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I had to write a paper for english that could be based on anything, so I decided to wrote about J.T. However, it isn't a biography. In fact...well...if you have some free time, go on ahead and read my paper! This will be the basis of the flash rant I plan on doing.
Note: Things in parenthesis are cited sources. Just ignore those.
Note 2: This topic is NOT about how "formal" my paper is or is not, so do NOT post about how my sources or subject are not professional.
Note: Things in parenthesis are cited sources. Just ignore those.
Note 2: This topic is NOT about how "formal" my paper is or is not, so do NOT post about how my sources or subject are not professional.
Jack Thompson is quite possibly the most illogical, stupid, and irritating man I have even heard of during my 20 years of life. An anti-Video Game fanatic, he is doing everything he can to limit, no, completely destroy gaming in general. There is no line he will not cross. There are no words he will not say. However, I am here to take Jackâs beliefs about gaming as well as his opinions about gamers and shove them right back down his throat. This is Logan versus Jack on the topic of video games.
Jack was born on July 23, 1950 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up to become a lawyer, settling down in Miami, Florida. It is not known when and how his hatred for gaming started. However, he is known for having conservative views on the effects of obscenity and violence in popular media in general. Video games just happen to be his current target.
Gaining his âknowledgeâ on video games from an extremely exaggerated standpoint, Jack begins to build and share his views with the world. Jack believes that all games are violent, murder and sexual simulators. People accused of violent crimes âtrainedâ or ârehearsedâ their actions using video games as âmurder simulators.â Also, the Military uses commercial, off-the-shelf games to desensitize and remove inhibition to kill (Wikipedia). So let me get this straight. If all games are violent, murder and sex simulators, then I guess I should be feeling the urge to kill people while collecting mushrooms and jumping on Goombas. Jack must have a very closed mind on games if he thinks all games are filled with violence and sex. I donât remember seeing any blood, drugs, and nudity in âSonic the Hedgehog.â I donât even remember seeing any of those things in âSoul Caliburâ games, which are fighting games to boot! So I guess that means not all games are so evil and violent like he seems to think. Strike one for Jack.
To continue, Jack has stated that ârecent medical brain studies at Harvard and Indiana University prove that childrenâs brain functions are damaged by a steady diet of violent images and messages (Wikipedia).â Iâve been playing games since I was four years old. Some games in my childhood years were typical fun games, such like âSuper Mario Bros.â However, there were games released at that time that were still considered violent and scary, such as âClock Towerâ or âContra.â I never once felt warped by any images. Sure I was scared when I played a few survival horror games of old, but I was never brain damaged by any of it. But still, this is just my own personal experience when I was a child. Itâs just one kid, right? Not according to Indiana University, a place Jack claims to have proved that âchildrenâs brain functions are damaged by a steady diet of violent images and messages.â Indiana responded to Jackâs words, saying they never once mentioned that childrenâs brain functions were âdamaged.â They only said there was a âdifferenceâ in brain patterns between children with Disruptive Behavior Disorder and children without it when exposed to a specific stimulus. It is not explicitly claimed that there was a correlation between exposure to violence and brain activity (Wikipedia). So, I guess this means that Jack was either horribly misinformed, or he warped these studies into his own meaning in order to support his petty argument. Way to go, Jack! Also, just as a final kick to his ego, this study was funded by the âCenter for Successful Parenting,â a lobby group against media violence. Now what was the definition of âironyâ again? Itâs on the tip of my tongue. Strike two, Jack.
