Quick Rant on Jack Thompson

If you have ever heard of Jack Thompson, then this is all there is to know, he hates videogames. The man is one of the biggest opponents of videogames out in the world and is a lawyer in Florida. Well, I'm sure he would say that he doesn't hate videogames, just violent videogames. So this discussion will be about violent videogames and Jack Thomspon and how far is too far. The recent controversy in the world has been over Manhunt 2 which has been banned in Ireland and England. It has been gievn the first AO (Adult Only) rating in the US meaning only 18 year olds and up can buy it legally, kind of like the R ratings at movies. Many consider this a success for the game industry, I would have to agree although I think banning it is a bit extreme. I believe that too many games get ratings that don't accurately reflect the content in the hopes that the game will sell and a game series bent on trying to invent as many gruesome and saddistic deaths as possible should definately get the AO rating. Honestly, this should not kill a game franchise. And everyone worried about it shouldn't be as worried. Gamers tend to have a good taste about the games they play. The first Manhunt underperformed spectacularly and I have always seen it on the shelves at every EB or Gamestop I visited despite that they stopped making it a while back. So where does Jack Thompson fit into all of this?

Technically he doesn't fit into this problem, thank God. But now for the touchy subject of school shootings. After each school shooting Jack Thompson has been the first usually to blame the actions of the vigilante on videogames. Doom, Grand Theft Auto III and most recently Counter-Strike have been his targets for videogame violence crossing over into real life. I am personally not a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series because it becomes boring to me, however I have spent exorbitant amounts of time in both the Doom series and Counter-Strike. In fact Counter-Strike, the recent supposed cause according to Thompson of the Virginia Tech shootings, easily used up more than a year of my actual life. Yes, I was a nerd and a big one all throughout high school and most of college. So the usual argument of I have never once wanted to hold a gun in my hand pops up. Well, what about all of the reports that are flooding out now about the violence in videogames. From everything I have read, here are the conclusions made so far. First person shooters help increase hand eye coordination. Violent videogames make kids more aggressive. There is more activity in the part of the brain of violence and without limitations DURING playing of violent video games. Yet, no one has been able to draw the conclusion in a reasonable way that violent videogames cause violence in real life. MSN had a very interesting article in which a spokesman for videogame companies mentioned that violence in kids as a whole has been down ever since violent videogames arrived and that the most violent school shooting in American history before Virginia Tech was in the 60's before videogames were even invented. I don't know how true these comments are but if they are even a quarter true that would make me lend a bit of credence to the idea that playing violent videogames allows for an outlet for stress and anxiety in people so that those feelings aren't pent up inside for a bigger boom later. I like this even more after hearing that no video games were found in the room of the attacker at Virginia Tech and most of his friends didn't even know or think he played games. His own roomate didn't think so. Apparently the fervor is because once in high school he played counterstrike and thought it was great. I would lend more creedence to the effects of Oldboy to which his actions with a hammer in his video to NBC seems to mimic and which has taken a lot of blame for the incident. As for the videogame Doom, it has sparked controversy for forever being one of the first person shooters to have created the genre. In it, you shoot only demons and floating eyeballs, and never a human unless playing other players and even then its so ridiculous. Thompson also claims that Counter-Strike trained the assailant at Virginia Tech and would never know how to use the gun otherwise. Never mind the reports that he got a gun license and certified and that he apparently went to the shooting range a couple of times, or the fact that he did a lot of the shooting point blank. I'm sorry, truly sorry for the loss that occurred that day due to a child who needed medical help and had trouble seeking it on his own. I find more the fault on the college for not heeding the warning signs but that is not my job. My point, is that as a human being I find what Jack Thompson does as wrong. He doesn't argue for a better policing system. He argues to try and have videogames banned or deemed inappropriate for children like that Doctor tried to do for comics so long ago and McCarthy did for the Red Scare and the entertainment world. Thompson has tried several cases and lost all of them. He has been kicked out of several states. He decided to write a letter to Bill Gates blaming him for creating the Xbox and licensing the videogame Counter-Strike for the Virginia Tech massacre, which makes NO SENSE because counter-strike was a thousand times more popular on PC than on console and was out much longer and Bill Gates probably never even saw the game because he is way too busy and has underlings who approve of those things beneath him. Thompson's argument that violent videogames showing people disrespecting cops, shooting other people, and having a general killing spree are obviously the cause of mentally ill people around the world taking up arms and taking the violence to reality is a nice argument especially for people who don't play videogames and don't understand the release of it all. It's also nice because it provides a scapegoat other than a f'ed up economy or a subtley rascist culture, or snobbery or bullying or bad parenting. It lets the scapegoat be a piece of plastic with magical powers made by a group of faceless overworked Californians whom everybody hates except Californians right? :( Jack Thompson's ability to speak and use his time as the champion against videogames without good proof, evidence, or even his own facts in order help to show why he has lost so many cases and why many other people are tired of listening to him. I'm not surprised if he has received death threats from people because all they want is for him to shut up and stop babbling without knowing anything. I agree though, that violent videogames should be kept from the mentally ill which is why I feel the stricter rating policy currently underway by the ESRB is a good thing. Now if only parents would be more careful of what their kid carries. Honestly, the rating is on the box and they have to get to the store somehow, so do some parenting dammit and stop blaming those who create games for those old enough to play. Sure, little kids wanna play big kid games, it's called growing up. And if you think back, weren't you banned from certain events, games, things, until you were technically old enough like...driving, playing poker with the family, anything like that? Conservatives, stop focusing on thos making the games and start parenting and pressuring those who rate the games and the economy will do the rest to thin out the market by no longer providing incentives for violent videogames that are more liked by young ones instead of adults. And Thompson, shut your stupid trap and read the facts.