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Jack Thompson Attacks DoD, ESA, GTA With Utah Bill

Posted by Soulskill on from the back-on-board-the-train-to-crazytown dept.

eldavojohn writes "Delusional disbarred Miami attorney Jack Thompson claims to have a bill in the state of Utah that targets retailers and entire industries with the Truth in Advertising Law. The best part of his rant: 'Our military appropriately uses violent video games a) to suppress the inhibition to kill of new recruits, and b) to teach killing scenarios. Games have the same effect on civilian teens.' While GamePolitics couldn't find the bill on Utah's state site, they did receive a response from him claiming 'I have a sponsor and a bill, and [the video game] industry is in trouble.' For 2009 bills, there seems to be merely a bill enhancing the Truth in Advertising Law but does not contain any of Thompson's verbiage. Good 'ole Jack — always good for some laughs, but really he needs to give it up one of these days."

5 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Never by whisper_jeff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He will never give up. The reason is simple - every time he goes off on one of his insane ramblings, news sites and services cover it and give his voice an audience. Until people stop caring what he has to say, he'll keep saying things. Unfortunately.

    1. Re:Never by Chabo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think it was Tycho from Penny Arcade who said something like this, though I can't find the quote:

      "I'm glad we have Jack Thompson as the spokesman for the anti-videogames movement, lest we have someone more competent to take his place."

      --
      Convert FLACs to a portable format with FlacSquisher
  2. Video game violence and situation comedies... by tlambert · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Video game violence and situation comedies are obviously ruining this nation.

    This is why we have so many random acts of violence and comedy in the streets.

    Wait. I guess kids aren't the mindless copy-drones they're made out to be.

    Never mind.

    -- Terry

    1. Re:Video game violence and situation comedies... by orclevegam · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, but to think that people (not just kids) aren't affected by the stuff they experience in their daily environment is just as short-sighted.

      People are affected by everything they experience, daily or otherwise, but how that experience affects them is non-obvious and varies massively from person to person. As such, trying to lay the blame for anything at the feet of one particular source (be it music, game, show, movie, book, or person) is to ignore the real problem. People do things for a variety of highly complex reasons, sometimes physical in nature (chemical imbalance), other times psychological (PTS, indoctrination of various kinds, various abuses [somewhat related to PTS], poor reasoning skills). You cannot legislate away crazy, immoral, illegal, or just plain stupid behavior, there will always be those that do bad things, no matter what they are or aren't exposed to, and what is and isn't illegal, to believe otherwise is to believe a fiction, and those that operate in ignorance of reality do so at their own peril.

      --
      Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
  3. Re:Hahahah by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Kick & scream all you want pig, you lose

    I think that's a dangerous attitude to take. There are a lot of people out there who don't know any better who will take seriously whoever is shouting loudest. For many years now, that person has been Jack Thompson.

    The thing that makes him most dangerous is that there's an element of truth to his arguments. There's a minimal amount in there that makes the things he says plausible to those people who don't/can't educate themselves.