Jack, as stated before, will cross any line to get his point across. He illogically goes after the ESRB ratings of games. Jack claims âAny M-rated game has violence levels unacceptable and definitionally harmful to anyone under 17. The industry will rue the day it accepted this labeled scheme (CBS News).â He also says that âgames with adult content are developed for and marketed to children.â So, in short, Jack believes that game developers make games aimed at children, regardless of the content, while the ESRB seems to ignore that. How ignorant can one get? The game developers create games aimed at a specific audience. They create âResident Evilâ games aimed at a more mature audience, while at the same time create âMega Manâ games aimed at gamers of all ages. The ESRB is there to, by law, grade games on their content, much like those who label movies with âG,â âR,â ECT. If the ESRB group didnât care about who games are sold to, theyâd slap an âEâ as a rating on every game and put them all in âToys Râ Usâ stores worldwide. The ESRB is not a joke and game boxes very clearly show the ranking of the game as well as what the game might include as far as violence and sexuality. The ESRB is not at fault for anything and the people who buy these games should be fully aware of its content because of its ranking. Strike three, Jack Thompson. Youâre out.
Unfortunately, a strike-out wonât stop Jack and his outrageous insanity. And what kind of an insane man would he be if he didnât bring religion into his arguments? Jack Thompson is a Christian man who uses the bible to justify his actions, such as name-calling (Wikipedia)! Name-calling? So heâs using the bible to support name-calling. How exactly does that make any logical sense at all? It doesnât, but Jack believes it does, because âthe Bible allows name-calling as long as it is a truthful name.â Thatâs actually quite funny, seeing as how he later goes on to refer to ESA head Doug Lowenstein to Hitler and Saddam Hussein. He also refers to gaming as âa masturbatory activityâ and told gamers to âput down the controller and get a life (Wikipedia).â He also calls gamers in general âpixelantes,â a word Jack made up. âPixelantes are pimple-faced geeks who use death threats to drive people of faith and with values from the public square.
To continue the name calling, he does a very unprofessional move within an e-mail to Scott Ramsoomair, author of popular web comic âVG Cats.â Over a long e-mail series, Jack disregards his professional attitude and goes straight to name-calling in a very unprofessional way. During a long reply to one of Scottâs e-mails, Jack had maintained his professional attitude. When Scott replied with a somewhat harsh, but truthful reply, Jack simply responded with âGet a name and a lifeâ as well as âI donât have time for twits.â He continues to say âHonestly, are all of your gamers on drugs or what?â The argument between them continued for a few days worth of e-mails, with Scott completely putting Jackâs arguments to shame. In the end, Jack gives up by threatening Scott with legal actions if any further e-mails are sent to him (VG Cats). Itâs so nice to know that the Holy Bible promotes such name-calling, according to Jack. Oh thatâs right. I almost forgot. It doesnât! However, Jack doesnât stop there. âThe Bible doesnât promote killing people. Grand Theft Auto does.â Brilliant, Jack! You compared the Holy Bible to a video game made for mature audiences, which includes violence, sexual content, and foul language! Good for you! However, need I remind you that the Bible itself has stories about death and violence? I guess Jack must have skipped a few chapters.
Jack then goes on to insult other religions. He blames Islam for violence, expressing his opinion, which he claims is fact, that âthe Qurâan promotes killing of innocent people and infidels,â who he claims the Qurâan identifies as Christians and Jews (Wikipedia). I canât tell you how completely pathetic this argument is. Iâm not Islamic nor have I read the Qurâan, but I know for a fact that Islamic teachings do not promote senseless killing of innocent people. I have yet to see a single Islamic person running around with a chainsaw and hacking up everyone in sight because his religion tells him itâs the right thing to do. Jack is just too ignorant when it comes to the outside world, and this single argument proves that.
Ignorance, however, is something that Jack excels in. In fact, he often contradicts himself. For example, Jack says âMy only position for six years on this has been: Mature games should not be sold to minors.â Thatâs a perfectly reasonable argument that I, too, agree with. However, that argument shattered to pieces once he said ââThe Warriorsâ must not fall into the hands of anyone under 18. In fact, it should not be sold to anyone (Wikipedia).â So, first he says that he doesnât want mature games sold to minors, then turns around and says mature games shouldnât be sold to anyone at all. I guess jack doesnât know his own position in his argument.
