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A Tribute to Jack Thompson

Published Thursday 4 Dec 2008 3:48pm | 15
Tags: jack thompson, attorney, florida, tribute, lawyer, censorship

Jack Thompson is a man with a very turbulent history. To some, he is a hero, but, let's face it, more people probably view him as just some raving loon.

 

Jack Thompson was born on July 25, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio. After attending law school, in 1976 he and his wife Patricia, moved to the state which will be forever attached to Jack Thompson's name - Florida.

 

Thompson later rose to decry rap music. He declared himself "Batman" and attempted to get albums by 2 Live Crew and N.W.A. banned. He did not succeed.

 

In the mid to late '90s, Jack Thompson started to protest video games. From then on, if any teenager killed a person, Jack Thompson would be there to talk about how "murder simulators" "trained" him to "kill efficiently, and love it".

 

Much as nobody really took Jack Thompson seriously, he did cause retailers in the United States to start to pay attention to video game ratings. I don't think it was his intention, but he did.

 

Thompson's assault was mainly against Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt due to their violent content, but one of his strangest "crusades" was against Bully (aka Canis Canem Edit) even though he hadn't played it.

 

Even after Bully got released with distinctly less violence than he probably assumed would be in it, he continued. Except it wasn't violence, it was because the game's main character could kiss boys. Nobody else cared.

 

But then, on September 25, 2008, Jack Thompson was disbarred from the Florida Supreme Court, effective October 25, 2008.

 

Does this mark the end of Jack Thompson's quest that only he cares about? Probably not. Will anyone pay attention to it? Unlikely.

 

Do not be sad that videogaming has lost its biggest punching bag. Remember the good times, such as when he filed gay pornography in court, or when he surprised everyone by okaying the sex scenes in Mass Effect even as Fox was describing them as full-frontal hardcore.

 

Jack Thompson, you will be missed. I don't know who'll miss you, but someone probably will.

 


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COMMENTS (15)

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Gazza22
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 10:22 AM Posted by Gazza22
The man is a tosser.

Nuff said.

lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
 
 
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Lisa3x3x3
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 12:27 PM Posted by Lisa3x3x3
there are some people out there who do take video game violence seriously and do think that they can do it in real life. its those people that he would have been protecting... but im sure no one really listens to him! :P
 
 
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Srassy
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 2:45 PM Posted by Srassy
To be honest, I reckon parents should be paying more attention to the games their kids play. GTA should definitely not be in the hands of a 13 year old.
 
 
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chinaman71
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 2:54 PM Posted by chinaman71
5 December 2008, 02:45 PM Reply to Srassy
To be honest, I reckon parents should be paying more attention to the games their kids play. GTA should definitely not be in the hands of a 13 year old.
if theres a will theres a way! and everyone felt when they wer 15 they could watch a dam R18 ! the more you restrict the more you want it!
 
 
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rider211
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 4:27 PM Posted by rider211
5 December 2008, 02:54 PM Reply to chinaman71
if theres a will theres a way! and everyone felt when they wer 15 they could watch a dam R18 ! the more you restrict the more you want it!
yeah but does it really matter like wow his arm got chopped of seriousley
 
 
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Grunt of God
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 5:36 PM Posted by Grunt of God
Lol, in my clans forum there was a big celebration when he got disbarred :p What a silly man...
 
 
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Hato-kun
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 7:31 PM Posted by Hato-kun
5 December 2008, 10:22 AM Reply to Gazza22
The man is a tosser.

Nuff said.

lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
his son
 
 
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Blazedown
On Friday 5 Dec 2008 9:49 PM Posted by Blazedown
5 December 2008, 02:54 PM Reply to chinaman71
if theres a will theres a way! and everyone felt when they wer 15 they could watch a dam R18 ! the more you restrict the more you want it!
Reminds me of a couple stories...
 
 
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Caveo_Meee
On Saturday 6 Dec 2008 12:01 AM Posted by Caveo_Meee
Like my t shirt says "I hate Jack Thompson"

Honestly, he just picks on a group of people without much substantial evidence - not cool. And he didn't really seem to want to have discussions with the people he was accusing (Flowers for Jack, For Jack Thompson, Because Jack Thompson Won't).

I'm glad he's been disbarred, it shows other people are smart.
 
 
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Bigbcbob
On Sunday 7 Dec 2008 5:04 PM Posted by Bigbcbob
5 December 2008, 10:22 AM Reply to Gazza22
The man is a tosser.

Nuff said.

lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
BINGO this man was a huge doosh
 
 
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Shuyin
On Monday 8 Dec 2008 12:43 PM Posted by Shuyin
this guy is the biggest prick ever lol.
I hate it when stupid old people whose only gaming experience is only playing wii sports think they can tell game developers what to do.
 
 
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Dancing is Forbidden
On Tuesday 9 Dec 2008 4:15 PM Posted by Dancing is Forbidden
This doesn't seem like much of a tribute :D Still a pretty fun read.
 
 
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Lifeforce
On Tuesday 9 Dec 2008 5:25 PM Posted by Lifeforce
9 December 2008, 04:15 PM Reply to Dancing is Forbidden
This doesn't seem like much of a tribute :D Still a pretty fun read.
Hey! Look over there!
 
 
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Ruptunex
On Thursday 11 Dec 2008 9:26 PM Posted by Ruptunex
5 December 2008, 10:22 AM Reply to Gazza22
The man is a tosser.

Nuff said.

lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
I'd say Gabe and Tycho will miss him more. Now they can't make donations in his name. well they can it just wouldn't be as funny.
 
 
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Soyerz
On Sunday 28 Feb 2010 10:12 PM Posted by Soyerz
Haha, good ol' Jack Thompson. We do not hear as much about him nowdays.

That is for the better probably.
 
 
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