Jack Thompson Attacks DoD, ESA, GTA With Utah Bill 235
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."
Video games vs Jack (Score:5, Funny)
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 (Score:5, Funny)
He's made me want to get into racketeering! [penny-arcade.com]
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Playing devil's advocate... you're probably being somewhat sarcastic/facetious, but you are making a point. Being a proper devil's advocate, I thought I would point out that I don't know that most people believing in the games-cause-violence idea would say that games make people want to commit random acts of murder. Rather, that when tension builds/anger occurs, violence as an action comes more naturally than before the video-game-"conditioning." In other words, the fact that your reaction to J.T. is "ki
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That's the stupidist argument I've ever heard. Building tension / anger has lead to violence long before video games were ever created.
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You're right, but have video games led to move violence? I think a bigger area to look at would be how do things like the huge popularity in MMA affect today's youth. Are people more likely to fight because they are watching so much realistic violence all the time? Or, are things like violent video games, MMA, etc... simply reflecting our current society where violence appears to be more prevalent than in the past?
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Seems like similar logic to me.
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It's probably had a hand in teenage obesity.
To think that people are not affected by their environment at all is just as bad as thinking every violent act leads back to a video game.
To use your logic kids with abusive parents should never have any problems later in life if what they experience every day has no long lasting affect on them.
Video game violence and situation comedies... (Score:5, 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
Re:Video game violence and situation comedies... (Score:5, 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.
Re:Video games vs Jack (Score:5, Informative)
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.
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But did (or, present tense, do) societies, and on a greater scale, entire civilizations, have more violence than others? ENJOY violence more than others?
Example. Did, say, the Puritans enjoy violence? Not really. Did... I don't know, pick a society or civilization known for peace. Did they enjoy violence? Assyrians appeared to. Romans definitely did. It seems that some civs and societies actually promoted it, while others did not appear to do so. America
So, as EastCoastSurfer pointed out, does vi
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At the risk of feeding the trolls...
Hmmm. Read some Puritans sometime.
Secondly, Rome built a Colosseum (and other structures, but that's the main one in Rome, of course) purely for entertainment, correct? And there they watched (and enjoyed watching) gladiators and slaves and criminals either killing each other or getting killed by animals, etc. And often very violent, such as putting freshly-killed-animal skins on a person, tying him or her to a post, and unleashing half starved lions. Yup, definitely
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There's a reason that we don't have humans fighting to the death in giant amphitheaters, we've become more civilized.
What's the reason? What is "civilized"?
Considering the fact that some of the most "civilized" people can end up raping and murdering, I fail to see how being civilized has anything to do with it. with regard to the Puritans enjoying violence more so than the Romans, I still find that very dubious, especially if one reads actual Puritan writings.
As to civlization, between 150 and 50 years ago we had things such as eugenics and sterilization, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Stalin, Mussolini, the Vietnam guy (can't r
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And correlation is not causation. I agree.
Whether or not a correlation implies a causation is where more research comes in. If things aren't correlated at ALL, then causation is obviously NOT there. Causation necessitates correlation (at least, in my logic, I could be shown that it is in error though... at the moment seems pretty solid), so where there is a correlation, there might be a causation.
Unfortunately, most studies only point out correlations. And most "proofs" are actually just suggestions wit
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Re:Video games vs Jack (Score:5, Funny)
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.
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Re:Video games vs Jack (Score:5, Funny)
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So clearly, chess breeds porn as well.
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Throw Jack back to prehistory, thousands of years before videogames existed. I bet you he wouldn't survive the week!
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In other news, the world is full of idiots.
Little known fact, Jack: (Score:3, Funny)
The word "thompson" in Elbonian means "cough".
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"Jack Thompson on the other hand makes me want to kill - someone, possibly named Jack - every time I hear from Mr. Thompson."
He's the Fred Phelps of anti-game zealots, which is why we NEED him. While it would be a hoot if he had responded to being disbarred by suicide, he is more useful alive and stupid.
Never (Score:5, Insightful)
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I'm less bothered by the publicity this guy gets (let's face it, most "news" is cruft) than the fact that he keeps getting through the Slashdot editors' filters. Lately, they've been showing a depressing fondness for stories whose main interest is to lovers of freak shows [invivio.net].
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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.
As the submitter of this story, I think it's important we keep pointing out his actions because (1) he has lost (2) although I'm not a lawyer I believe it sets precedence for future cases and (3) even the general public can see through to his attacks on our freedom. I believe there are more lawyers masquerading in our legal system as legit when they're really just Jack Thompsons at heart and I hope the public learns about them by observing the obvious cases of dementia. In my opinion a good example is Joh [wikipedia.org]
Re:Never (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."
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Everybody has been saying that since he first appeared on the scene.
