Pulitzer Prize winner George Will thinks gamers shouldn't be allowed to vote

by Ben Gilbert on Apr 19th 2009 8:30PM

Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George F. Will really, really doesn't like denim. In an Op-Ed piece he wrote for the Washington Post this week, he condemns the fabric and in the process, harshly insults gamers, saying, "Seventy-five percent of American 'gamers' -- people who play video games -- are older than 18 and nevertheless are allowed to vote."

On the other hand, Mr. Will does, however, love making disparate correlations -- for instance, between "society's most slovenly" and video game players. In fairness, his tirade doesn't solely focus on games, as he also calls out the Indiana Jones series and television shows such as Seinfeld (a show which, ironically, he was lampooned on as "not too bright.") He says the two are "juvenelized,"and for "undifferentiated audiences," and justifies his assertion on the fabric ubiquity from child to parent. We're thinking of siding with Seinfeld on our opinion of this guy, how about you folks?

[Via GamePolitics]

Source

Tags: denim, george-will, indiana-jones, journalism, opinion, pulitzer-prize, seinfeld, washingtonpost

Reader Comments (244)

George Wii...?

So...by his words of sorts...Obama should not be the President of the US because, I believe it was Joystiq that said, he played Brick Breaker.

This author is probably a closet snood player.

Brick Breaker is a sign of weakness.

Aren't we missing something important in:

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

...when we go about demanding people should be killed for an exercise in THEIR freedoms of speech, however disagreeable they are?

Tosser

How the hell would they be able to tell who plays video games?

Voter Registration: "Hello sir, please fill out this form."

*On form below name* Gamertag: CheesyPickles.

Voter Registration: "I'm sorry Mr. Cheesy Pickles, but you are unable to vote because you play XBox Live."

Voter: "Aw"

Right...

but denim is so american

Big lolz at this thread. The piece is probably satirical but if not it's just one steaming pile of attention whore. I say bring back Jack Thompson, at least he was amusing.

Listen.

The world is full of people like this. People who want recognition more than anything, and will try to grab it by commenting in a disparaging way on new things.

"Look," they will say, "This new thing. It's bad!" They will say this in hopes that others will hear and in turn say, "Wow! No one has bothered to challenge New Thing except this one brave soul! And you know what? I think I agree!"

George Will, stop being a poser. You won a Pulitzer; don't degrade the honor associated with such an award by associating it with "cocky prejudicial windbag."

What a moron. It's too bad his audience is as pretentious and close-minded as the author. He wouldn't write this column if he wasn't making money doing it.

ha as the washington post also features a fashion article about...

that's right: Denim

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040901729.html?hpid=features1&hpv=national

Well, I never saw what was so great about baseball, the sport that George Will so frequently romanticizes. Some guy hits a ball with a stick after injecting copious amounts of steroids... big friggin' deal. You could train a chimp to play a sport like that, although you may have to shave his arms so he can find a vein.

Is he a MAN, or a SLAVE?

A MAN Plays the Game and thrifle until his very soul is assaulted with the joy of beating a simple software, yet the simple act of taking a controller is DAMNED by those who win some stupid prizes or waggles some white stick and pretend they're playing tennis...

In the end, what separates a MAN from a SLAVE?

How very undemocratic is he.

Pulitzer? How many Achievement Points is that worth?

Don't Hate the jeans. Hate your booty.(or lack thereof) :P

Your average manchild may be living in a fantasy world, no doubt, but there's no way it can be half as magical as the one where a toupee like that actually fools someone.

Ok, ok, I take back the toupee comment just because upon further inspection I don't feel like I'm getting the whole story here.

Hmm, you get downvoted for rescinding snarky comments don't you?

Yes.

Old much?

Thankfully we don't live in an aristocracy, so us "average" people may continue to live in peace and ignore pricks like George Will.

It's not even that I don't agree with some of what the man believes, it's that he goes about it in the snobbiest manner possible. Everywhere he goes and in every interview I've ever read it's like he's looking down on us from some ivory tower. If him and his country club would get of their high horse, conservatives would probably be looked upon more favorably (or at least as sane people). Not that aristocratic conservatives have ever cared what the common man thinks of them.

So I'll continue ignoring him and he can continue ignoring me.

When you are Mr. Will, you haven't got much in the intelligence department, so you must rely on looks. Unfortunately, Mr. Will fails miserably in that department as well...but bonus points for trying?

As for me? I'll continue wearing my jeans, content in the fact that there's at least one well-dressed man out there writing damned-near-impossible-to-read op-ed pieces in the Washington Post whom I would trounce handily in a battle of wits and intellect...not to mention Super Mario Bros.

