This opinion piece featured some errors of fact and characterized Mr. Thompson in a manner to which he objected. We have modified it accordingly and apologize to Mr. Thompson.
The editors
He can call us Nazis. He can call us childish. He can insult us in numerous other ways besides name-calling. He can attack the Japanese Prime Minister because their country produces violent video games.
But Jack Thompson has, finally, gone too far.
His crusade against video games has become more about himself and his beliefs than about the games. As reported by Gamepolitics.com this morning, the short of the story is this: Jack Thompson sent a letter to the Seattle Police Foundation. They are a non-profit group working to aid police officers by doing such things as purchasing bulletproof vests. Michael Malone is their chairman.
Malone is also a director on the board of Take Two Interactive. They are the publisher of countless games, including Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and the games that seemingly inspired Jack's personal crusade, the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Thompson contends in his letter that the board of directors for the Seattle Police Foundation should ask for his resignation.
Jack's letter is typical, of course. He spouts off his various TV appearances that don't mean anything, claims the games inspire teens to kill cops, and says this is fact because Law & Order had an episode based around this same scenario. This, according to Thompson, is hypocritical that a man can serve the Seattle Police but sponsor a company that produces (in his own words) a game that is "training a generation of teens with techniquest (sic) on how to kill cops."
What's the worst part about this? Thompson himself owns stock in the company. He attacks a man who is performing a superb service to the hard working Seattle Police before even getting Malone's side, yet fails to mention he was proud of his own stock ownership. He even wrote a letter to the media proclaiming his purchase.
Article comments
1 - Kajex
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Jack has used people connected to videogames to further his agenda. There was the incident in the beginning of the year with a males who committed suicide because of personal life problems, yet the fact that he played video games and was posting his final hours in a Metal Gear Solid message board was enough for Jack to respond by saying that video games had an influence on his decision.
This man is a sickening example of a person who should be brought into the spotlight to be shown as the fool that they are. This is the kind of person that people should be writing letter to t.v. news about to expose him as the fraud he really is. It's bad enough that he probably makes very little income doing nothing but stand on his soapbox while his wife uses her paycheck to support him and his son, but it's worse that other people have to suffer for it. He robs true justice from families of victims of murderers by claiming that the imbalances in the criminal are caused by video games- he fights FOR the criminals in this manner. And he marks gamers as delinquints, liars, low-intelligence, and worse yet, as scum equivilant to hitmen, and as people who would just as soon shoot a real person in the head for entertainment as play a video game.
So. Anybody else want to help me do something about this?
2 - Jack Thompson
Folks, if this is typical of the "reporting" here, then somebody needs some help with fact checking. Read the story about this at GamePolitics, and compare it to what the facts are. The fact is that this fellow, Malone, is not a shareholder. He's a Director on the Board of Take-Two. His own fellow director on the Police Foundation Board says he must choose between the two entities. That's in the story.
To assert that I am "insane" is also actionable, and I intend to do something about it.
Have a nice day.
3 - Christopher Rose
er, para 2: "But Jack Thompson has, finally, went too far." I hope that's style and not simply poor grammar...
And, er, forgive my ignorance, but who exactly is Jack Thompson? There's nothing in this story that sets things in context for the general reader.
4 - Brian C White Jr.
Can you provide a quote of him saying that, Thompson, or are you jsut puttign words in people's mouths like usuall
5 - Matt Paprocki
I'm hardly the first person to call you insane Jack. Oh yeah, the Florida Bar did too. And yes Jack, I did make an error. It will be corrected, unlike the ones you make. You know, like saying The Sims are nude? Or even claiming the Dual Shocks vibration feature is a problem for kids?
Chris: Jack Thompson is a lawyer out of Miami who believes he's important because he's been on TV a few times. He reguarly pulls crap out of his own mind and says it's truth when trying to convince people video games are evil.
He's attempted to sue multiple game companies because they supposedly led to a murder, and failed numerous times because he has no case. He claims to be an expert because he's been on 60 Minutes.
He routinely fails to listen to logic, reasoning, or even facts if they interfere with his "case." He has become racist, calling anyone who plays video games a "pizelante." The gaming community has embraced the word because of how asinine it is. Actually, the gaming commnuity has embraced him period hecause of how ridiculous his rants are, but he's becoming an annoyance when he begins attacking a charity.
The real problem here is that people believe him. Logic is not his strong suit. He'll pull short term research out and claim that's proof of kids becoming more violent. There's never been a long term study, and one logically should figure out that playing a violent game would be no different than playing tackle football. He has no response when the stats show how far teen violence has fallen.
