Would You Let This Man Babysit Your 7-Year-Old Son?

I don't know about you, but I certainly would not. So what made me ask this oh so obvious rhetorical question my devotedly teensy readership?....Why I am glad you asked. Please allow me to tell you. The other day I was at work (yes i do work...A-SHOCK!) And while i was at work I was slacking (A-SURPRISE!) and hanging out at Scarborough Town Centre in Electronics Boutique perusing the used video games to see if I could find any inexpensive hidden gems. While I was browsing I heard this woman asking about games to get for her seven-year-old son who was spending the summer in Brazil. Now video games in Brazil cost about twice as much as they do hear and are about 1 year behind in release dates, so she was sending him quite the stockpile (more games than I even own). At the top of her pile was a classic, amazing and yet highly inappropriate game for the age of her highly juvenile son. That game was Grand Theft Auto IV. Now she seemed like an intelligent women. Well spoken and had a very Michelle Obama thing going on, obviously was educated and had a respectable job. And yet she assumed it was okay to purchase this game for her very young son at his request. The store clerk and I were both shocked by this. I am amazed that someone would want to purchase a video game with a indictable offense at the title and with this as the cover. If you turn the game over you can easily see that it is rated "M for Mature" which means 17+ and then it gives a nice brief description of the things you will find in the game that require such a rating. Here is the exact wording found under the giant M 17+ sign. "Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol"

In what world is it appropriate to buy this game for your child. When I pointed this out the women was shocked. She had no idea. I explained that there is drug use, you can hire a prostitute (to restore your health) and then kill her when you are done and simply take back your money. You can sell drugs, perform hits, rob banks and the ever so entertaining drive your car through a packed shopping mall. So I guess there is a good lesson to be learned here. Just because you are educated and appear to be intelligent does not make that so...nor does it make you a good parent either. Even without first or second hand knowledge of the game, the title and box cover alone should be enough to deter you from purchasing this for any child. It is simply not appropriate.