Caressa Cameron (pictured), as the newly minted Miss America, wants you to play imaginary games in the street. That’s one of the “standards” that should be “set” for our “children,” she said in her winner’s interview.
Cameron’s take-away-the-tv-and-games quote in her winner’s interview was straight boilerplate: Video games destroy kids’ motivation, creativity, make them lazy, possibly also spread gonorrhea, etc. The solution, she said, is not just just to play imaginary games in the street – it’s to play “imaginary games with sticks in the street,” Cameron says, “like I did when I was little.”
Look, the games community is used to being an argumentative straw man but usually in the comparisons it loses out to alternatives such as reading or studying, and who can argue with that, really. But now it’s worse and less enlightening than playing in traffic with firewood? The hell?
Oh, by the way, Rush Limbaugh judged this thing. That’s how we know we got such a quality winner.
Miss America Disses Video Games [Examiner. Image via MissAmerica.org]
warcroft
February 2, 2010 at 2:47 PM
Yeah, but Miss America contestants are all dumb.
Report PermalinkThey have trouble understanding the intricacies of anything more complicated than a stick.
Joe Mama
February 2, 2010 at 4:01 PM
This.
Report PermalinkThat Other Guy
February 2, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Wow… really? Yet another dumb-as-excrament pagent winner who thinks she can change the world with her ‘position. How refreshing.
Report Permalinklcb
February 2, 2010 at 3:05 PM
Video games destroy kids’ motivation, creativity, make them lazy,
I actually agree to a certain extent, my neighbours all play on their skateboards and with sticks and ragballs and stuff and just their imagination. They are nice and very active kids and i think they are better off since they dont play videogames at home.
also i find that kotaku is extremely defensive about everything and anything gaming lately and like to start fights.
Report PermalinkGeorge Zeleznik
February 2, 2010 at 5:28 PM
Well then wut are you doing here? Why are you participating if ur going to troll and say that gaming is bad and flopping around in front of cars with your pretend swords and your ‘attitude’?
Report PermalinkGeorge Zeleznik
February 2, 2010 at 5:30 PM
-is good?
Report Permalinklcb
February 2, 2010 at 6:08 PM
its a discussion not a troll, i truly thing that most time spent on any hobby other than videogames is a more productive time and all round better spent. I love playing games, but i do accept that my life would be much, much more satisfying if all the time ive spent playing games (thousands upon thousands of in game hours) were spent practicing tennis, or art, or bloody anything really. Videogames are a very unproductive waste of time, you dont really get anything out of it other than entertainment. So i agree with her.
Report PermalinkAd
February 3, 2010 at 11:52 AM
Y’know, I also read fiction books. I don’t get anything except entertainment out of them. Kids should stop reading.
And you think hitting a tennis ball is somehow productive? Come on.
Report PermalinkKhanh Le
February 2, 2010 at 3:18 PM
I saw “America” and disregarded the whole thing :p
Report PermalinkRufusLives
February 2, 2010 at 3:35 PM
Well the Miss America pageant is very well known for the contestants being progressive thinkers who are bang up to date with current technology, ideology and morality. Of course we should pay attention to this glorified bimbo. So who wants to attend my next LAN – very cheap to attend and run, but be sure you bring your own stick!
Report PermalinkDavid Brady
February 2, 2010 at 3:42 PM
All i saw was one of Oprah’s old: “YAY i’m not fat again” photo’s and skippage ensued.
Report PermalinkFracture
February 2, 2010 at 3:42 PM
posts like this one make … .. . well .. . .AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Report PermalinkMcNulty
February 2, 2010 at 3:42 PM
Well, I say…I feel enlightened already, I should get rid of my games immediately and go play outside with sticks. There’s nothing more creative than getting your eye almost taken out whilst playing sword fights with pieces of wood-like when I was five.
Back to reality though I think games like Little Big Planet are extremely on the creative side. Some of the user levels are very well thought out and creating these require more imagination than playing with a twig.
Why these ‘winners’ always have to preach to the world is beyond me.
Report PermalinkGeorge Zeleznik
February 2, 2010 at 5:32 PM
Not to mention all that stimulative, intellectual stickin-around takes place in the middle of Main Road.