He makes things up like saying the PS2 Dual Shock controller increases a childs aggression with no facts to back it up. He claimed that The Sims could get nude and the game was a haven for pedophiles. That went nowhere of course because The Sims aren't nude.
He's wasted your money, my money, and states money by knowingly pushing constitutional bills through our political system. Every so-called "violent video game bill" has been struck down after the ESA sued.
That's Jack in brief.
6 - BearDogg-X
It should also be mentioned that Jack holds 100 shares in Take-Two.
And Jack, this is the exact comment by the person on the police board:
"I don't think Mike would want to stay on, and it would be very difficult for the board to support that. It's a direct conflict."
One out of how many people on the board?
Another direct conflict is Jack holding shares of Take-Two while suing them at the time because of his own delusions.
And Mr. Malone, in that very same article, says that he is only on the Take-Two board temporarily, meaning he was working on something on an one time only basis(for all we know, maybe a summit between Take-Two and some police boards? we'll probably never know now thanks to the spineless actions of Jack), then he would resign from the Take-Two board.
7 - Christopher Rose
That would explain my ignorance of him but not the lack of context. Or the grammar..! Tee hee!!
8 - Nightwng2000
My own comment, as it is directed to the individual, Mr. Malone, ost in this, still stands.
gamepolitics.livejournal.com
I'm hoping at some point he'll see it and know that there really isn't anything to be embarrassed about. Although they never are, it is those who lie and deceive the general public and various government officials (proven time and time again) about video games that should be embarrassed. All the so-called anti-game experts and certain politicians that spoke at the Louisiana hearings regarding that video game bill are prime examples of the liars and deceivers that I speak of.
And now such individuals try to lie and deceive citizens and government officials about specific individuals, the same acts that Senator McCarthy of old tried so long ago.
Such individuals can call me what they will. In comparison to them, such names would be compliments.
9 - Dan
For more information on Jack check out his Wiki entry:
He is basically a hypocrite and a liar. My favorite example of how he is that he claims to be trying to protect children from school violence but then he does actions that were specifically contraindicated by the FBI and secret services report and to add insult to industry he flat out lies and says that they two organizations said something they most clearly did not.
Example: Here one of John Bruce’s editorials [from] shreveporttimes.com
and here is my response complete with what the FBI actually said:
but hey don't believe here are links to the two reports:
www.fbi.gov/publications/school/school2.pdf
www.secretservice.gov/ntac/ssi_final_report.pdf
Read them yourselves then reread Thompson editorial. I think you’ll agree Thompson needs to do some fact checking of his own.
[DAN: please use active links. Thank you. Comments Editor]
10 - Kajex
Fredric Wertham comes to mind. Jack Thompson also admitted to being a huge Batman fan. Back in the day, Fredric Wertham would have told the nearest person that reading comic books like Batman, Superman, and everything else, would have lead to schizophrenia, homosexuality and a number of other mental conditions and crimes.
The age of censorship SHOULD be over.
Leave it to a nutjob to force his wife to support him with her paycheck so he can contradict himself. If he wants attention, he could cash in on the $10,000 promise he made- which was completed to the brim, Jack, based on the words you first used when you made that Proposal, and which you later defined as satire, as if the act of witholding money from people who needed it was hilarious.
If I were running Take-Two...
You'd be the player-character in the game "Bully."
11 - sal m
just like all bullies and fame seekers, this thompson character loves to threaten when he's called out.
everytime this self-promoting nazi makes a public statement there should be the responding comment that he is a hypocrite who owns stock in the company that he is railing against.
and it's pathetic that he's sitting somewhere googling his name to see what he can dig up....pathetic.
12 - Noob-Antichrist
That guy symbolises "old git" in the best possible form.
There is too long a list for me to say what he is wrong about, why he is wrong, etc. - i could, but i don't have the energy to write something that long
to sum it up, he is a total idiot, and if anyone takes him seriously i think i will lose faith in humanity
i bet he has never even played a video game, he simply bases his opinions on some thing that is only slightly related.
He should shut up forever
13 - Nicholas Stix
#2 Jack Thompson: To assert that I am "insane" is also actionable, and I intend to do something about it.
Have a nice day.
Mr. Thompson, for someone to assert that you are "insane" is not actionable; it is a matter of opinion, and as such is protected speech under the First Amendment. If, on the other hand, someone published a factual statement, such as "Jack Thompson rapes little children," and it were not true, THAT would be actionable under libel law.
