Harrison’s Mom Does Not Have It Going On
July 18, 2009 75 Comments
RE: A BRIEF PRELUDE from Bungie Weekly Update: 07/17/09
Dear Harrison’s Mom,
Just as Bungie did, I can appreciate your concern for your child and your intense desire to keep negative influences at bay. Clearly you were upset with the references to alcohol in their Bungie Day coverage (for the record, they are all adults and not participating in anything even remotely illegal) so we are left to assume you are in the midst of raising an impressionable-aged youngster. Because you care so much, I thought I would tip you off to this thing called parenting. It’s where you monitor your child and their activities and place limits on what they are allowed to watch, read, participate in, and otherwise be exposed to. Instead of sending letters to websites whose content you don’t agree with, it requires a bit more action on your part. Less than desirable, I know, but well worth the effort. Give it a try, and please tell Harrison I said hello. He’s one of my favorite regulars around here!
PS: Halo is a rated M game. Just sayin’.
You know, I was thinking that when I read the update.
Methinks Harrison’s Mom might need a parenting lesson…
Thank GOD someone has finally said this. SIck of parents going ‘gripe gripe gripe’ and not doing a damn thing about what their children come in contact with.
This made me laugh too. It always perplexes me how a parent will blame the world around their child for the negative behaviors, or potential negative behaviors that their child could exhibit.
If you have a kid, they are your responsibility, and if they are not ‘mature’ enough to deal with the issues in a video game why are you allowing them to play them? Or follow along with the obviously mature related content for that matter?
I’m all for letting kids make their own mistakes, and say that even though comfort parenting has it’s benefits, there are some lessons that can only be taught through actually making the mistake. Please, if you feel your child is mature enough to play a ‘Mature’ game, don’t you think you should feel they are Mature enough to make a Mature decision in life for themselves?
The Biggest thing about a good parent in my opinion is one who is involved in their child’s life as a guide, but doesn’t stand in their way of looking over the proverbial cliff edge, but rather holds the toddler’s hand as they investigate to ensure they don’t fall while encouraging their curiosity. If you weren’t involved enough in you child’s life to see this coming and feel it inappropriate, then you missed your chance to hold you child’s hand through this experience and explore it with them (Harrison’s Mom, We’re looking at you).
Please don’t take out your hard feeling about your inadequate parenting on a fun loving community friendly group. They did nothing wrong and did exactly what is expected of them for an audience of what is assumed to be a bunch of Mature people.
To the people of this thread… my apologies for the rant
No apologies needed for the rant. I thought this was a good opportunity to delve into parenting and video games a bit. I have strong feelings on the subject matter and it was difficult for me to keep my ‘letter’ so concise. I kept it pretty surface level but to condemn people who aren’t doing anything wrong for the sake of ‘parenting’ is utterly ridiculous, especially considering the discussion revolves around a game that is intended for an older audience. I do think Halo can be ok for children younger than 17, but that doesn’t pertain to the internet and interactions with complete strangers. If Harrison is allowed to surf Bungie.net, I think the news stories should be the least of her worries honestly.
This is exactly what I feel. There are plenty of people in this world younger than 17 that are mature enough to deal with what Halo is. But the content of B.net is certainly directed at the more mature.
And I must say I agree that the news stories are the least of their worries. Some parents have, in my only from experience standpoint, have the idea of parenting wrong. they need to be involved if they don’t want their kids into this stuff. Actually they need to be involved somehow no matter what. It goes a long way to the kid thinking their parent is an ally, not an enemy.
Why does my second name have to be Harrison?
It’s all your mom’s fault xD
I think a Bungie employee commented in the Weekly Update thread that Harrison works at Bungie.
Huh? So this is actually about a parent who is still parenting when they shouldn’t be? I refuse to write another article to tackle that subject!!