I love free speech! It lets stupid people complain about whatever they want (denim and video games for example) and show everyone how stupid they really are. :)

Ok, he needs to understand. If you brign the entire nation to the educational/intellectual level of him, no one would want to do the "disgusting" and laborous jobs that these "brutes" do. Plus, him being a elitest, would have to enlighten himself to an even higher level. This is a never ending cycle. So just let us wear denim and play videogames and you can do what a man of your stature would do. (yachting, shuffleboard, big game hunting, heads up seven up)

One would think that lines like "it is a straight line from the fall of the Bastille to the rise of denim" would make the tongue-in-cheek nature of the article obvious...

I don't think people who have married twice and have extreme obsession to fandom(baseball) should be allowed to vote.

Yep I did my research.. big whoop want to fight about it?

You all being trolled by old man balls.

He shouldn't be allowed to vote. End of story. Dick bag.

I'm torn about this...one on hand, I REALLY fucking hate Seinfeld...not just the show, but the man.

On the other hand, people whose arrogance belies any amount of intellect they may hold really do rub me the wrong way...as well as the fact that he's joining a major bandwagon in reducing the description of my hobby, pastime, and possible future livelihood to that of a juvenile delinquent's, dirty, guilty pleasure is...quite dickish, really.

In the end, I think I can take solace in the fact that he doesn't quite grasp the complexity and depth of the culture which he decries with his statements, or understand the social ramifications it could produce for him via our...inter-connective nature.

That being said, I can only wonder just how his Wikipedia page will be vandalized, and how low his books will be rated on Amazon.

i am generally never too impressed with out-of-touch journalists lashing out at things they dont understand, simply because its a slow news day, or because their core audience happens to be the same contemporarity-impaired age or social group to which they themselves belong. i feel sorry for this person.

I think I'll side with Seinfeld on this one, because you don't have to be too smart to making sweeping generalizations.

I find George Will's attire when he appears on television to be offensive. We should all be dressing in velvet suits with lace cravats and heeled shoes, fit for the court of Louis XIV. Better yet, sandals and togas, Hail Caesar!

Seriously, his cultural references include:
King of the Hill, a show that stopped being relevant (assuming that it ever was) years ago, Seinfeld, a show that went off the air 11 years ago. and Two and A Half Men, which I'm pretty sure no one actually watches.

George will comes from a long line of conservative commentators who show the utmost disdain for anyone who doesn't feel that the height of entertainment is sipping sherry and oppressing minorities.

Wow, turn around and stereotype conservative commentators the way he just stereotyped gamers. Very classy.

I just checked again, and I'm pretty sure I didn't write "all conservative columnists" anywhere in there. I read Will's column fairly regularly, and I feel comfortable in saying that he's an elitist prick. Often writings from conservatives that are overtly elitist end up being covertly racist, even if it's only on a subconscious level. there's a long history of minorities being described in similar terms to those Will used to describe gamers and apparently denim wearers: irresponsible children. The comment on gamers also hearkens back to the idea of a poll tax, used to keep the poor and disenfranchised poor and disenfranchised.

Also, my comment was a joke - George Will is dead serious.

Wow. What a pretentious prick.

I really wanted to keep my mouth shut this time, but just couldn't. Correlation does not imply causality ought to be just one of dozens concepts this allegedly intelligent man is familiar with. But I digress. The thing that I find most humorous, and haven't seen mentioned though it was posted on this very site is...

PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS A WII IN THE WHITEHOUSE!

ffs man. i realize he isn't a "hardcore game" but reading some other thoughts by this guy really brings out stereotypes that are so old-fashioned I have seriously begun to question whether he has invented a time machine and come to us from imperialist britan, hell-bent on world conquest.

Okay, I read the article. It's so absurd that it seems satirical. Are we sure it isn't? Could somebody really be this confused?

He was talking about how adults are seeing stuff made for children, so in his mind he probably thinks games are made for kids only.

Old dude is old!

One word comes to mind:

big·ot (bĭg'ət)
n. One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

Also see: Moron, fool, idiot, jack ass, person of questionable birth, person of questionable intelligence, mentally handicapped person...

Democracy is for dummies, everyone should know that, even those who don't win the Pulitzer prize :-)

http://shetoldme.com/Games/Video-Gamers-Shouldnt-Be-Allowed-To-Vote-Says-Pulitzer-Prize-Winner-George-Will

Cheers,

As much as I like George Will, I have to disagree with the statement. Yet I do see where he's coming from. People don't stop and put themselves in other people's shoes. He grew up in a completely different generation. He probably thinks almost all television is a waste of time, so how much more so than games? And all of you know someone out there who plays games all day, skips class, is hideously uninformed politically, and generally is a burden on society. And they get to vote.

Now, I don't like the fact that he lumps ALL gamers into this category. But the video gaming "addicts" probably do fall into this category, and of course, that's probably what he thinks about all of us. But does it bother me? Heck no.

Seriously, folks. Get some thicker skin.

What a total tool.

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Pulitzer Prize winner George Will thinks gamers shouldn't be allowed to vote

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