Control Freak

My little brother got in some pretty serious trouble about a year ago today. In summation, he verbally took his pent-up anger out on his girlfriend at the time, and said a ton of things that could have landed him in a really scary place. Brody is and always has been a pretty avid gamer, so when he became super aggressive (a characteristic quite unlike him), my mom's first instinct was to take away his access to his Xbox. No war/battle/killing games. I can still remember sitting in my room back in high school listening to my brother yell and curse at his friends, via his headset, because one of them messed up their mission (or whatever they're called). So it makes sense, right? Take away the video games that perhaps teach it's okay to take out your anger in an aggressive manner. Well, as a result of his blow-up, Brody has been seeing a counselor since last summer. I've noticed something equal parts strange and impressive since he regained access to his beloved Xbox: Brody is way more nice over his headset. Rather than demanding his friends make a certain move, he suggests plans and engages in discussions about the best way to beat the game's level. It seems as though he is applying what I assume he's learning about anger management in counseling to his war/battle games. While reading Gilson's "Wii Shall Overcome" article, I couldn't help but picture Brody as a member of McGonigal's 1,000 year long game to amp up skills like cooperation and coordination. If you would have asked me a couple of days ago if I thought Brody's video games were good for him considering his behavioral issues, I would have said no. However, Gilson's article helped me open my eyes to the good that video games can do for people and our society. McGonigal may be onto something, and I'm inclined to believe in her ideas because I have seen first hand how gaming has helped my brother work through his interpersonal issues in a healthy, practical, and fun way. First one teenager, then, maybe, the world. Here's hoping.