A popular video game blog is calling for a one-day ceasefire genre of games known as "first-person shooters" or "online shooters," in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The event has caused a sort of rift among gamers, many of who feel the ceasefire will be viewed as a mea culpa by those who believe video game violence played a part in the massacre.
Antwand Pearman is the founder of GamerFitNation, a site that promotes both video games and healthy living. He posted a nine-minute video early Sunday morning in which he makes an emotional plea urging gamers to take a one-day hiatus from online shooters (OS) last Friday.
Pearman said the ceasefire is an appropriate way for the video game community to show solidarity and pay respect to the 27 victims of the shooting that took place in Newton, Conn. on Dec. 14.
"I don't think video games are at fault here," Pearman told Mashable. "It's just a unified form of peace."
"I don't think video games are at fault here," Pearman told Mashable. "It's just a unified form of peace."
The blog launched a cross-platform social media campaign promoting the ceasefire with the hashtag #OSCEASEFIRE. Currently, more than 3,000 Facebook users have confirmed they will take part in the event. Pearman, who started GamerFitNation in April 2010, said the ceasefire has also received support from the Twitter and YouTube communities.
For The Dead Children We Will Lay Down Our Virtual Weapons For 24 Hours. We Will Pray For You #OSCEASEFIRE
— Chris The Storm (@FuryOfTheStorm2) December 20, 2012
"This thing has gone global and I'm just so proud of the gamers who have come forth and said they would take part in it," Pearman said.
Not all gamers agree with the campaign. The video Pearman posted has nearly 11,000 views and 300 comments on YouTube. Many of those commenters said they will not take part in the ceasefire because they do not believe video games are to blame for the shooting.
"This serves no other purpose than to reinforce the claims of video games being the causative factor in real-life? violence," commenter Nytz 12 wrote.
"This serves no other purpose than to reinforce the claims of video games being the causative factor in real-life? violence," commenter Nytz 12 wrote.
There has been speculation over the past few days that Adam Lanza, the man who killed 27 people including his mother and 20 young children, was a fan of violent video games. The New York Post recently wrote of how Lanza would spend hours alone in his basement where he "studied photos of guns and obliterated virtual victims in violent video games."
According to Pearman, however, the #OSCEASEFIRE has nothing to do with Lanza's video game use. Pearman said he hadn't heard that Lanza was a fan of first-person shooters until after he launched the idea for the ceasefire.
Furthermore, Pearman said he hopes the ceasefire will not be seen as a slight on the video game industry, with which he works closely on a daily basis.
"I have nothing but love and respect for the companies that make these video games because they put a lot of hard work into it," Pearman said. "I hope that they don't feel that this is an attack on them, because it's not."
As for the particular timing of the event, Pearman said it has no link to the apocalyptic theories surrounding Dec. 21.
Do you think this ceasefire is an appropriate gesture for the video gaming community to make at this time? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Image courtesy of Flickr, psygeist
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