So tempting to write… another… rant…. …. must ….. not …..
sorry for the double/tripleish posting here, but Mace Windex is correct. Harrison is a Bungie employee. as Quoted from Ghintoch117(Bungie Employee)
“No no no. You don’t understand. Harrison works here. And his mom is a saint (from what he tells me). She’s just worried about him. We don’t want her to worry, do we?”
Really, i probably was to distracted by the ridiculousness of the issue i overlooked that.
on a side note, it’s nice to recognize B.net members here….intelligent ones.
…duh?
On a totally unrelated note, does anyone else think that’s an AWESOME picture of a Spartan? I got chills when I saw that.
Definitely. The reflections on the visor are gorgeous.
I see a skull. In his visor. Look to the right of his visor.
It’s there in all it’s green gory ( see what I did there? )
I thought it was a typo :)
That’s actually Harrison’s mom…
It sort of sounded like Harrison worked over there for a second.. but I think were just saying generic things in jest to make it look like they knew him. I guess only Bungie would know, I also didn’t see the thread Mace Windex was referring to.
BAM!
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=34854871&postRepeater1-p=3
If bs would be so kind as to sprinkle some HTML dust on that shizz.
Never mind. Auto-sprinkle!
Yay for auto-sprinkle! I did add a nice layer of pink glitter on top of it for you though. I didn’t want to feel completely useless. :)
God, this makes my blood boil. This is nothing new in the world, and it comes down to being lazy. When people do something substandard, they find someone else to blame for their shortcomings, this also applies to parenting. That’s all I am going to say, that, I believe, is all I need to say.
Is this real?
I’m going to refrain from going on a long-ass rant about the lack of parenting in today’s world when it comes to video games.
FOX news and Mass Effect. ‘Nuff said.
And yeah that is an awesome picture.
That one held the same issue for me. It was rate M for a reason
Yeah, the misinformation in that whole horrendous bit of coverage drove me nuts. “This game teaches your kids how to have sex with aliens in 100 different ways! This game contains full frontal nudity and graphic sex scenes!”
Um, no. I’ve played that game many times over, both as male and female, and have chosen various *ahem* partners. The whole romance thing is entirely optional, first of all. Secondly, there is no full frontal nudity whatsoever. A bit of sideboob action, but it’s nothing you haven’t seen on, oh say, Family Guy? Thirdly, I found the (very brief) sex scene to be rather tasteful. It sure wasn’t Hot Coffee, that’s for sure.
The one guy that was desperately trying to represent Mass Effect, and video games as a whole, tried to point out that the game was rated M for Mature, and he was repeatedly cut off by that child psychologist bimbo, or whatever she was. Sure, they let her speak for as long as she wanted. They cut off the other guy just so she could talk. But god forbid he spoke for more than a minute at a time, or tried to counter a ridiculous statement…
I despise FOX. I’m gonna go back to seething silently now.
“This game teaches your kids how to have sex with aliens in 100 different ways!
Sorry, no offense but, that statement made me laugh out loud.
Well I only knew 99 ways so I found it helpful!
There’s only one way. Phisto’s way.
LOL.
People overreact when sex is mentioned in something that is used or seen everyday .sex needs to be more accepted whats wrong with it? People seem to think its a bad thing to do and shouldn’t be talked about. Its really natural… and good
Oh, moms…
They don’t have to have young kids at home to be worried about their kids :-)
It’s like a permanent, irreversible disease called “Constantworryitus”
There is a cure for that you know. It involves buying a tiny dog and treating it like a child.
(That’s what my mom did, LOL)
Hey! My mom too! lol
lol that made my day
so… who wants a drink? =D where’s rowboat at?
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
You mention alcohol and rowboat magically shows up. I blame Bungie.
yay! i didn’t get blamed! ^_^
*drunkly stumbles in, spilling half his drink on the floor* If annnnnyone’s gunna be drinkin’ around heeeere, IT’S PHISTO! Now top me off, I’m spillin’ everyyywhere!
