Jack Thompson Attacks DoD, ESA, GTA With Utah Bill

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."

Comments

Video games vs Jack

[mgabrys_sf]

Video games never made me want to kill another (real) person. Jack Thompson on the other hand makes me want to kill - someone, possibly named Jack - every time I hear from Mr. Thompson.

Re:Video games vs Jack

[Chabo]

He's made me want to get into racketeering!

Re:Video games vs Jack

[genner]

I don't play video games and my reaction is the same: "kill Jack!" I do like to play chess though. And I like to eat potato chips as well. Still can't decide if it's playing chess or eating potato chips that causes me to have that reaction? Hmmm, something to think about (if you are or should be in a mental institution).

Chess was the murder simulator that introduced kings to killing scenarios and casued the crusades.

Re:Video games vs Jack

[Feanturi]

True story: I had a nightmare once when I was around 8 years old, in which I kept spotting people that were poised to kill me. I knew they meant to kill me because they were an L-shaped move away from wherever I was at the time. I knew they'd be able to jump over any obstacle between us and kill me instantly upon landing, so I kept having to run away thereby changing the positional advantage they had. But I would only wind up encountering someone else also that same relative position away from me, and have to run again. Had I not been exposed to chess, I would not have had to contend with this frightful situation. Clearly chess breeds violent thoughts and needs to be stamped out once and for all!

Re:Video games vs Jack

[Cowmonaut]

No, they haven't. Check the DoJ's website if you don't believe me. The more popular video games have gotten, the lower *actual* violence amongst youths has gone down. In 2003-5 it was at a FORTY YEAR LOW, at the supposed "height" of video game violence controversy.

Re:Video games vs Jack

[need4mospd]

I had a dream sorta like that, except replace "people that were poised to kill me" with "hot supermodels". And there were lots of pillows.

So clearly, chess breeds porn as well.

Never

[whisper_jeff]

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.

Re:Never

[Chabo]

Listen, and understand. That Jack Thompson is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

Re:Never

[Chabo]

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."

I can't wait until they finally lock him up

[Weaselmancer]

...and give him this guy as a cellmate.

At least they wouldn't run out of stuff to talk about.

But it's UTAH..

[Binkleyz]

Who cares?

No offense to the nice nice people in Utah, but one state law, in a very small (population-wise) state, and will have little or no impact on the VG industry. Even IF this bill passes, there is certain to be an immediate EFF or ACLU lawsuit to overturn it.

Utah is the reddest of the "Red States", and I have to imagine that most good Mormon kids aren't playing GTA4 anyway.

Re:But it's UTAH..

[dogmatixpsych]

The irony of using the phrase "people like you" in context of your response is pretty funny.

Jack Thompson?

[JesseL]

I can't believe he hasn't been found in a cheap motel room; dead from autoerotic asphyxiation, wearing a gimp suit and a dildo in his ass.

The dude....

[8127972]

... Really needs to have some hot coffee.

Re:Thank god he's still around

[Hatta]

I remember Jack Thompson, but who the hell is Utah Bill?

Re:Just as it happens in movies

[kannibal_klown]

I think their problem is that games are treated more like movies, and less like cigarettes and alcohol. And to them that seems like a bad thing.

An easy-going cashier might sell a violent game to some 8-year-old without a care in the world. I've seen it happen with films at the theater, rentals at a BlockBuster, and games at a GameStop.

As with most things, video games shouldn't be a federal matter but a family one. Parents need to take an active role in their kids lives and not just hand over wads of cash or buy something because they want it.

• Parents should be vigilant about what they're buying for their kids: a box with dismembered corpses on the cover might require a millisecond of thought when buying for a 5-year-old.
• Parents should keep track of what their kids are doing with their money. Personally when I was a kid I didn't have access to a lot of disposable income
• etc

I've mentioned it in the past, but my favorite anecdote about this whole thing took place while waiting in line at a GameStop. Some mother was asking the cashier if he thinks she should buy DeadRising for her really young kid. He told her about the ratings and described the game, but she STILL didn't want the responsibility of making the decision herself and kept asking for him to make the decision..

Video game violence and situation comedies...

[tlambert]

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

Re:Video game violence and situation comedies...

[orclevegam]

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.

Re:Hahahah

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

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.

Re:Hahahah

[cbiltcliffe]

He could get struck by lightning or hit by a bus

...run over by a carjacker, shot by a sniper....

Re:Hahahah

[MartinSchou]

All at once? You'd think his life was a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon!