My local GW is overrun with kids.
Sometimes it little kids, you know 8, 9, 10.
More often it is older ones 14, 15, 23.
The little ones are usually pretty cool and are only bothersome when they want to handle your minis with their grubby, sticky, clumsy hands.
The older ones now, they should know better. They should have, you know, manners. I am not speaking of miniature handling. What I am speaking of is a cordial awareness that the person standing across from them is a person. An actual, just-across-the-table-from-you, person.
Just because you are a kid and you are accustomed to speaking however you speak over X-Box Live, does not mean you will not be called on it.
Clearly, over the internet, people have grown accustomed to speaking/writing to others in a manner that reflects the inherent safety of sitting behind a computer, safe in your home. The guy you just sniped in Modern Warfare 2 can't do anything about it when you call him a jerk.
However, the 6'2" amateur Mixed-Martial Arts practitioner, that you just called a jerk can do something about it.
Such was the scene today in my local GW. I was busy getting my tookus handed to me by some teenager, meanwhile, my opponent's brother was looking on and making comments about various things happening in the game. During round four, Zach, the aforementioned MMA aficionado, wandered over and made a couple of comments concerning my opponent's loose interpretation of a rule. Having said his piece, and opening my eyes to the shiftiness of my opponent's conduct, Zach wandered off to the paint bar.
It was at this point, that my opponent's brother made his mistake. He said (to his brother) "That guy is a jerk". A few minutes later the game ended (badly for me) when I heard the following words, "You shouldn't insult someone when they can hear you". These words were uttered in Zach's unmistakable bass rumble of a voice.
I, of course, looked up because this sounded like it could be the beginning of something interesting. It was at that point that I noticed the 135 lb, 5'8" teenager looking up (with a quite frantic expression, might I add) at Zach.
Zach wasn't looming over the kid, and his tone/expression was that of someone commenting about the weather.
I think, however, the kid got message.
A hasty apology followed and everything was cool.
Where are we as a society where pointing out that someone is cheating (or near enough) gets you called a jerk?
The language you here on xbox live out of the ten year olds is just incredible. One of the reasons I stuck to Rainbow Six Vegas team games since the other side could not hear what you were saying unless they were near you their was much less pointless and stupid talking/taunting.
ReplyDeleteA timely post, I've had simialr experiences before and it just ruins the gaming experience.
ReplyDeleteIt took us a while to reign this in at the FLGS but we mostly have it stamped out. There are a few die-hards who think they can treat everyone like dirt but the manager has a very subtle way of making them see they really are being very stupid and very quickly they go quiet.
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