Jack crosses the line once again just last year when he wrote an open letter to Entertainment Software Association president Douglas Lowenstein (who he refers to as âHitlerâ as stated earlier), making a "modest proposal" for the industry in which he offered $10,000 to a charity designated by Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler if any company would create a game scenario he described in the letter. In the proposed game, the main character would murder a number of industry executives, including one scene in which the main character "urinates onto the severed brain stems of the Eibeler family victims,â and go on a killing spree at E3 (Wikipedia). Video game fans began working quickly, hoping to make some money from it. When Jack found out this âmodest proposalâ of his was really being taken seriously, he quickly turned around and said he was simply making a âsatire.â I find it odd how he would make such a proposal and not expect someone to try and make such a game for $10,000. Being a lawyer, one would assume he was smarter than that. So, as another slap in the face to Jack, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the creators of web comic Penny Arcade, decided they would make the donation instead. In the memo field of the check, they wrote âFor Jack Thompson, Because Jack Thompson Wonât.â The check is finely displayed on their website (Penny Arcade.com). I tip my hat to those two. However, this caused Jack to become furious and tried to get Seattle police and the FBI to investigate Holkins and Krahulik for orchestrating "criminal harassment" of him through articles on their site (Wikipedia). I guess Jack doesnât really like it when people are generous in place of Jack. And gamers too to boot. I wish I could see his red face when he found out about that.
Only a few days after the Penny Arcade incident, The National Institute on Media and the Family wrote a letter to Jack. Dr. Walsh, the man in charge of this pro-family group, had this to say:
"I know that you share that common concern and I am well aware that you have frequently cited me and our organization as a source of scientific information. However, over the past few months, I and members of my board have a growing concern that your use of our name, without our permission, has had a negative influence as we try to educate the public on this important issue. Your commentary has included extreme hyperbole and your tactics have included personally attacking individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect... Some of the people that you have publicly criticized are not only people of integrity, but are people who have worked to improve the lives of children. The result is that our position and reputation as a research based, non-partisan, solution-focused organization has been jeopardized. Consequently, I ask that you cease using the institute's or my name in any way that would give the impression that we support your efforts." Walsh also requests that Thompson remove the link to the institute's website from his own site (Gameindustry.biz).
Seeing something like this reinforces my faith in the human race. Not only is a group that Jack Thompson supported cutting off all ties, but itâs a group that has virtually the same beliefs about media that Jack does. This is a perfect example of how extreme Jack is getting with his âmissionâ to destroy gaming. Itâs just too bad heâs losing valuable allies. I suppose when youâre a crazed lunatic, you donât gain too much support. However, Jack uses his favorite retaliation method and starts to threaten The National Institute on Media and the Family with legal threats. Wait, legal threats? Jack is a lawyer and all of a sudden he believes that someone cutting ties off with him is against the law? I guess failed logic is Jackâs bread and butter.
Finally, Jackâs most recent act of stupidity involves a project started by two gamers from Michigan called âFlowers for Jack.â This project was created in an attempt to show Jack that not all gamers are evil, crazy, demented, and violent people. The flowers were to be delivered to Jackâs office in February 2006, including a letter in hopes to open a friendlier dialogue between Jack and gamers. Thompson responded by forwarding the flowers to some of his industry foes, with comments like, "Discard them along with the decency you discarded long ago. I really don't care. Grind them up and smoke them if you likeâ (Wikipedia). Jack then made a statement saying he didnât even open the letter that was delivered with the flowers. So apparently, this is Jackâs way of saying he refuses to believe that some gamers are nice. Can you believe that he would actually go so far as to take charity from other people and discard it as if it were garbage?
Even in court, Jackâs stupidity knows no bounds. During several cases heâs involved in that donât involve gaming at all, he finds a way to throw video games in as evidence. For example, he claims the âWashington Sniperâ trained sniping while playing the game âHalo.â âThe game removed his inhibition to kill and gave him incredible shooting skillsâ (Wikipedia). Thatâs right Jack. Everyone can learn how to be an expert sniper by walking on top of the gun, holding down the âYâ button, pressing down the right analog button, and adjusting the scope distance the same way. He made a similar argument regarding the Beltway Snipers; however, he failed to realize that the sniper was a former soldier already with significant rifle training (Wikipedia). Too bad, Jack. I guess you were proven wrong yet again. However, Iâm really not at all surprised.
