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Teen Charged With Harassing Thompson

Posted by Zonk on from the i-don't-know-who-to-root-for dept.

A young man has been charged after reportedly threatening Jack Thompson with torture and death, reports Gamespot. Thompson claims the boy is already in custody for his crime. From the article: "The Sheriff's Office public information officer, Lt. John Martin, could not confirm for GameSpot that the child had been arrested because the detective and sergeant assigned to the case had both left for the day. However, he did confirm that the boy had been charged with harassing communication, a misdemeanor offense."

62 comments

  1. I know the defense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The games made me do it!

  2. Transcript of offending message: by MOMOCROME · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "If I ever meet you, I will Kick Your Ass"

  3. Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by kyle90 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Jack Thompson is a douche, but threatening to torture and kill him just reinforces his ideas that violent games make people violent.

    --
    Real_men_don't_need_spacebars.
    1. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm going to tar and feather him, then hang him from a noose!

      *puts on aviator goggles and flies away in a biplane*
      Ahahhahaha Jack Thompson, catch me now!

    2. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Geoffreyerffoeg · · Score: 4, Funny

      Jack Thompson is a douche, but threatening to torture and kill him just reinforces his ideas that violent games make people violent.

      Yeah, really. Someone please kill that kid before he causes too many problems.

    3. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Chrismith · · Score: 5, Funny

      Exactly. We need to send a different message. Instead of "If I ever meet you, I'll kick your ass!" people need to be saying, "If I ever meet you, I'll explain my position to you in a calm and reasonable voice, and attempt to illustrate why I believe that your opinions, valid though they may be, are wrong!" They may then bake him a plate of raisin roundees in an attempt to sway him.

    4. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Any chance that this whole thing was just blown out of proportion? Look at all the other crap that Jack has pulled and all of the things he's said out of context or completely blown out of proportion.

      From Article: 'The specifics of the torture with which Thompson was threatened are so grotesque that they cannot be properly placed in this news release," Thompson wrote in a mass e-mail addressed to news outlets, politicians, and industry groups. "The torture was to end with the shooting of Thompson, as in this teen's favorite games.'

      So far, the only thing we really know is that Wacko Jacko said he did it, but doesn't really give us much for specifics. Considering all the other crap he's spouted off, I really wonder how much of this is the actual truth and how much of this is some kind of delusion that Jack has dreamt up.

      If some kid was stupid enough to make death threats against Thompson, he probably deserves what he gets. Just because Jack is an asshole doesn't give anyone else the right to be one. Hopefully the kid will learn from this experience that you can't go firing off your mouth without thinking first. Hopefully Jack will get disbarred and learn the same.

    5. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Mooga · · Score: 1

      I think that Jack Thompson is always so angry because he does play any videogames. He need to relax and play some Super Mario. Then he'll be all chilled relaxed.

      --
      ~ Mooga
    6. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Mooga · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh Gosh, I justed killed the English Language.
      Let me fix that:

      I think that Jack Thompson is always so angry because he doesn't play any videogames. He need to relax and play some Super Mario. Then he'll always be in a good mood and not have to go after gamers.

      --
      ~ Mooga
    7. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by ArwynH · · Score: 1

      heh. even after the correction you still seem to be threatening the English language with murder. No matter how hard we try those pesky typos will always be one step ahead eh? :)

    8. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Phae · · Score: 4, Funny

      Only if I get to loot his gear.

    9. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 5, Funny

      Death to extremists!!!

    10. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by lazlo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So what we need in order to have a proper control for this experiment is to take some people who don't game, expose them to Jack Thompson, and see if they develop a desire to torture and kill him.

      Sounds like fun. I'll take bets.

      --
      Pound! Bang! Bin! Bash! is this a shell script or a Batman comic?
    11. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Vryl · · Score: 1

      They are either valid, or wrong. They cannot be both.

    12. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Hangeron · · Score: 1

      Indeed. People should rather start using phrases like "I'm gonna bomb you like Bush!" or "I'll give you the guantanamo treatment!". I wonder if that would open people's eyes.

      Enough of games already...

    13. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Ayaress · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, don't you know your logic? Validity and truth are independent. For a rediculous example, it's very easy to construct a VALID argument showing that the sky is purple and has pink polka dots. It's based on faulty assumptions and yeilds falty conclusions, but it is still entirely valid.

    14. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Celestial+Avenger · · Score: 2, Informative

      "If I ever meet you, I'll explain my position to you in a calm and reasonable voice, and attempt to illustrate why I believe that your opinions, valid though they may be, are wrong!"

      He will belittle and sue you either way. It's like talking to a wall. A crusty, retarded, attenion-whore wall.

