForceGameMaster.
