Correlation something something causation?

I think we aught to go over the list of things that weren't contributing factors to the mass shootings over last weekend: violent video games, trans rights, the right to choose, illegal babies (whatever those are), Antifa, the Democratic Party, Critical Race Theory, acknowledging to children that LGBTQ+ people exist, and the concept of universal health care. Now, as for things that do contribute to mass shootings lets see...

"Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's on the tip of my gun...
uh, tongue...wait, is it student debt loan forgiveness?

Pokémon card stampedes, shootings, you know,
the only common element here is white dudes.

I mention this again because of this article on Kotaku, which links to a clip from a Fox News interview in which host Jon Scott suggests that shootings have gotten much worse because of violent video games. Which, sure, it's the traditional Right-wing deflection. Granted, there really is some seriously mess-up up content in video games but there has never been a credible link between video games and real-world violence. Unless you count grown ass adults trampling each other to buy Pokémon cards. And I really think we should...

"Why isn't everything like it was the 50's?"

-Boomers

But this is Fox News, the people that brought us such hard hitting exposés as their piece entitled "Sex Box?" in which they invited panelists to discuss how depraved all the sexual content that wasn't in Mass Effect was. Like, they actually sat around discussing things that were never in the game. Because Fox is basically a forum for old white guys to rage performatively about shit they didn't care about until they found a way to be racist about it. Remember when they lost their minds over a Miles Morales? 

Anyway, what really surprised me about Scott's "interview" was just how he asked Criminology Professor Bernard Zapor for his thoughts on how video games are to blame:

Yeah, but also guns? Because guns.

"I think of what must go though the minds of these people, like the guy yesterday who is accused of shooting up that super market. He's eighteen years old. His whole life was in front of him and now his life, essentially, is over because of what he decided to do...I wonder, you know, it seems these things have gotten so much worse since video games became so realistic and violent."

-Jon Scott, evidently for real with this

Which, not even a question, but whatever, couple of things: the shooter isn't so much accused of this crime as he 100% packed up his arsenal, put on his tactical gear and drove four hours to murder as many Black people as he could. Also, Scott seems to be casting the perpetrator--an avowed white supremacist mind you--as a victim. And while Scott is correct, this man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, he murdered--actually murdered--ten people. So maybe we could all focus a little less on how the mass murder's life is over?

"He would have had his whole life in front of him, if it wasn't for violent
video games and all those people who got in the way of his bullets."

-Jon Scott, on the real victim in all of this