    15. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No... The threat was satire. So he's exempt from legal laws just like jacko.

    16. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      jack thompson is not a violent video game.

    17. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by KeeghanMacAllan · · Score: 1

      A more appropriate punishment would be to force the kid to wear a sign saying "I'm stupider than Jack Thompson".

    18. Re:Aaaargh, stop proving his point. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, for the same offense, he gets disbarred and has to find a new career, but the kid gets arrested and has to find a new life. Cute.

  4. Arg not this shit again. by KriKit · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Chances are the kids mentally disturbed. But that won't change the fact that, "Videogames made him do it." (C) Copyright 2005 Jack Thompson. Nice to see he's playing the role as a maryter, and enforcing the fear that videogames make for a violent society. "The threshold for accepting charges or declining them is whether or not the complainant was in fear for his life," Martin noted, "not whether or not the complainant had the ability to carry it out. But just making threats would be an offense in itself." Whats that about? I hear about people being threatend and stalked and don't have any recorse. Local police wont do anything, just file a report.

    1. Re:Arg not this shit again. by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 1

      Whats that about? I hear about people being threatend and stalked and don't have any recorse. Local police wont do anything, just file a report.

      Simple, the people you hear about don't have money or influence, so they just get the standard, "not worth our time" response. Also, there are worlds of difference betweeen "so-and-so said..." and "here's an email that person sent". The main difference being physical proof. I've not read the details of this, considering the only details are the ones Thompson has released, so this may not apply; however, since the police have actually gotten involved, I'll bet on it.

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
  5. Gee, thanks! by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If true, that person is basically giving the sensationalist some more ammo. Before, there wasn't much to agree with his statements, but now he's got some concrete examples of "pixelantes".

    I don't care what you think about a person, or how wrong they are, uncivil discourse only gives the target more ammunition and greater resolve. If you can't handle it civilly, ignore them.

  6. Video games made him do it! by Chrismith · · Score: 5, Funny

    If we're to believe Jack Thompson, the games are to blame. Why, then, did they arrest the kid? It's certainly not his fault. GTA made him do it.

    1. Re:Video games made him do it! by KriKit · · Score: 1

      Nice reasoning! I find your insights intriging and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

    2. Re:Video games made him do it! by basscomm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I imagine it'd be a bit tougher to arrest GTA.

      --
      http://crummysocks.com
    3. Re:Video games made him do it! by Chowderbags · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well I don't know about you, but when it gets up to 6 wanted stars, it's hard *not* to get caught. Damn those Rhino tanks. ;_;

  7. Really by ShadowMarth · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Everybody famous gets death-threats. It's no suprise. It's just this moron's got the ability to use it for ammo...

    1. Re:Really by Pierre · · Score: 1

      This guy is famous?

      Who the hell is Jack Thompson? I'd read the article but I don't even want to know.

  8. "Shoot Jack Thompson the Game"? by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Informative
    "The torture was to end with the shooting of Thompson, as in this teen's favorite games."

    Whoa! Theres a game where you can shoot Jack Thompson? Why was I not told of this!? /sarcasm

    "'Shoot the messenger' is the video game industry's strategy,"

    "Shoot the messenger"? Jack Thompson isn't a messenger, hes the guy trying to burn down the castle. (Undermining the ESRB and backing out of a $10,000 donation to a charity if someone makes him a mod to his specifications is not going to win you any friends in the industry.)

    Is it just me or are his claims getting more outrageous as time goes by?

    1. Re:"Shoot Jack Thompson the Game"? by wipis · · Score: 1

      For the record he didnt say mod he said make a game and publish and distrobute it. Those guys with the GTA mod dont count they didnt even make it right. Also despite the fact that it was a lame satire it was satire just read A modest proposal http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html> . HE refered to his video game as 'A modest video game proposal' Get it? Yeah it's lame but if your an english major or very well educated you would recognize it. I feel stupid for not seeing it before he said it was satier.

    2. Re:"Shoot Jack Thompson the Game"? by MMaestro · · Score: 1
      For the record he didnt say mod he said make a game and publish and distrobute it. Those guys with the GTA mod dont count they didnt even make it right.

      Actually, if you read up on it, the only reason why it failed that condition was because Jack Thompson came out and backed out on the promise after the dev team announced they were going to contact Rockstar for permission to publish and distribute it (presumably using an online model, a la Steam). Given a month or two (and with the OK and a license from Rockstar) then the game would've gone retail.

    3. Re:"Shoot Jack Thompson the Game"? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I can say "I'll give the man who kills George W. Bush one million dollars!" and if I were to do that in the US that would get me arrested even if it was satire. He is free to express his oppinion and say crap as long as that crap doesn't hurt people. I'm not sure whether witholding 10k$ you promised to donate to charity is considered hurting but it certainly hurt his credibility.