Now, Mr. Thompson, dear, dear, Mr. Thompson, I don't know you from Adam, and I didn't have a dog in this fight until you started lying about libel law, and seeking to bully people, in order to violate their First Amendment rights. But I can't stand people who seek to take over the public square, and evict everyone else.
Live by the First Amendment, die by the First Amendment.
With that said, I am convinced that you are, indeed, insane, and that you are coward.
Have a nice day, sir.
14 - MojoTheHelperMonkey
Jack Thompson has a major bias towards anything involved with video games. All of his allegations are merely based on opinian. He claims all of his opinians as fact. ANd I doubt every child who plays video games, even violent video games will go out and kill other people. The only explanation for a person who might murder people, in a video game fashion is if they are insane. Or, if they are young, and worried about going to jail after they stole a car, they might foolishly use a video game as a defense. If you know the Criminal Defenses, a video game isn't one of them. Jack Thompson is a hypocrite, and can't accept people's first amendment rights. So, Jack Thompson can stop his video game crusade. It's pointless.
15 - xot
I love Google alerts. Everytime I get a notice in my email about Jack Thompson (when it's not about the aussie film star), I get the most wonderful warm feeling. I can always count on Jack to lighten my day. Every week he seems to find his way into the trades (if not the mainstream media) and every time he somehow tops himself. Clicking the news link (because there is certainly nothing to read in print media) I buzz with anticipation. I don't what he'll say, but I know it is going to morbidly sincere and sublimely outrageous. Every time he opens his mouth his credibility soars like a brick and he takes one step closer to the insane asylum. Keep up the great work, Jack, and take every other fascist with you on your gossamer wings of intollerance.
16 - sal m
maybe by saying the opinion stated by the author was "actionable" and that he was going to "do something about it," thompson meant that he was going to sit in his room and cry like a little fucking baby.
i think he deserves a little benefit of the doubt, after all, he didn't actually say he was going to act like a cunt and file a lawsuit, even though that's what he has done in the past.
"doing something about it" could also mean that he was going to cry to his mommy that the other boys and girls don't like him and called him a name.
it could also mean that he wasn't going to keep tabs on matt p's writings anymore. maybe this guy thompson is just holding his breath and stomping his feet in the privacy of his own room.
i'm not saying that this guy is a pussy, but pussies have been known to do this.
17 - Marduke
He threatend GP many many times and nothing came from his threats.
And now that he knows this place will bow to his pressure he will be back.
18 - Ian Charles
Now he knows, he wont leave this place alone. You dont fold to Jack, hes too chicken to sue.
19 - Victor Plenty
Penny Arcade also asserted that Jack Thompson is insane. They refused to knuckle under to his threats, and seem to be doing just fine, despite his claims that they would be in deep trouble for crossing his path.
In his letter to the editors here, he probably neglected to mention his abject failure to silence Penny Arcade's criticism of him.
20 - Nightwng2000
Ah, So John Bruce stomps his feet, sticks his feet, and crys that someone said something bad about him. It's a well known retort that "If you can't take it, don't dish it". But then, aren't all bullies like that? Boo Hoo Hoo.
There's also a common phrase I tell my own 10 year old son: Actions speak louder than words. And while John Bruce can blather on about how his reputation may have been sullied by name-calling, I'd say his own actions prove beyond any reasonable doubt as to regards his honor, ethics, and/or mental stability. It doesn't take us or even his own claims to prove anything. Just sit back and watch, that's proof enough. And there has been such proof, time and time again. To bad so many give in. Personally, I wouldn't. I'd be happy to go on international media and debunk anything and everything John Bruce has ever said, about himself, gamers, and whoever else he his tried to mislead citizens and government officials alike. And no one need even believe me. All they have to do is look at the Facts and the Truth. John Bruce built up his own stack of evidence... against himself. This issue with Mr. Malone is no exception.
Nightwng2000
21 - Nightwng2000
Er... "sticks his feet", that was supposed to be "sticks his thumb in his mouth".
Shows what rushing gets ya. But at least I can admit I goofed.
Nightwng2000
22 - jdecamp
oi, jack has found yet another outlet for his insanity. go ahead and sue me jacky boy. i could use the press.
23 - DT
Ah, Mr. Thompson, how i've missed you. does anyone have contact info this 'lawyer' so i can finally nail him down. i've been trying to get hold of him for comments for an unbiased review of sex and violence in the media, and so far i've had nothing. if i cant get hold of him soon, i'll have to assume he doesnt care enough to make comment to the English Media. Cheers guys, and Jackie Boy, don't threaten ppl with liable just becuase they dared have an opinion... that IS insane...