*hic hic*
Lol. My days involed drink and fancy dress. Might as well blame bungie, THANK YOU BUNGIE :D
Ugh, this annoys me. Games are rated M for a reason. To restrict people under 17 from playing it, which is something parents definitely need to start taking note of.
Yeah, I’ve actually been playing Halo since I was… seven? Eight? I feel that I can handle the mature subjects provided, as well as knowing what’s a well-crafed story with a believeable atmosphere (Half-Life and its successors), and what’s simply loads of impossible, machosistic bull-honkey (Gears of War).
Also, while I’m not really scared or normally even fazed by heavy gore, I don’t think that I’ve been “desensitized” by video games.
…Except for the fact that in action movies, I tend to question the hitboxes of the actors.
main characters don’t actually have them, but the minions always die if a bullet is placed within a kilometer…
So Bungie felt the need to apologize for what was really a 24 hour LAN party with alcohol displayed on their web-cam. You have nothing to apologize for fellas because you are grown adults having fun, having a few drinks and playing the game you developed with your fans.
Grow up, Harrison’s mom!
BS if you actually sent this to that woman, I will love you forever.
Apparently Harrison’s mom doesn’t want Harrison to be like those Bungie hoodlums who drink beer and dress up in funny costumes when they play Halo 3.
I think Harrison should move out of his parent’s basement and play Halo 3 how it is meant to be played, with beer and no pants.
Hear! Hear!
I do most things like that
What are pants?
Long shorts.
Wait… you guys wear clothes?
Be glad they do. Not everyone looks as handsome as me when naked >.>
I think its some kind of clothing you wear on your legs, i wouldn’t ever wear them anyway. It would be a waste of goodness.
over rated
Any parent who complains about violence or sex in media corrupting their children needs a mallet swung full force at their face. If you honestly believe that your child is recieving negative influences from a video game, DON’T BUY HIM THE DAMN GAME. And if you’re afraid a television show may teach your child dirty words or bad behavior, try turning off the TV every once and a while.
My lord, children are getting off way too easy these days. Instead of the parents actually taking a break from their constant neglect/blissful ignorance to instill a sense of value or morals, they take a shot at the biggest target: The Media. Not to mention, all of a sudden malls and schools are being shot up at an alarming rate. And NOOO, we can’t blame a lackluster educational system, bad parenting or the accessibility of guns, we have to blame that one game with the blood that people seem to refuse to notice the big ESRB logo plastered all over the box. For god’s sake, Joe Biden was pushing the damn thing for a reason! If there was any justice on god’s green earth TV shows would be completely uncensored past 12:00, because if any kid too stupid/young were to be watching that late, their parent would either not care or be passed out in the next room. I apologize for the rant, but this is a very touchy topic for me, as it is for most gamers/incompetent parents.
However, I will leave you with this thought:
In a list of nations with the most freedom of expression, Ireland has the most. America is only 5th.
Sorry, I just realized I was being sexist. DON’T BUY HIM OR HER THE DAMN GAME!!!
Can I see that list?
Yay, Im part Irish!
But, on a serious note, I agree with you no the uncensored past 12:00 thing. If a parent doesn’t want their child to see something, force a DAMNED CURFEW on ‘em.
Mind you, I only say this because I stayed up till 4:30 in the morning last night playing Halo with a friend over XBL, and being 14, I’m what, 4 years too young for “uncensored” stuff, yet I’d still flick the channels between games. unfortunately, here in Oz (Australia), past 11:30 is just infomercials, selling crappy blenders and fitness equipment…*shudders*
Don’t blame bungie blame yourself lady. Poor parenting on her part. When i have kids (which should be soon) I’m going to watch everything they see (but not so much that i drive them away). I’ll let them be exposed to that stuff so they understand it but not so much that they go and shoot people have heaps of sex and get completly wasted. This lady saw her son playing halo with drunks (they aren’t i know) and decided instead of teaching her son she screamed her head off to some nice guys who were forced to apoligize for havin fun. Its M for a reason. Actually its R16 in NZ i think. I played violent games from an early age and i make jokes about awful stuff but i won’t go buy a gun and shoot people and steal cars. Anyway now i’m gettin carrried away. Wat was my point… oh yea trust your child, teach him, don’t freak out and stop the problem at its source.
