A Tribute to Jack Thompson
Published Thursday 4 Dec 2008 3:48pm |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.
COMMENTS (15)
Nuff said.
lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
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!
The man is a tosser.
Nuff said.
lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
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!
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.
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 hate it when stupid old people whose only gaming experience is only playing wii sports think they can tell game developers what to do.
This doesn't seem like much of a tribute :D Still a pretty fun read.
The man is a tosser.
Nuff said.
lol. I suppose Rockstar will miss him. Now who are they gonna take the piss out of?
That is for the better probably.


















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