(Column) - Yesterday, Target confirmed to ABCNews.com its decision to ban "ManHunt 2" from its store shelves because of its violent nature, despite ESRB's "Mature" rating. According to Target, the game has scenes of extreme violence that are apparently inappropriate for its customers. Is Target serious? So I take it retail companies and their lovely, immature customers are still scared of exposing their children from violent video games. Is that it? If so, it's utter nonsense and doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Haven't we learned anything from the Jack Thompson and Grand Theft Series fiasco? The idea is for parents to put their authority at charge and stop their children from purchasing violent games.

As is the case with a lot of mainstream consumers, they just don't learn. They never learn, to be quite blunt. They can spend their precious time complaining to Target, regulatory boards and game development studios, but they can't spend 30 seconds telling little Jimmy no for picking up Grand Theft Auto and giving him a reasonable explanation. Priorities, people, priorities! Is it really that difficult to go up against a 10-year old that you are forced to protest to a mega-corporation. In that case, you have far bigger problems to deal with than violent video games.

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I may just be ignorant, but as a regular consumer, I have the right to walk into Target and pick up any game I see fit. After all, I'm old enough to know the consequences and can make my own decisions. For Target (and others might follow shortly) to blacklist my desire to protect negligent parents is unfair. Why should I have to bend backwards for people who can't say no to their children? Since my personal feelings will obviously get me flamed, haven't we seen enough research on this matter already?

Violent games are not the cause of violent behavior, and in fact, they give a safe outlet to relieve stress. A ton of reports have proven that. Seriously, take some responsibility for your actions (I'm talking to you, parents), and let those of us who are old enough to keep our rights to walk into a store and pick up a gaming title of our choice, in any genre we want. In the meantime, I would hope Target would reconsider its decision with "ManHunt 2," but I know I'm in for a disappointment. Silly.

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