Why Comedy is Good
Posted by Ray @ 4:43 pmSee, there’s this guy called Jack Thompson, and he’s made me pretty mad.
The guy blames video games for inciting violent crimes. He calls Grand Theft Auto (GTA) a “cop-killing murder simulator” that “trains murderers”. He’s suing Electronic Arts, the publishers of The Sims 2, because he believes The Sims 2 is pornographic.
No, seriously - he says that when your Sims make out, naked, underneath that mosaic blur is an anatomically correct human being, with “full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia and pubic hair”.
That’s an absolute lie; the Sims are like Ken- and Barbie-dolls underneath. Unfazed, our intrepid lawyer claims that you can download third-party mods to fix this obvious omission, and that Electronic Arts is… wait for it… conspiring with the porn industry to corrupt children’s minds.
Dude. For goodness’ sake, it’s the Sims.
Our dear Jack Thompson’s latest shenanigan is what he calls his “modest video game proposal“. I have linked the details of his “game proposal”, because it disgusts me, and I don’t want to write all the details down here.
The gist of it is, his main character goes on a killing spree in an environment loosely based on real life. (As an example, one of the victims of this spree is “Paula Eibel”, CEO of a company called “Take This”. The company that made Grand Theft Auto in the real world is called Take Two. Its CEO is Paul Eibeler.)
If anyone made his game, he, Jack Thompson, would donate US$ 10,000 to charity.
Of course, when somebody actually went and made it, the despicable bastard went back on his word. This crook dangled $10,000 in front of charity and withdrew it. What kind of sad, twisted individual goes back on his word on something like this?
Wanting a little cheering, I went over to Penny Arcade, and was not disappointed in the least. I had a real good laugh, feeling tons better over this whole issue. The chilling effect this hack is bound to have on the games industry is deeply disturbing, but for a brief moment there was genuine mirth in the situation.
And that, people, is why comedy is good.
- The guys at Penny Arcade decided they’d be men about things, and have donated $10,000 to the ESA foundation, an organisation that gives to various children’s foundations. Go visit Penny Arcade, give ‘em some traffic, buy some of their swag. At least click on an ad on their page, you can’t be that lazy, right?
- Jack Thompson has since wrote a letter demanding the arrest of Gabe and Tycho, the creators of Penny Arcade (scroll down for the link). Way to go, Jack.
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Sounds like this man needs help.
Comment by tscd — Thursday, October 20 2005 @ 3:57 am
Yeah, well. Like Gabe said in his latest post, we can take comfort in the fact that Jack Thompson is the enemy. It could be worse. Like, someone competent for example.
Comment by Joao — Thursday, October 20 2005 @ 2:35 pm
tscd: the guy needs a mommy.
Joao: I disagree. Saying that we’re relieved that someone more competent is not on the case, implies that we don’t want someone more competent on the case because we’ve got something to hide.
We don’t.
There are games that are violent. Violent games may be “worse” than traditional media because games are interactive. Violent games might be a trigger for aggressive behaviour.
What Jack Thompson (and the “enemy”) are saying, is that violent games are the trigger for aggressive behaviour. They’re saying, but-for violent videogames, we would not have had the columbine school shootings.
They’re saying violent videogames are worse than abusive parenting, or being socially ostracized, or racial/gender/sexually-oriented discrimination, or being a psycho to begin with, or any number of factors that contribute to violent behaviour.
As “argument”, they utilize well-known logical fallacies by appealing to emotion (You disagree with me? That means you condone Columbine!). As “evidence”, they utilize the ravings of the criminal himself (DOOM made me do it!)
…Right.
The most that will come of this is the prohibition of the sale of mature rated games to minors, something that everybody already agrees needs to be done.
By the way, the Florida Bar Association is looking into the Jack Thompson incident. Apparently, they didn’t know what he was doing.
Comment by Ray — Friday, October 21 2005 @ 2:05 pm
Oooh, that’s a good one. He definitely does.
Comment by tscd — Saturday, October 22 2005 @ 5:55 am
Ray: Actually that’s not all Jack Thompson is saying. I think his views have been exaggerated a little by overreacting angry critics. I’ve been listening to both sides of the story, and thus far this is what I can gather: His stand on violent “interactive media” is that they are _A_ trigger for violent behavior (not _the_, but _a_) and should be more stringently regulated by legislation which would make them slightly less accessible to minors. Unlike the UK, the US does not have laws that prohibit the sale of M rated games to minors. The ERSB rating is merely an advisory for consumers, not a straight prohibition against sale of M games to minors. And I think he makes a good point there. Violent video games weren’t made for kids. (And here on this is my view, not Thompson’s) If parents aren’t going to take responsibility for their kids then regulation may be what the US needs.
Of course, Jack has his own angle on all this. I don’t doubt that he is a limelight hogging media whore who’s looking to advance his own political career. I disagree with his methods. Like being frivolously litigious. And displaying all-around ignorance. And being a self-righteous prat. And exaggerating facts. (PA instigated readers to kill him? What??) And being REALLY REALLY childish. The list goes on and on and on. Overall, you can’t trust Jack Thompson. Come on, the guy’s both a lawyer (heh, sorry, Ray!) AND a politician. Plus he looks creepy on camera. And he’s -ugh- a Democrat. What’s not to hate? I despise him.
Which is why I say we’re better off with Jack, an obvious cretin, on the witness stand. His character is called into question way too much for the informed observer to take his tripe seriously. In this way it’s easy for us of-age gamers to defend ourselves and the games we love. Not that we have anything to hide. If we were dealing with a more credible, respected member of society, the lies might not be quite as easy to expose.
And so you’ll know, I’m eager as any PA fan to find out the outcome of the Florida Bar investigation. I’m sure you are too. =)
Comment by Joao — Wednesday, October 26 2005 @ 11:05 am
Joao:
Naw, s’okay. Us lawyers are scum. But I’m not a lawyer yet. Heh.
Perhaps I should amend my previous statement to say: Jack Thompson thinks games are the *biggest* triggers of violent behaviour.
Is that a fair statement? =)
Yeah, I want to know what’ll happen when the Florida Bar is done with him. They could revoke his license, or they might just give him a warning… or any number of things in between. I’m not sure how I feel about either outcome, yet. The news front’s been pretty quiet lately…
Comment by Ray — Wednesday, October 26 2005 @ 3:02 pm
[…] You may remember Mr. Thompson from the time he reneged on a $10,000 donation (that Penny-Arcade made in his stead). Or from the time he compared Sony to Pearl Harbor. Given the gravity of the insult he is to the legal profession, I’m surprised it took this long for daddy to mete out a good spanking. […]
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