Comments on: Gaming foe Jack Thompson sues Gawker Media

Claiming that the Gawker-owned gaming blog Kotaku failed to remove comments that he deemed 'threatening,' Thompson adds parent company to the list of organizations he's suing.

[shycelticwitch]

YOU GO JACK!

Imagine that! All you gamers screaming "the violence in games
does not make us violent criminals". And when someone says you
do... YOU TURN VIOLENT!

I read some of the postings, you people should be ashamed of
yourselves if you're the peace-loving, non-violent gamers you
claim to be.

[thundert00th]

YOU GO BURN JACK!

Imagine that! All you anti-gamers screaming "the violence in games turns you all into violent criminals", and when one person gets ticked, you BLAME VIDEO GAMES!

this only brings back memories of "The Crucible", where the only proof is your word, and that proof is absolute.

what you have to understand is that some people are sick, and others are being entertained. DONT take the precious few f-ups out on us.

[Vinhasa]

Jack dont' know ....

Well, it is not the fact that some people responded like that towards him as much as the fact that he is always trying to a fight with someone. He has threatened online comic sites like Penny Arcade with lawsuit, he is trying to sue the entire Florida bar association, and he has sued various other sites whenever someone with any fame disagrees with him.

As far as the recent VT event, before the shooter was even identified he was already blaming the video game industry for being the primary cause of this. The problem is he has enough perceived authority that he could very well influence the gaming industry even if he is completely off base.

He likely will end up disbarred before long as he keeps bringing frivolous lawsuits to the courts as well as legal threats to many others with no intention of ceasing and desisting. Anyone that actually knows the history of this guy and what he does ends up quickly disliking him (including the Florida Bar Association)

[Christopher Hall]

You're at least right on that account

There's no justification for their actions. I won't try to do it. I am disappointed in their reaction, however predictable it is.

I will point out though, that most of those who are so filled with anger, so graphic are more than likely low- to mid-teen aged boys. If you have or know any teenage boys, you surely will understand that they are not the most stable beings in the universe. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

That being the case, violent games are rated "M" for mature, meaning that they cannot be purchased by people under the age of 17. If these teenagers are in fact playing these games, someone isn't doing their job. And that someone is more than likely the parents of these children. (Why are they permitted to spend so much unsupervised time on the Internet in the first place, posting on Kotaku the first thing that pops into their heads? Personally, I'd rather they went and played a game!)

[pjhenry1216]

????

Are you seriously equating the act of saying they want to do horrible things to Thompson to the actual *act* of doing those things?

When someone says something along the lines, "I'm gonna kill you," it doesn't actually make them violent.

It's people drawing ignorant conclusions such as this that lead to the misinformed notion that violent video games cause violent behavior.

[~Canuck~]

Ashamed? More like "annoyed"

As a gamer that has killed at least 30,000 people online, I have to believe that you have about the same IQ as Thompson. In other words, its a pretty low one.

Anyway, on to the point. Most gamers dislike Jack Thompson because of what he is: a loudmouth, that only gets attention because of the completely unfounded, opinionated BS that he spews. He slanders gamers, games, and anyone that would support them. At Virginia Tech, he points the finger at GAMERS instead of mourning for the victims, and looking for real answers. And, if, every time someone said "I'm going to kill (insert name here)," does it happen? Of course not. You clearly are misunderstanding many of the readers on this site.

As I said before, if I've killed 30,000 online, playing every violent game from GTA to Battlefield to Halo to Gears of War... how could I possibly speak clearly and coherently, as I am now? Don't take the writings of others so literally when they aren't intended to be taken as such. YOU should be ashamed of yourself for supporting such a loudmouthed lunatic, if you're such a peace-loving person yourself.

[saidin43]

Just wait

Jack is simply looking to pick a fight with whoever disagrees with him. The fact that Jack immediately jumped to the conclusion that this incident was directly or heavily influenced by video games is still unfounded. His snap judgements shows just how poorly Jack conducts himself in his profession. I'm sure the legal higher-ups are just waiting for him to slip up just once legally, and he'll be disbarred so fast he won't know what hit him. There will be very few that will be sad to see him go, there is no need for his brand of incediary, sensasionalist politics.

[Christopher Hall]

Have you read his complaint?

The complaint, linked on Kotaku, is nothing shy of laughable. (Disclaimer: I AM NOT A LAWYER!)

Selected entertaining excerpts:
"Fact Common to All Accounts", Number 10: [i]Thompson has also, along the way, managed to annoy the intolerant liberals,
including the Board of Governors, who run The Florida Bar...[/i]

"Fact Common to All Accounts", Number 11: [i]The happy result was that Thompson is now the only officially Bar-certified
sane lawyer in Florida.[/i]

"Ongoing Violations of the Florida Bar", Number 26: [i]Plaintiff could go on, citing other examples of the incredible and sustained
and unco5nstitutional headlong lurches by this Bar in pursuit of its Governors? collective
left-wing agenda, but discovery herein will flesh them out more fully.[/i]
I wish to take this opportunity to strongly discourage the plaintiff from going on, as typographical errors in legal documents rarely build credibility.