      Also, he should know that jokingly making such an offer will result in ten people jokingly following up on it. If one guy says to another guy "I bet you one million dollars noone would be stupid enough to do that" on TV you'll see ten people doing it immediately. Hell, it's enough to say "don't do this at home kids" and the next day there are three additional orbituaries in the paper.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  9. Read that again? by hackwrench · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since Jack Thompson has not mentioned suing any games that end with him being shot and given his aggressive legal posture on this point, one can safely conclude that he has sanctioned whatever videogames end with him being shot. Jack Thompson seriously needs to consider the stupidity of such a thing. Furthermore, he says that there's more than one game that ends with him being shot. Weird.

  10. When will they learn? by Xaroth · · Score: 2, Funny

    I mean, sure it feels nice, but when will children learn that a life of misdemeanor isn't the answer?

    --
    That green slime had it coming.
  11. JT by king+wilson · · Score: 2, Insightful

    so....

        Other than the police confirming that the kid was charged with a misdemeanor, the only info in the story comes from a Jack Thompson press release?

        I think Slashdot needs to update their story posting policy, to only include stories that have the slightest chance of being factually true.....

    1. Re:JT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      uh wait - you were expecting journalism from gamespot.com?

      Haaa ha ha haa haa ha ha ha ha haa ha ha ha haa oh my god ha haa..... - deep breath - ha ha haa haaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa ha haaa - oh my sides hurt - hee hee hee hee..pant pant......whew......

      AAAAAAH HAAA haaa haa haa ha ha ha haa ha ha haa ha ha ha.....

  12. Re:What should be explained in the blurb ... by ArwynH · · Score: 3, Informative

    Dude! Where have you been these past few months (longer?)?. Jack Thompson is this stupid lawyer dude who hates violent video games. He thinks it turns kids into monsters you see, violent monsters. Among his many exploits, he is most famous at the moment for not honouring his word about giving $10,000 to charity if someone made a game to his specifications. He has also been know to be argued into the ground by a 12yr old, aswell as attempt to sue penny-arcade for harasment (they gave the $10,000 to charity in his name).

    I guess penny-arcade were too big for him, so he's gone after kids instead. I wonder if the kid could counter-sue JT for slander?

    PS It's late, I have work tommorrow. If you want links http://www.google.com/ is your friend.

  13. What weight do Thompson's actions have in this? by deranged+unix+nut · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Thompson sounds like the little kid that keeps poking his sister on the long car ride and then goes crying to mom and dad when his sister slaps him.

    I am not a gamer, I haven't even played any retail computer games in several years, but Thompson is annoying the heck out of me.

    I would hope that the judge would see the situation for what it is and would tell Thompson that he is getting what he is asking for and if he doesn't like it then he should find a new political platform to beat on.

    1. Re:What weight do Thompson's actions have in this? by idonthack · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Of course, the sister will be the one that gets in trouble.
      ---
      What subliminal message?
      Generated by SlashdotRndSig via GreaseMonkey

      --
      Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
  14. email by dexomn · · Score: 0

    Boy am I glad I only called him a jackass in my email.

  15. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sorry, but if you read this site with any form of regularity you should know who Jack Thompson is. Turn in your Slashdot ID, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

  16. The real lesson here boys and girls. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you want to torture and kill Jack Thompson, just do it. If you threaten him first, the police will show up and arrest you before you get the chance.

    1. Re:The real lesson here boys and girls. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rev. Robertson? That you?

    2. Re:The real lesson here boys and girls. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want to torture and kill Jack Thompson, just do it.

      Then blame Nike.

  17. Re:In other news... by SharpFang · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You're assumed to know some more names as well: Bill Gates, Lex Luthor, Steve Ballmer, Darl McBride, Dr. Evil, John C. Dvorak.

    --
    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  18. Actually, I know that. My point was... by Nice2Cats · · Score: 1, Interesting
    Fact of the matter is, I actually know who Jack is and what he does. That was not my point. My point was that the Slashdot editors are assuming that everybody knows this, which is just terrible journalism -- it's like saying "Balkenende wants higher taxes" without explaining anywhere in the text just who Balkenende is. Like, king of Denmark? Mayor of Falluja?

    I am getting increasingly frustrated with Slashdot's decline in quality, especially on the editorial side, and this is just another symptom. More and more, I find myself looking for this kind of news in other places.

    Thanks for the backgrounder anyway -- you're heart is in the right place.

