It has now been made clear who will join President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the violence in video games.
CNN Anchor Jake Tapper, tweeted a list of names this morning of who will be in the meeting with Trump to talk about how video games are affecting the minds of youths. Most of the names on the list have officially been confirmed by the White House.
Expected attendees at POTUS meeting today to “discuss violent video-game exposure and the correlation to aggression and desensitization in children,” per WH pic.twitter.com/6y61gTYZbT
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 8, 2018
Some of the big name to make an appearance at the meeting include, Robert Atlman, The CEO of ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda, Chief Executive of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick. Take-Two is best known for publishing the Grand Theft Auto series which has come under attack for promoting violent behaviour in recent years and Michael Gallagher, the Head of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
The meeting will also include video game critics like Representative Vicky Hartzler and Brent Bozell, founder of the Parents Television Council (PTC). Bozell is also the Head of the Media Research Center (MRC). The MRC describes themselves as a nonprofit media watchdog organization that attempts to neutralize the left wings propaganda media. The organization regularly features anti-video game articles that align with its conservative agenda.
Hartzler describes herself as an opponent of gun control and wrote in an opinion piece in 2013 that “banning guns isn’t the answer to preventing violence any more than banning cars would be the answer to preventing people from being killed in car accidents.” This came after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 26 dead back in 2012. “The cause, not the tool, should be the focus. We must have a meaningful conversation about mental health issues and other possible cultural and societal contributors to violent behavior, such as violence in video games.”
Trump called this meeting in response to the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida three weeks ago that left 17 dead. It was reported that the assailant, Nikolas Cruz, had a history of behavioural problems and was also an avid video game player. Leading up to the school shooting, Cruz made several hateful comments on social media that insulted minorities and threatened to commit the school shooting.
Last week, the White House announced that they would be meeting with the video game industry to discuss the violence in video games. This announcement had caught the ESA by surprise, however, as the White House had not informed them or their partners about this meeting beforehand.
The meeting has officially been scheduled for 2 p.m. today.
