Video Games In Jail?
Ok, just to get it out of the way, if you don’t understand the last panel, click here. If you don’t understand it beyond that, you’re probably a senseless dumbass who doesn’t like to think things through?
So this is true. Jails have been and are allowing video games in jail cells. Wow. Hey, you know what? All those people afraid that video games make people kill people, well now when those people go to jail, they’ll be able to play video games there too. What a strange world. Seriously though… we pay taxes here. Imagine someone you loved was murdered, and your tax dollars end up helping the convicted murdered play video games behind bars. BLAH. Of course, that’s a shallow thought, because beyond video games, it’s no secret that most jails have “extra curricular” activities like cable TV, sports, etc. It’s no wonder some of these guys don’t want to get out, or become repeat offenders. For a good many, life on the inside is better than life out here. It could also be argued that SOME video games could be considered punishment or torture. Imagine FORCING someone to play atari’s MOUNTAIN KING for days straight without sleep? That theme song would drive you crazy.
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Recent Topics: Jail, Video Games In Jail, Penny Arcade, PvP, Jails, Secret Information, Newsletter, Boot Camp, Brian Doyle, American Idol, Two Worn-out Diplomats, Katie Couric, Euroweb, Bootcamp, Cynthia Mckinney
April 6th, 2006 at 4:03 am
Oh my god - MOUNTAIN KING… that takes me back. HOURS was…*ahem*…SPENT marching that friggin’ hollow-headed guy upo and down that damn mountain with his pissant little flashlight that he couldn’t use WHILE WALKING AT THE SAME TIME…
Good times.
And nice rendering of Gabe & Tycho - you captured thier respective insoucance and angst with aplomb.
(Need help? Try http://www.dictionary.com)
April 6th, 2006 at 6:17 am
All big words aside.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Can we expect a regular “Brokeback Penny Arcade” feature in the coming months?
April 6th, 2006 at 7:57 am
My gods that’s good humor!
Carry On Then.
April 6th, 2006 at 9:32 am
Ohhh *SNAP*! (You like that, don’t ya? I’m bringing that back…SNAP!)
I sincerely wasn’t expecting that last panel…job well done DJ. :))
SNAP!
April 6th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Love the cameo, DJ!
April 6th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Is that a dig at Punks & Nerds interlaced with the dig at Penny Arcade?
Webcomic troublemaker extraordinaire DJ Coffman strikes again!
April 6th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Sorry boss it’s:
insouciance
Blow it out your ass smart guy!
April 6th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Hell, there seems to be this giant open can o’ worms that everyone is ignoring with this strip. Apparently DJ thinks that the purpose of prison is punishment, pure and simple. It’s a widely-held opinion, and I can respect it, but the fact of the matter is that Penal theory (hehehe. penal.) is a huge debate that no one seems to really like to talk about. SO MANY ISSUES TO DISCUSS ON THIS ONE. Where to start? Try reading some Michel Foucault (yes, it’s post-modern-y and challenging, don’t be a pussy, just fucking read him. He’s got a lot of interesting things to say.) Second step is to engage in debate. What is the purpose of prison? Is it to deter future crimes? Is it to punish the guilty? Is it to rehabilitate and further reintegrate the formerly guilty into society? Are you aware that prisoners are paid for their labor (like 13 cents an hour) and must pay rent while in prison? Certainly, taxpayer money goes toward building the prisons and paying the guard’s salaries, but since prisoners are paying for their room and board, couldn’t it be true that them being allowed to play video games is a GOOD thing? If they are to busy worrying about Kingdom Hearts 2 (bwahaha) then won’t the threat of losing their precious, precious save game give them slight pause before they stick a shiv in someone? Don’t care if prisoners off each other? Well, how about prisoners attacking guards? Those guys are hard-working, and haven’t commited a crime. They are just cops, basically. Anything that could potentially stop a guard from losing a kidney to a rusty shiv is okay in my book, even if the prisoners are having fun.
I love your work DJ, I think it’s great, but sometimes I think that your views are reactionary and ill-informed. I’m all for open debates (hell, I’m an International Political Economy major, that’s what we do) but I can’t engage in a debate where the other party only uses gut reactions to inform their world view. Yes, things are FUCKED UP with the penal system in the United States. (what do you mean felons are never able to vote ever again, despite the fact that it may have been a crime of passion, or self defense, or any number of other situations. Sure, they have done their time, but they are still paying for it. It’s felon disenfranchisement, and it’s one of the most egregious examples of ironic double-standards in our “free” society.) Yes, it seems weird that people who have commited a violent crime should be allowed to play video games. However, without really exploring the issue you threaten to really turn people off from it, or even worse convince them to agree with you when you don’t even have a good foundation for what you are saying.
