More important things to focus on

October 19, 2005 by Tim

Boy, there sure has been a lot of anti-Jack Thompson sentiment flying around lately. A lot of it has been flying its way into my inbox, which I guess I find to be no surpise given my recent comments on the topic.

I want to sort of clarify a few things here.

I definitely do not like Jack Thompson. I think he’s a colossal idiot who has no idea what he’s talking about. However, one thing I’ve learned over the years is that most of the time you are not going to be able to change people’s minds about stuff.

People get their mindset and only one out of fifty people will be open enough to honestly evaluate different points of views. I think that Jack Thompson is an attention-whoring putz that doesn’t have the first clue what he’s talking about. And I assure you he thinks the exact same thing about us.

Nothing that I say, or do, is going to alter his opinion that video games cause people to kill. No matter how many comics or newsposts I make, no matter how many thousands of emails we write him, he is not going to change his opinion. And no matter how many times he gets up on television and lets vomit spew forth from his belly in the form of ridiculously stupid sentences, I will not change my opinion.

I think Jack Thompson is wrong. I do not like him. Do I hate him? No, definitely not. He’s not worthy of my hate. “Hate” is a really strong word that certain people throw around far too hastily. Personally I think it makes them look stupid, and I try to refrain from doing it myself.

I hate nazis. I hate murderers. I do not hate Jack Thompson.

He has an opinion, and he his entitled to it, just as we all are. I just happen to think Jack has a wrong, uneducated opinion rooted in a desire to be in the spotlight.

I agree that M-rated video games should not be sold to children under 18. If they want to make it illegal to sell these games to minors, in the same way that R-rated movies, alcohol, porn and gambling is age restricted, I say go for it. We’ll ignore the fact that R-rated movies, alcohol, porn and gambling all end up the the hands of minors anyway. I mean, drugs are illegal for everyone and people still get those.

The day Jack Thompson or anyone else starts pushing to get M-rated video games illegal to everyone, you can bet the farm that I will be leading that million-gamer march on Washington. But until then, Jack Thompson is no more harmful than any of the hundreds and hundreds of bible-thumpers who came before him, proclaiming everything under the sun to be the “tools of the devil”. They went after comic books, movies, rock and roll… video games are just taking their turn.

So, why don’t I just ignore him, you ask? Well that’s simple. As I said above, he is entitled to his opinion. But I think his opinion is wrong and stupid. And as much as he is entitled to his opinion, I am entitled to make fun of it for your amusement.

I mean, let’s face it. The man is a comedy gold mine. If he weren’t so fucking stupid, I’d consider hiring him to my payroll, because everything he says is just ripe for mockery.

Take this Jack Thompson quote for example:

“God is in this battle, and I am privileged to be a foot soldier. You all should be concerned, not about me, but about Him.”

Now, I don’t know about you guys, but the first thing I think of when I hear “foot soldier” is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Remember the ninjas? The foot clan? Hehe, I couldn’t resist.



I honestly don’t know how anyone could take him seriously when he talks like that.

And you have to love how he tacks on “Or Else” to everything he says. What a great tagline.

“I’ll have a quarter-pounder with cheese… Or Else!”

Muahaha.

The guy has styrofoam packing peanuts where his brain should be, people. Stop wasting your time emailing him, thinking that anything you say will get through to him.

Instead, maybe try mailing the news outlets that allow him to spout his crap. Maybe is Sixty Minutes got bombarded by a few hundred thousand letters from gamers stating their point of view, they’d stop inviting the douche.

Anyway, I’ll continue to take jabs at him here and there, because I just can’t resist mocking the idiot. But I’m not going to waste all of my time and money trying to one-up this shmuck.

I’ve got video games around here that aren’t going to play themselves.


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