Is Tycho going to be the Ben Franklin of the internet where everything gets attributed to him?
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Right. Traffic.
Re:Never (Score:5, Funny)
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.
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There's a moral to Jack Thompson going to Utah, "When You're By the Great Salt Lake, Don't Drink the Water." It makes you do weird things.
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Does that mean we can crush Jack Thompson in a hydraulic press? Please, pretty please?
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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.
And how is that working out for him, so far?
Sure, he's been disbarred, he's trashed his livelihood and his reputation, and he has become the laughingstock of both the legal and entertainment industries -- but since someone is still printing his NAME on a WEB SITE, he must be WINNING!
There is no such thing... (Score:2)
...as bad publicity.
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Tell that to Hitler.
(Yes, I did just Godwin the whole conversation)
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Never give up! Never surrender!
Do a barrel roll. (Press Z or R twice.)
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Until people stop caring what he has to say, he'll keep saying things. Unfortunately.
"Unfortunately" why? He's quite entertainingly mad. I enjoy hearing what he comes away with.
I can't wait until they finally lock him up (Score:5, Interesting)
...and give him this guy as a cellmate. [wikipedia.org]
At least they wouldn't run out of stuff to talk about.
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Are you kidding? They would break the legal system! You're just trying to set up some sort of DoS attack on district courts, aren't you?
So they'd stop selling stuff in Utah (Score:3, Funny)
I'm sure the very thought must have them terrified, Jack.
To quote W. C. Fields. (Score:2)
But it's UTAH.. (Score:4, Funny)
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.
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GTA4 is a great outlet. Except for a crappy story line (in my opinion).
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I'm sure more people care about his opinion of the story in GTA4 than care about your opinion on his opinion.
Honestly, you didn't just 'foe' him, or ignore the post, or use mod points, you actually bothered to reply and rant about how much of a pent-up opinionated jerk you are?
PS, ellipses are frequently used in place of commas when pausing for a thought even though commas are a more correct punctuation ... go rant about the difference between colons and semi-colons instead.
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True enough, but I'd have to imagine that most things that could be classified as "Culture War Hot Buttons" have their origins in either very "Red" or very "Blue" states (Think Utah or Vermont). My point in the OP was to say that the population of UT is relatively small and not really all that representative of the rest of the nation's politics.
If it wasn't videogames that were "making" kids do bad things (and training them for a future in the Army, as far as JT believes), it would be TV or movies or music
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Re:But it's UTAH.. (Score:5, Funny)
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But most [journalnow.com] ARE.
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Yet if he had won, or wins in the future he'll be harrowed a hero who stuck to his principals.
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Slashdot... (Score:2)
News for nerds, rantings of crazy people?
Jack has no authority anymore. Until such a time as he actually gets some, please ignore him.
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News for nerds, rantings of crazy people?
Jack has no authority anymore. Until such a time as he actually gets some, please ignore him.
What do you mean "anymore"?
I don't believe that he ever actually had any.
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As a lawyer, he did have a certain measure of professional authority. He was still a crackpot then, but some people listened to him. Having been disbarred, his professional authority is completely gone. Unless he can convince someone else in authority to proxy for him (like this mythical state rep he claims to have in his pocket) no one is going to listen. So neither should we.
The Ann Coulter effect (Score:2)
We are so fortunate to have Jack Thompson. Without his antics, people might start to take the "violence in media = real violence" statement as a logical thought, and may consider censorship.
Continue to fight for the right side (probably unintentionally) Mr. Thompson!
Solution looking for a problem (Score:3, Interesting)
Jack Thompson is always coming up with these solutions, but he has yet to prove a problem.
Video games don't kill people.. (Score:2)
Jack Thompson makes me kill people. I'm sorry, your honor, but Mr. Thompson knowingly and directly was responsible for that busload of children I strafed. Had I not seen him file numerous illegal and misleading law suits on violent video games, I would not have taken it upon myself to randomly remove other people like him from the gene pool.
Jack Thompson? (Score:4, Insightful)
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.... (Score:5, Funny)
... Really needs to have some hot coffee.
Sex or Violence? Both! (Score:2)
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I find it interesting that the rants here are about not stopping violent video games, while on the Superbowl Ad thread [slashdot.org] Slashdot users bemoan the fact that ads that are sexually suggestive are censored, while the violent commercials are not
I would posit that the difference between the two is that you have a choice over which video games your kids play. You don't have a choice over which commercials play during the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl is typically regarded as something that the whole family can watch.
New game idea... (Score:2, Redundant)
Proposed game name: Off Jack Off.
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I'm pretty sure the X 'kill bill' game would qualify (included in Linux distros for the last 10+ years). Have the little Jack replacing video games with Barney videos.
