Lessons from “League of Legends”: Why I taught my son to play violent video games

 When we play these games, my son confronts nasty race and gender politics – and he's a better person because of it

 
 
"He didn’t speak up because I wanted him to. He spoke up because virtually, on the battlefield, he’d heard those kinds of comments used to bully other people on a regular basis. He spoke up because in his earliest, most painful “League” days he’d had those kinds of comments directed at him. And he spoke up because he knew not only how it felt, but because he’d seen other people in the game—often my niece, but also random strangers—speak up to tell those haters they needed to GTFO or STFU and play, that toxicity wasn’t welcome in game. He’d also experienced what it was like when presumably good people—the kind who weren’t inherently toxic—chose not to speak up against those kinds of comments. He understood that real-life or in-game, bullies are bullies and walking on makes you part of the problem.

Gaming is community, and community informs."

read the article by Katrina Smith >  
Lessons from “League of Legends”: Why I taught my son to play violent video games - Salon.com