However, all of this so far is nothing compared to Jackâs ultimate act of stupidity. This one thing, by far, is what makes me hate Jack the most, and would make me want to hit him hard in the face for even going this far. The story goes like this.
A gamer named Mitchell S. with the online screen name "Kuja105", who posted on a few online video game forums (including GameFaqs.com and MetalGearSolid.org) committed suicide. On January 2, 2006, he posted a message in both forums detailing his intent to end his own life, citing overwhelming complications with school and finances. A very brief period of initial disbelief was followed by a barrage of replies from fellow forum members pleading that he not take his life, trying to talk him out of it. For days, no word was heard from Mitchell. Fearing the worst, members and administration from metalgearsolid.org began searching for contact information, spending hours on the phone trying to get in touch with him. Finally on January 4, Ryan K., an administrator at metalgearsolid.org, got him on the phone and spent hours desperately trying to talk him out of it. Sadly, Mitchell soon ended his own life by consuming antifreeze and painkillers. Later, members from the site contacted Mitchell's family to find out the grave news. They reported it to their online community, and posted a tribute to their passed friend on the front page of metalgearsolid.org (Wikipedia).
This is a very tragic story that I was actually a part of. I am a user on GameFaqs.com and I post there every day, so I knew about this story. However, Jack Thompson the great had to stick his nose where it didnât belong, and he had this to say:
âYour "gamer friend" will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's too late for that. There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation. If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not necessarily a sexual one. The real tragedy here extends beyond the life and death of this one fellow. There are literally millions of young people and young adults whose despair is deepened by turning to the things of this world and then finding them meaningless. All of you gamers need to put down the controllers and get a life. The utter inanity of the vast majority of postings here shows how vapid "gaming" really is. You are one of the cheerleaders for this wasting of time and the wasting of lives. Do you feel any remorse for having contributed to this "culture of death?" Of course not. Hey, let's play MORE games, and ignore all the really productive things to do with our lives. Let's pretend to be shocked that a gamer might descend into deeper depression, as his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call 911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess. Sad. Sad for all of youâ (Wikipedia).
The absolute nerve of that man! This doesnât even involve him nor does it involve video games. Someone had just killed himself and yet he makes comments like these? Luckily, MetalGearSolid.org issued their response that made me smile:
"Once again, Mr. Thompson, you've proven that your ignorance knows no bounds. We're not going to participate in this war you wish to wage against us -- we're bigger than that. We're bigger than you.
This is a case where our tragedy is greater than the sum of our transgressions. The fact that you want to exploit the loss that both we and his family have suffered to forward your own selfish, religiously driven ambitions speaks volumes about the integrity (or lack, thereof) of your character, and it only serves to strengthen our resolve.
You can continue to try and discredit us and insult us, though no true man of God would do such a thing. We pity you and your ignorance, and only hope that someday you can come to terms with and mature away from your bigotry. As Metal Gear Solid fans, we have learned to believe in the best of individuals. We've learned to show charity. We've become better people, and through the loss of our friend, we've become a closer-knit community.
We forgive you, Jack, and we hope that God will do the same for youâ (Wikipedia).
So now you know. Jack Thompson is an angry, illogical, stupid extremist who hates gaming so much that he will lie, threaten, and insult until things are done his way. Heâs losing most, if not all respect by just about everyone. There isnât a gamer alive that has a shred of respect for Jack, and even non-gamers are losing interest in his constant complaining. However, I must thank him for one thing. I thank Jack for providing me the opportunity to proudly say that I am part of the video gamerâs community, and that I know the truth about everything he tries to âclaimâ as facts. Jack Thompson, you are a moron. Now disappear from our lives and let us gamers worry about what we play on our own terms.