"Count VI", Number 66: [i]Thompson, as he has correctly done before in other situations (DC Beltway
Sniper, Columbus Ohio Serial Highway Shooter, Southwood Middle School Killer,
Columbine Rampage Killers, Red Lake Minnesota High School Killer, etc.) suggested
that the ?V Tech? rampage killer was probably someone who rehearsed the massacre on a
violent video game as has so often been the case in similar situations. Such was the case
25
last year, also, at Dawson College in Montreal when Kimveer Gill, Thompson pointed
out on Fox News Channel?s April 16 interview, trained on Super Columbine Massacre
and Postal 2, two mass murder simulators.[/i]
I've yet to see any compelling arguments as to how someone could manage to train for much of anything on Super Columbine Massacre. According to those skill sets so common to the pre-Final Fantasy VII interface of the NES/SNES days, I would likely be considered well-versed in the arts of "ATTACK", "B. MAGIC", "JUMP", and "BLITZ", to name a few. I should point out that I am proficient at none of those, despite extensive training.

"Count VI", Number 67: [i]This was a plausible surmise, based upon eyewitnesses? accounts, already
known by the time of Thompson?s Fox interview, that the killer had a flat affect and
calmly, methodically stalked and shot his prey. That cannot be done without rehearsal,
and the common denominator rehearsal mechanism in a plethora of prior school
shootings was a violent video game.[/i]
This, I would imagine, is similar to how someone can get up on national television and lie, fabricate, and editorialize without hesitation. It stands to reason that Mr. Thompson has had extensive training on some sort of video game, possibly "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney".

"Count VI", Number 71: [i]Besides, science has now established the long-term effect of such violent
entertainment consumption.[/i]
This has been shown, time and time again, to not be the case when dealing with stable minds. This fact is irrefutable, given the hundreds of millions of people on this planet who have at some point come into contact with alleged "murder simulators" and have managed to avoid going on a murderous rampage.

"Count VI", Number 78: [i]This was followed with other posts that Thompson should be struck with a
baseball bat, shot in the face by an irate gamer, castrated and his testicles stuffed down
his throat, and the exercise of other basic ?constitutional? rights to advocate violence
against an individual????????????????????????Not![/i]
And this is why no one takes you seriously, Mr. Thompson. How old are we, again?

I'm going to get sued, aren't I? :)

All that aside, the threats on Mr. Thompson's life, threats of bodily harm, and other such nastiness only fuels the fires of his rampage. In his eyes, the continued, irresponsible actions of legions of hormonally uncontrolled teenage boys furthers his cause and acts as a self-justification. You don't have to agree with him, and he doesn't have to agree with you. It's all in all decent and civil to just leave it at that.

[perfectblue97]

Today video games....

This reminds me a lot of the panic during the 1980s when some woman PI with a grudge went on a crusade against dungeons and dragons. She wrote this whole list of signs that it was turning kids into cult killers and even managed to impose herself as a law enforcement consultant or something, then it turned out that she new absolutely nothing about DandD, and that it had no links to cult killings, and that about 90% of what she was describing applied to just about every nerd or geek in the country.

[twotall610]

The problem

Jack Thompson stuck his foot in his mouth and he is trying to get it
out.
Ego can be a strange bedfellow.

[sonotech]

Agree or disagree

I have no idea if Jack is a certified fruitcake or not. But, I have to agree that video games have a big influence on today's culture. Alot but not all of it is filth. To have video games that in essence allow our children to hone their skills to kill and talk in profane language to me is unbelieveable. Our society today is so consumed in selfishness. Our world would be a much better place to live without the violence and immorallity that is portrayed in most of today's media. Are they totally responsible? No, I believe that we as adults have failed our children and future generations because we have failed to stand up for what is right or decent.
Is our world a better and safer place to live today. The time is now to make a stand.

[System Tyrant]

Violence is apart of human nature.

I've played some of the most violent games made available to the public. I've watched some of the most violent movies that glamorize killing and torture. I've visited sites that show the extremely grotesque through images and video. I've even been the target of bullies in school and the butt of many mean and cruel jokes. Yet I'm not a violent person. I don't feel the need to kill anybody or anything.

Video games don't make people violent any more than slasher flicks or the nightly news. If it did millions of people would be out killing daily. However, violence in games and movies does affect people just like music can. I'm sure a few psycho's got an idea or two from TV or a video game. The truth is that some people are going to kill people, some are going to talk trash, and some are going to find away to turn both into a way to control others.

People who constantly say that violence in media is the cause of violence in people are ignoring the fact that these people were probably unstable long before they turned on a TV or sat down to a video game.