Jack Thompson Under Investigation

djflipstarx writes "Jack Thompson, famous anti-videogame lawyer, has found himself in the position of being investigated by the Florida Bar Association after trying to get Penny-Arcade writers Gabe and Tycho arrested. A bunch of people from the Penny-Arcade forums then went and sent letters to the FBA asking for them to check up on Thompson's current actions and review his license to practice law. The fact that even the National Institute on Media and the Family distance themselves from Thompson doesn't help his case either." The lesson here? There are many nerds in the world. Some of them have a posse. Be careful who you pick on.

Comments

Guess Jack is learning an important lesson...

[thesandtiger]

... that lesson being "Other people can write letters too, and they vastly outnumber you."

Of course, I imagine that poor, pathetic, insane Jack Thompson probably imagines that he's the noble martyr in some epic battle against the hordes of evildoers who want nothing more than to poison the minds of children, and will not, for a second, ponder the possibility that maybe he's wrong.

Jack, people you thought of as staunch allies have left you, are publically distancing themselves from you. Thousands of people are writing letters demanding that you be investigated while not a single solitary soul is writing the FBA saying you're a good guy. Most people might take that as a hint that their views are not actually meshing well with reality - hopefully you'll take this opportunity to take an assessment, get some help, and most importantly, shut the fuck up already.

Re:Guess Jack is learning an important lesson...

[thesandtiger]

Very true - while it is certainly *possible* for someone to mod The Sims to make it pornographic, the game itself is not. Saying that, because people can mod games to make them hyperviolent or pornographic or both is like saying that we should ban text editors because someone could write "Mein Kampf" in them.

His using The Sims - a game that has had such huge exposure - was a critical mistake: So many of the people he's trying to reach have played it, and probably are wondering how the heck this guy can actually believe it's mind poison.

His positions do have a tiny sliver of a kernel of value to them: Children should not be able to directly purchase hyperviolent/sexually charged video games just as they cannot legally directly purchase pornography. If a parent is willing to let their kid play those kinds of games, then let the parent purchase the game. At least that way they have *some* idea of what their kids are up to.

But any validity gets blown out of the water by such absurdly stupid comments, such as his claiming the Beltway snipers "trained extensively with Halo," rescinding offers to donate to charity, and threatening legal action against people who have done far, far more good (albeit with far, far more profanity and fruit fucking) than he has.

There is a discussion that can be had here, but it's a discussion that should be had between rational people who actually hope to accomplish something positive - not reactionary fuckwits who lash out blindly at things that they clearly don't understand.