Report PermalinkFatShady
February 2, 2010 at 4:09 PM
Number of people hit by a car while playing video games = 0
Number of people hit by a car while playing, working, lying or standing on the road in Victoria alone= 9*
*Based on VIC data from 2008
Report Permalinkhttp://www.tac.vic.gov.au/jsp/content/NavigationController.do?areaID=12&tierID=1&navID=57348A10&navLink=null&pageID=149
McNulty
February 2, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Nicely played,
Report Permalinkripper_hugme
February 2, 2010 at 4:10 PM
GONORRHOEA??? I love that while they try to sound like they are well-read, they are secretly (or openly depending on your POV) pushing back women’s rights a hundred years (IMO).
Report PermalinkJoshy206
February 2, 2010 at 4:58 PM
“playing imaginary games with sticks in the street like I did when I was little.”
—
Yeah, well, judging by the kind of people who usually win, I immediately took this the dirty way.
Doesn’t mean I’m wrong, though.
Report PermalinkGeorge Zeleznik
February 2, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Lol.
Report PermalinkJason
February 2, 2010 at 5:07 PM
At least Earth won Miss Universe for the 100th time…
Report PermalinkTitania Suryadilaga
February 2, 2010 at 5:48 PM
Ahahaha, of course. Judging from the myriad of space movies available it seems like human is still the ‘perfect race’ after all ;)
Report Permalinkwarcroft
February 2, 2010 at 8:00 PM
The Na’vi are entering next year. Theyre hot!
Report PermalinkMcNulty
February 2, 2010 at 10:12 PM
Ewww, they hiss for crying out loud…like cats…I don’t want to be turned on by a confused native. They may have a tail but that does not earn them brownee points, they are not a cat.
*falls asleep*
Report PermalinkWTHfor
February 2, 2010 at 6:48 PM
Miss America: “You can be and become anything that you want to be, even Miss America.” Heh. I’m neither pretty nor female enough to be Miss America. Guess I should stick to something that’s less focused on the superficial… like videogames, f’rinstance. If she really wants to set new standards, how about doing away with competitions that prize beauty above intellect?
Report Permalinkboo goose
February 2, 2010 at 6:53 PM
Children in the street using their imagination to play??
Sounds dangerous, for starters it will encourage hallucinations. Those who have a troubled mind might not understand the difference between that and real life. Secondly, what if one of these kids, while using their imagination to play fails to notice the truck hurtling down the street?? Thirdly, something about pedophiles!! Those freaks are always after the kids, if they are in the street distracted by theri imaginations they wont notice the old man feeling them up.
Report PermalinkIncognito
February 2, 2010 at 7:11 PM
Liara T’soni for Miss Universe 2010
Report Permalinklcb
February 2, 2010 at 7:34 PM
Christ everyone is so defensive of videogames, this is pathetic.
Report Permalinkwarcroft
February 2, 2010 at 8:02 PM
lol
Report PermalinkI do 100% agree with what you are saying.
Old_Skool_Gamer
February 3, 2010 at 2:17 AM
Ok, so you love playing games but think that it’s a waste of time and that your life would be much more satisfying doing anything else.
I don’t want to start an argument or anything but if this is truly the way you think then you should be getting rid of all your games and devoting your time to other things.
Oh, by the way I think the reason why everyone on here is defensive of video games is because, well this is a video game blog. And when someone says that gaming is a waste of time it’s going to upset some people.
What if we said to her that we think that beauty pageants are a waste of time (which they are), how would that make her feel.?
I would rather do anything than watch a bunch of airhead women (whether they’re good looking or not) in a beauty pageant.
Report Permalinkgarfunky
February 3, 2010 at 5:02 PM
you know I agree with you lcb.
I’m probably newer to kotaku than lotsa people here and they certainly do get real defensive over video games.
I suppose the more you play games the more defensive you are about it because it becomes a bigger part of your life.
Its just my personal opinion of course because I do devote a significant chunk of my time to games but am not at all affected by comments like the ones made by miss america.
Report PermalinkThermal Ions
February 2, 2010 at 7:53 PM
“Isn’t it a little ironic here? We pick politicians by how they look on TV and Miss America on where she stands on the issues. Isn’t that a little backwards?” –Jay Leno
Report PermalinkDavid Putz
February 2, 2010 at 9:00 PM
I don’t want kids playing out on the street. That’s where I go driving. Go ahead and play on the busy roads if you want to die, but don’t say you weren’t warned.
Report PermalinkMatthew McCay
February 2, 2010 at 9:31 PM
Yuck, unnatural beauty. she looks repulsive with all that make up
Report Permalinklcb
February 3, 2010 at 2:01 AM
people with anorexia and bulimia have extremely thing limbs and dried up bodies, making the head look tiny by comparison.
So yeah, i agree too they dont look as good as they should
Report Permalink