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Have we all not experienced this as kids? There was a time I missed school just to stay at home and play. Parents were out of town for a week, I woke up one morning and loaded the game instead of preparing for school. School called my parents that I was absent and I can never forget the discipline I received. That experience still being smiles to my face whenever I remember it.

I understand. I actually like @Dismal_Bliss and I think he's an intelligent man and has great gaming insight. So I'm sorry @Dismal_Bliss I took it to a personal level which was unfair. As far as the topic goes, I will say it's also unfair for Musk to blame a game for police violence and try to inject a false theme in the game long before any release date, all due for one reason only, and that reason was exactly a political motivation by Musk.

If you two are not comfortable with violence against police in a fictional fantasy, then that's fine, but I must be honest and it doesn't make sense to me to feel that way. I've talked at length about how blaming video games and other entertainment media for acts of violence and other social problems is hypocritical and counterproductive, so I won't go into great detail again and just summarize it. Like it or not, we have violent instincts. We evolved from predators after all. Standing up to and challenging those with power, the "Alphas", in our social group is also something that evolved from our base instincts, so if anything I'd describe the opportunity to express those instincts in a harmless fantasy that video games like GTA offer as healthy. Humans have sentience, that gives us the capacity to fantasize. It's a good thing. Most of us can commit heinous acts in fantasy without any harm done because we understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Expressing fantasy though a video game is not much different that doing it though pure imagination. People who can't define the difference between fantasy and reality in a video game or in any other form of entertainment media have a problem with thier mind, it's that simple. What makes what Elon sain hypocritical is the implication that video games are in some way responsible for violent behaviours or attitudes, which is clearly nonsense. Elon knows this perfectly well, he only said it to manipulate an area of the public that want to believe that as it's convenient for them for it to be to true as it aligns with thier social/political bias. The man isn't stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing. Like @Dismal_Bliss said, for Musk it is politically motivated, not by passion or any actual moral stance. It's purely for clout. That alone is enough to call Elon a hypocrite, but @Reality vs Adventure quite rightly pointing out the acts of actual cruelty and mistreatment he's been guilty of and that also makes him a hypocrite. Hypocrisy deserves to be mocked and ridiculed because it's dishonest, disrespectful, stupid, manipulative and even potentially dangerous when it comes from somebody with the kind of power Elon Must has. That's my opinion, now switching to Moderator Mode: @Dismal_Bliss, unless I'm misreading this, you keep saying in your own way that you're not interested in the politics of this situation, but the fact of the matter is the politics are relevant here and can't be separated from this topic. You even admitted yourself that Elon Musk's motivations for his statements on social media were political, so like it or not that makes politics a very relevant part of this topic. I'm a moderator on this forum, a forum that has an entire separate sub forum for political discussions for a very good reason, reasons I know from my experience are very necessary. So why haven't I locked or moved this thread? Because, like deep down we both know, the polices can't be separated from this gaming related story. I made that judgment call when @Kane99 first posted this thread, and I still stand by that judgment. So my advice is, and it is nothing more than advice, if you want to continue to engage with this thread, don't just decide the politics of the topic aren't relevant just because you don't want them to be. I remember when the TV cop comedy show Brooklyn 99 aired it's final season in the wake of the BLM movement and didn't shy away from the controversy despite showing the police (mostly) as the good guys throughout it's previous seasons. Instead, they addressed it head on, and that was the right way to do it. Now @Dismal_Bliss , you're right, everyone has a right to thier own opinion and a right to express it, but everyone also has a right to challenge and question somebody else's opinion, that's what debate is. That's true of the free world, and it's true on this forum. You are also right about at least one other thing: @Reality vs Adventure You're starting to stray dangerously close to the line between challenging @Dismal_Bliss's opinion and making personal assumptions and attacks. Because this thread isn't on the political sub-forum, my tolerance for this is lower than it would be if it were. Because you can't have necessarily been expected to know that, there will be no action, but please reign it in a little and keep this appropriate. And that is NOT advice. This next part goes to you, @Dismal_Bliss and everyone else on this forum. If having your opinion challenged is too much for you to handle, you shouldn't express that opinion at all. Now @Reality vs Adventure, I actually agree with you here, I think Elon Muck is a hypocritical prick, but as a mod, I will never disallow people to challenge anyone's opinion even if I agree with it. All I ask is for people to keep it civil, and if they can't (And there is nothing wrong with admitting you can't keep a cool head with certain topics.), don't engage. That is all.