| Wow. I guess I should have worded things differently. The point I was trying to make was not the outcome or effect of a certain material, but rather that our brain looks at all visual information the same way. Personality and behavioral traits come into play when we begin to interact with something, thus evoking emotion and/or feelings towards the given material. I was basically trying to state that our brain processes the information, but it's up to an individual's personality and morals to determine the emotional outcome.
If a child is raised under skewed morals and no sense of reality, he/she will view things differently than you or I. Parenting is the main culprit to blame, but I can't help but think that society, as a whole, is involved. We live in a fast paced world where it's not uncommon to find Mom and Dad both working a full-time job, leaving minimal time for spending time with their child. Leaving the child at a daycare or with a sitter is a viable solution, but what if you leave your child with someone who doesn't really care about raising a child? Then that child will most likely never learn the true meaning of right and wrong. They'll be forced to make that assumption for themselves. That's where problems can arise.
Germany is a bit different than the US. The nation that gave us SCAT porn (if you don't know what that is, wikipedia it) feels no need to rate games. That is fine. It's up to that country to decide, and I'm in no place to say anything regarding that decision. But when games are banned (Dead Rising, Postal) because they are deemed too violent, one has to wonder why a ratings system hasn't been implemented there.
I think this won't be the last article about video game violence. As Jon mentioned, people look for a scape goat for everything. Recall the horrific school shooting that took place in Jefferson County, Colorado in April of 1999. Two students fatally wounding 13 people and then commiting suicide. After this unfortunate event, parents and government officials turned to violent movies/games and metal music, citing that this type of media may have caused these kids to perform such a crime. To this day, there is still speculation and articles written about the Columbine shooting, often citing that the gunmen listening to heavy metal and played violent computer games.
I know I may be beating a dead horse here (I love Buttercup!), but I think it's about time that the public stop looking for a scape goat and facing the real problem.
-Brad | 
