Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson's in the news again. We all knew it was a matter of time. It seems every couple of months he ends up rearing his ugly, misinformed head, spouting falsehoods and half-truths to the unsuspecting mainstream media outlets. And why does the media listen to this guy? Because they may be even more clueless than he is, if that could even be possible. There is recent evidence to prove the validity of this, though. Just look back to earlier this month and the whole Mass Effect "Sexbox" controversy. I especially liked the Fox interview with Cooper Lawrence. To her credit, she did research the topic (after the fact) and recanted her previous statements. Better to say your sorry for being wrong instead of proving it time and again. Which leads me back to Thompson.

The more I read about this guy, the more worried I become. His actions, like the people he tries to defend, are becoming more and more erratic. He has recently attempted to defend or assist in defending accused murderers using the "videogames made me do it" defense. Thankfully, to date no judge has sided with his nonsense. Equal unsuccessful in censoring music and retailers in his past, you think this guy would give up, but no, he has the dedication of a religious zealot. He has sued just about everyone in the music, movie, retail, and video game industries. Why does he do it? What does he get out of it? Here's the editorial description for his book, Out Of Harms Way, on Amazon.com:

"Jack Thompson eats giants for breakfast. Just ask media giant and shock-jock Howard Stern, who ranted on air about the "one lunatic lawyer" who got him kicked off the air. Jack, an outraged father and activist lawyer, is on a mission to protect children from the violent and obscene video games, music lyrics, shock jock radio shows, and television programs he says are creating a culture of violence and degradation. Going beyond outrage, Thompson chronicles his own spiritual journey from bystander to activist and offers the sociological, medical, scientific, and legal evidence that will motivate all Americans--especially parents--to get involved."

He has a long, long history of defending his "First Amendment right to annoy people and participate in the public square in the cultural war". I thought the culture war was Bill O'Reilly's thing. Maybe he should sue Thompson. Fortunately for us, this guy has been ruled against far more then he has been proven correct. He has had several high profile cases dismissed, including those against the videogame industry to include: Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games (Bully, GTA, Manhunt, The Warriors), Midway Games (Mortal Kombat), Capcom (Killer 7) and even Maxis and EA (The Sims 2). Come on! The Sims? What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Jack's career has spanned over 30 years and has had many interesting highlights. From his beginnings as a humble lawyer (which must have lasted all of 5 minutes after passing the bar) to bashing Janet Reno (calling her a closet lesbian no less) to his battles with 2 Live Crew (and losing) and to his current obsession with violent video games (losing yet again). In a kind of ironic twist, he also has had repeated clashes with the Florida Bar Association, the association that granted him his license to practice law. He is currently involved in a disbarment case, to be ruled upon in a month or two. If he is ruled against, he will no longer be able to practice law in Florida. What will that mean? He will have to hire a lawyer for any complaints that he wishes to file.

If Jack Thompson thinks he's in a war against videogames, he is definitely losing. He has repeatedly said how he has never played the games he is issuing judgment against. How can you judge a thing if you've never played a thing? I don't know the answer to that. If I don't know something I either research it (ie...play the game), or keep my mouth shut. Maybe Jack needs to pull out a book, other than the bible.

For more information on Jack Thompson, check out the following links:
JackThompson.org
Wikipedia
GamePolitics.com
Game Trailers

Just search for Jack Thompson on the Game Politics and Game Trailers sites for lots of good, and sometimes humorous, information.

Comments

1 Response to "Moral Crusader:"

  1. Garg Unzola On February 19, 2008 at 2:13 PM

    I hate Jack's eyes.
    He has those sycophant eyes.
    The kind of look Tom Cruize has in his eyes when he waxes lyrical about Scientology.