    1. Re:Actually, I know that. My point was... by ArwynH · · Score: 1

      Slashdot isn't really a news site anymore. Not sure if it ever was. If you want news goto a news site agregator (e.g. news.google.com). Slashdot is about the comments that come after the articule, not the articule (or summary itself), that is where the real information lies. Sure it would be nice if there were no dupes or spelling mistakes, but since that isn't why I come to slashdot I don't really care.

  19. Re:In other news... by Geoffreyerffoeg · · Score: 1

    Hm.

    Jack Thompson - Florida lawyer on a personal crusade against video game violence; he says it causes real-world violence. Disliked in the Slashdot community both because of his views and his craziness/overexcitedness.

    Bill Gates - Founder, former CEO, and current Chief Software Architect (or something) of Microsoft. Disliked in the Slashdot community both because of his views and his overcapitalistic business practices.

    Lex Luthor - Superman's archenemy, and thus a good source for imaginary evil viewpoints and real movie quotes. Also a character in Smallville, a TV series about Superman's adolescence.

    Steve Ballmer - Current CEO of Microsoft. Disliked in the Slashdot community both because of his views (similar to Bill Gates') and his propensity to throw chairs and dance on stage (both of which have been blown out of proportion, but he should've expected that when he did so).

    Darl McBride - Current CEO of SCO, a company in Utah that claims rights to AT&T UNIX (the commercial version). Nobody's entirely sure who owns AT&T UNIX, because it changed hands too many times. Anyway, almost nobody really uses AT&T UNIX anymore; they use the Free versions (BSD UNIX, Linux, etc.), which SCO claims contains their AT&T UNIX code. Anyway, McBride seems to have turned SCO's business strategy into suing Linux companies/users. Disliked in the Slashdot community both because of his views and his stupid business practices.

    Dr. Evil - archenemy of Austin Powers, whose namesake movies are parodies of spy movies such as James Bond's. Therefore Dr. Evil is a parody of honest archenemies. Liked in the Slashdot community because of his views both on one beelion dollars and on sharks with frickin' lasers on their heads.

    John C. Dvorak - computer columnist, currently for PC Magazine. Disliked in the Slashdot community both because of his views and his propensity to make wildly incorrect predictions.

  20. BOOM by xchino · · Score: 1

    HEADSHOT!

    --
    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
  21. Ironically... by Weirdofreak · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I believe I'd be correct in saying that Jack lives in Florida? Well, purely from the information in the artical, he's broken state law by recording the conversation - you need both parties' consent. (According to wikipedia - look up telephone tapping.)

    That the kid lives in Texas, where no such law is in place, might change matters, and the kid might also have got his answerphone. But I'd love to see Jack get a lawsuit slapped on him for this.

    1. Re:Ironically... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There has to be a lawyer reading this, right?. If any attorney reading this would file a suit in the name of this kid for illegal wire-tapping. I'll personally post 150 USD dollars to help with the expenses. This is a huge chance for the /. community to gather it's might (and dollars) and help out our so called "pixelante" friend. i don't know about you guys, but this seems like a sweet opportunity to band together and take a bite out of Thompson.

      Someone out there can whip up a paypal thingy or whatever right? We can start the "Thanks for Crap, Thompson Foundation" to defend our fellow gamer-types.

  22. Re:What should be explained in the blurb ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love the way you can't be arsed to provide links, but you provide a link to google. Thank God! However else would we have found it?

  23. Re: modest proposal by Doctor+Ian · · Score: 1

    wtf I made his game last month.
    http://www.ikaruga.co.uk/bodythumper/
    the end

    --
    Trust me, I'm a doctor.
  24. Gruesome Torture revealed! by MeanderingMind · · Score: 1

    The unmentionable gruesome torture in all it's grotesque hideousness!

    "So help me God Jack Thompson I will addict you to Nintendogs and you will be unable to say another damned lie again because you will be too worried about your puppies!"

    --
    Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
  25. heh by Niet3sche · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm not a lawyer, but I have a crack legal defense strategy for him, and it even comes down to one word...

    Satire.

    ;)

  26. Re:In other news... by kaellinn18 · · Score: 1

    You're assumed to know some more names as well: Bill Gates, Lex Luthor, Steve Ballmer, Darl McBride, Dr. Evil, John C. Dvorak.

    That's redundant at least once.

    --

    --------
    This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
  27. Tip for Gamespot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't let the sheriff's office PIO be your only source for whether the kid is in custody or not. All you needed to do was make a quick call to the jail's booking department and ask a CO if the kid was in the jail. The CO would have given you bail information and the next court date.

    Of course, given the kid's age, it's just as possible he would have been released to his parents, but the jail would have confirmed if he was there either way.