Boriswatch goees away for 2 weeks, and all hell breaks loose in the Boris’s camp – if you’re a gamer. Boris’s column a couple of weeks ago criticised video games and their effect on children’s social skills. It’s a well-worn argument, and I have to say it’s one Boriswatch, to an extent, agrees with. Children do become transfixed by computer games, and the more suggestive the children – and the more gory the games – the more affected the players become. However, it’s a little unfair to publicly tar all young gamers and games with the same brush, a fact that hasn’t been lost on the gaming community.
Even America are getting in on the act, with podcasts labelling Boris “a tool” and the gaming industry spokesman ELSPA claiming Boris has “too broad a brush.”. Even GayGamer/net got in on the act, in an article titled “Suck on that, Boris Johnson!“. Now *that* would be a story…
The Guardian finished off the kerfuffle with its column “Sorry, Boris, these ‘blasted gizmos’ are here to stay“, displaying its assessment of Boris’s words. It sounded a little contrived and forced, if we’re honest. Branding Boris a “comedy conservative”, the column takes the mickey out of his language, which I last saw happen to someone on the playground when I was eight. And the main strand of the article seems to be that if children come face to face with other bad influences every day, why not let them sit inside and play gory games all day. Good argument there, fellas.
Still, much of this has occurred under the general news radar. And as Boriswatch is always at pains to point out, Boris is never shy of saying what he thinks, and that is a great feature in a politician.