Sure the guy is a loon...but... (Score:2)
The guy is obviously "touched" in the head. Being crazy however does not preclude a measure of validity to some of his arguments (and I say this as someone who used to LMAO playing Carmaggedon).
For example, I wonder why the US military is so keen to promulgate their war/combat games. I can't image they got into the video game industry as just another income stream. Surely they must be expecting some sort of return other than a purely financial one? Say increased recruits. If this is so (i.e. the military be
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They have games which are free designed to interest recruits.
They have simulators designed for training.
Jack who? (Score:2)
Jack who? Who is this guy? Where did he come from? I have no idea who you are talking about. Seems like a guy who just wants some attention. Doesn't seem like he has anything important to say so I'm not going to click on the link.
Maybe if we just ignore him, he'll go away.
Honestly... (Score:2)
Utah isn't exactly the right place for this (Score:2)
You know, the Mormon church sponsors like 30 percent the nation's Scout Troops. Scouting was designed to teach kids the basics of soldier life: camping, navigation, and taking and giving orders. It's not a long stretch of the imagination to say that Utah is fine with teaching young boys how to shoot guns (I know my troop did).
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The larger social problem (Score:2)
jack was a sanctimonious a%%h#@e (Score:3, Informative)
You know, I just had a thought. (Score:2)
If only there were a way to harness this power for the good of humanity...
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You could call it the Large Hurbis Collider.
Something that bugs me (Score:2)
We just had the Super Bowl. People payed 2.4 million dollars to air one 30-second-long commercial.
Were they stupid? Or did they actually know what they were doing? Can they really make a difference in people's behavior in 30 seconds of passive viewing?
My belief is that the advertisers are not stupid - that it actually pays. But if so, arguing that all the sex and violence on TV - or in video games - has no effect, when people are exposed to hours and hours of it, seems rather naive. 30 seconds of a com
He can't give up (Score:2)
becasue he has irrationally accepted his ideal. IN order to give up, he has to look and understand facts. Becasue he is emotionally attached to the idea he feels he is saving the world.
No different the religion.
So many targets omitted (Score:2)
CIA, FBI, Jeb Bush, Janet Reno, Florida Supreme Court, Florida Bar Association, 2 Live Crew, Ice-T, Take Two Interactive, Rockstar Games, Paul Eibeler, Paula Eibel, tin foil manufacturers, ...
Damn it, I could go on forever.
This must not be a real Jackhole sponsored bill. Too few targets.
Truth in Advertising? (Score:3, Informative)
Maybe ol' JT should disclose that he's not a lawyer [gamepolitics.com].
Now that's truth in Advertising.
I misread the headline. (Score:3, Funny)
I was hoping that Jack now had a side kick named, Utah Bill. I imagine them wandering the wilds together. Jack, a country lawyer taking down virtual murderers while Bill constantly has problems from his multiple wives.
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Oh yes. Someone had an animated GIF or Flash video with several stills one after another.
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There's a whole series, and a few .gifs
Re:Thank god he's still around (Score:5, Funny)
I remember Jack Thompson, but who the hell is Utah Bill?
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up to 542 kills/per game - some with chainsaw
8 breasts and 3 asses
"shit" - 12, "piss" - 1, "fuck" - 17, "cunt" - 0, "cocksucker" - 3, "motherfucker" - 6, "tits
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Zombies don't count as kills, they're already dead.
Hans
Re:Just as it happens in movies (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
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..
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If you have any plans on starting a militia after the apocalypse, can you tell me your ideas for names?
I like to know who to avoid, or shoot on sight.
Re:Hahahah (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.
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Look on the bright side. He could get struck by lightning or hit by a bus randomly.
Fingers crossed...
Re:Hahahah (Score:5, Funny)
He could get struck by lightning or hit by a bus
...run over by a carjacker, shot by a sniper....
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All at once? You'd think his life was a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon!
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Or those who don't know he was disbarred, and he says "I'm Jack Thompson. I have a XXX law degree." or some other weasel verbiage that makes it sound like he's a lawyer without actually saying he's a lawyer.
Or heck, he could still be introducing himself as a lawyer, too. Wouldn't put it past him.
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Looks like he is going with 'recently practicing lawyer.'
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Really though, he IS a lawyer in all but technicality. (For what little that's worth.) An insane one maybe, but the government merely took his license to practice, not his lifetime knowledge. As long as he's not offering to take a case for you...
It's not like the government is who I listen to in choosing who has the most accurate technical opinion in any given area. His credibility, IMHO, is right where it was before. (Zero, but for other reasons...)
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AFAIK, state bars are not government institutions. They are a group of Lawyers. It's like lawyer government. By the people for the people. By lawyers for lawyers. Self-regulating and all that.
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