Oh i forgot to add, How do you guys teach your kids about that stuff and how much do you think they should be exposed to it?
I think children should be exposed to things when they are ready. I know that’s a vague answer, but each child matures at a different rate and can handle different information at a different stage. It’s like when you start teaching your kiddos about the birds and the bees. They begin inquiring quite young, sometimes even as toddlers, about where babies come from. When they are that little, you don’t go into all the details. You share whatever is appropriate for their age and maturity level. First the answer is from mommy’s tummy and it gradually develops into the full-fledged truth. But that journey is a long one and has many steps in between. Every issue is like that. Exposure as they are capable of processing the specifics.
Im going to write that down for when i have kids
Wow, all that “come from Mommy’s tummy”, sugar-coated, toned-down crap goes out the window at 7th and 9th grade sex ed… Hint for you HellCat, not to sound mean or rude, but this is my experience (as in, im the kid, not the parent), you can’t exactly control how much exposure kids get from an early age. My neighbour, who was 6 at the time, called me a “dick-squeezer” openly from when he learned it at school. 6!
Luckily, I, being one of the more smarter (more smarter?) kids, learned the words and facts but didn’t use ‘em till I was 12. Other kids just spout off whatever they want, and often know the Birds and the Bees at school, where their friends know, and then their friends know, etc.
Sorry bout the rant, and like I said, if I offended you, I don’t mean too.
I learned all that when I was seven, and I must say I’ve handled my knowledge fairly well. In that I mean I wasn’t running around telling children my knowledge, or rehearsing swears I had picked up. It all depends on, like bs angel said, the child’s maturity intelligence. I know some kids who learned that stuff a little too early, and those are the kids always making lewd jokes and what not. And there is no question children will run into this sort of thing at a young age, you just have to make sure your child can deal with it properly.
when I was in grade 3, I knew everything about sex by simply eavesdropping when me Ma was shopping at Costco! people tend to open up when they buy in Bulk…
anyway, because I knew more than most other kids at the various schools I attended (I moved alot) and wasn’t afraid to challenge naive claims, (such as Marksman’s neighbor’s “dick-squeeze” comment) I quickly gained a reputation as the kid who ate the bird, and threw the bees at my enemies. =)
so I must say that I think sugar coating all the “dirty” parts of life is a bad idea, because kids like sugar, and are going to spend a long time licking it off some really dirty things… (they are going to be clueless)
Needless to say, even if Harrison does work at Bungie and Urk’s sarcastic tone throughout the apology…you do bring up a good point Angel. Why in God’s name people don’t pay attention to what their kids play is beyond me.
“But Mommy, all the kids are playing GTA and they say it is so fun….pwweeeease”
“Uh, okay Timmy just don’t throw a fit”
=
BAD PARENTING
Would it make me a bad parent for posting on HMB while I am slightly intoxicated right now??? No, as long as the kids are already in bed!
=)
Even though this was all tongue in cheek, I wanted to add:
M Rated Game =/= 21
Don’t drink and Halo until you’re legally allowed to. And then, please, turn off your mic.
Lol, thank god for Australia, legal drinking age is 18! tehehehehehee
19 in BC,
damn Aussies always “1-”ing us! =)
I never even saw where Harrison’s mom go on a bitching frenzy! Who is this woman?!
Yeah – i want to see the start of this!!
Oh and I agree with everyone – most parents understand an 18 (or M) on a film but just don’t seem to get that the same applies to games. C’mon folks, keep on, it’s not a new genre any more
So, where is this infamous letter?
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=34854871&postRepeater1-p=3