This is a letter to Phil Mante who wrote “Teenagers learn much from video games” (Progress, Readers Write, Feb. 5).
At first I was going to write to Eryn Wicker and thank her for a great column. As a mom not too up to date on current video games, I appreciate her insight and warnings as it gives me a heads up to what my 10-year-old boy is playing. In fact, I really hope she continues to write articles for The Progress.
You, Phil, on the other hand, wrote a letter that is juvenile and makes no sense whatsoever. Complaining that Eryn is an “angry soccer mom” just shows how sexist and out of touch you are. Her comments are that of a woman, and mom, who is concerned for her children and the children in our community. You cannot compare classic westerns to the murder, torture and drug abuse shown on modern video games. If someone jumps off a bridge will you do it too? Just because this horrible game Grand Theft Auto is out there doesn’t mean we should let our children use it. Frankly if an adult, or a “veteran” of Grand Theft Auto like yourself, is spending their day playing video games with such cruelty and violence, perhaps this is the issue we should be addressing.
In the meantime, the article Eryn wrote is to educate moms about what their children are playing because these games, meant for adults, is in fact being played by youth and as moms we must protect our children, whether we are “soccer moms” or not.
Lisa Ghaffari