Anyway, this is my opinion, and I hve based it off of my limited knowledge of penal theory, but at least it’s based off of some sort of knowledge and not just what I feel. I’d love to hear opposing viewpoints, but if they are unsubstantiated, then they aren’t gonna do a whole hell of a lot of good. READ, PEOPLE!
I’ll get off my soap box now.
Great work on Gabe and Tycho, btw. w_nightshade’s absolutely right about the whole insoucance and aplomb remark.
April 6th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
hmmm all i can say is this: Bring back the Chain Gangs!!!!!! oh wait…we sort of do have that..except they don’t dig ditches they pick up trash from ditches. rofl. *sigh* DJ is right though..it seems a little disturbed, particularly for violent crimes offenders…to be playing things like GTA or any 1st person shooter. I seriously doubt many are or would be playing rpg’s, but that’s a guess only. I know too many non-criminals that only play shoot-em up type games or only sports games. I don’t imagine i’d see a lot of My Barbie Pony games either, but I could be wrong.
April 6th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Ok– first, it’s a comic, and I really don’t care to get into a GIANT debate on the issues, because frankly, I’m a dumbass who draws pictures. It surely is reactionary after hearing the news report which cited several sources.
My main point is.. the thought of “OH, IF I DO SOMETHING BAD, I MIGHT GO TO JAIL” has stopped many a crime. But for a lot of youth, especially in gangs, they hear it’s not all that bad.
JAIL! Not all that bad!? JAIL!!!!! So, that’s what worries me. In my harsh, reactionary opinion, it’s not enough just to take them away from the communities where they did harm. They should suffer a bit and not have entertainments that free people enjoy. If the threat of jail, ends up being not much of a threat at all or better than lives people are living, you’re going to see crime rates go way up– because there is no fear of being caught.
April 6th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
“Hell, there seems to be this giant open can o’ worms that everyone is ignoring with this strip.”
No, we just don’t care what DJ’s personal opinion is. And we don’t care about your small penal knowledge either.
April 6th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
I still maintain that if every crime carried the death penalty, from something cheap and simple like bullet in the back of the head, there would be precious little crime.
Some people would be upset, but you can’t make everyone happy.
April 6th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
“I still maintain that if every crime carried the death penalty, from something cheap and simple like bullet in the back of the head, there would be precious little crime.”
I like that idea. I like that idea a lot. Unfortunately we have those things people call “laws” that can be really “technical” and get “construed” in very “ass-backwards” “fashions”. And do we really need the RIAA getting any more crazy?
Stupid LAWS. What you do for Shaezer?!
April 6th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Shorten it down to one law:
Thou shalt not be a douchebag.
If a jury of your peers finds you guilty of being a douchebag, you die.
April 7th, 2006 at 2:10 am
One way or another, I’m just glad if I ever wind up in the pokey I don’t have to have my girlfriend bake me a cake with a gameboy in it.
April 7th, 2006 at 9:05 am
It is true that the system is messed up. Mostly because of conflicting goals, as said before.
If the purpose of prisons is to PREVENT people from committing crimes, then it should really be more violent and scary than it already is.
If the purpose of prisons are to REFORM people, then it should be a lot more like a work-camp. Basically instilling the idea that you work, don’t steal things or hurt, and you do well for yourself.
If the purpose of prisons is to PUNISH people, then… well, the problem is that we’ve passed laws against “cruel and unusual punishment”… but since there are a lot of “cruel and unusual” crimes that need to be punished in an equal manner, the system is really incapable of performing in this capacity. The only real “punishment” we have left is the death penalty. That’s kinda harsh… I mean, we consider it the mark of a civilized society that we don’t beat and maim people as punishment. That makes us feel good. But then, for victims of crimes, justice doesn’t really feel like justice unless an equivalent amount of damage is done to the guilty party.
So… anyhow, the comic was pretty sweet. I think it pretty much summed up how I feel.
April 7th, 2006 at 9:50 am
If every crime carried the death penilty all you would get is more dead innocent people.
Say I were to rob a liquer store, I know full well that if I get caught I will die, so I kill the owner and the 2 other people in the store to prevent witnesses, also I shoot a man to steal his car, because its easyer then straight jacking it, and just as harsh judiciously.
Also the death penilty itself is a problem, it makes Idiots think “If the government can do it, why can’t I?”
April 7th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Would you be willing to die to rob a liquor store? That really makes no sense whatsoever. People are easily cowed by violence. I could extend this to say that if we fought the war in Iraq like the 1950s Soviets did in Eastern Europe, it would be over quicker than you can say “killing everyone in a crowd of demonstrators.”
Now, as I said before, many people would have a problem with murdering thousands of innocent civilians. I’m talking about effectiveness here, not righteousness.