I have killed monsters in PacMan.

There is a lot of talk in politics right now about limiting people’s access to media, claiming that people need to be protected from the dangerous effects of, for instance, computer games. I think that this is just another pretext to exert control over people’s information and communication habits. The problem are the guns. Not the games. Ever tried to kill someone with a game?

I created the first image and asked on Twitter whether anybody was going to join me in a testimonial campaign; Harald Eckmüller told me I could count him in and created a group pool on Flickr – add your message if you like.

I have killed monsters in PacMan.
But I have never killed a monster in real life.
Not because there are no monsters.
There are no guns. Not in my life.

You might also want to have a look at the discussion threads on the Flickr pool page.

My standard response to the argument „Guns do not kill. People do.“: Yes, that’s right and that is true with any technology. The a-bomb wouldn’t be fatal if it weren’t launched. The biggest tragedies have been caused by humans. Homo hominem lupus est. The point to bring across here is: You have games, you have guns. The possession of which do you think is lethal? Schäuble thinks it’s games, and I say: Can we talk about gun possession instead? Please? Guns are the real problem.

If I faced a monster and had a gun, would I pull it? Would I be able to tell whether it wants to kill me or not? Would I kill it first? Who knows? That’s why I am glad there are no guns. Not in my life.

EDIT: And the works were exhibited!