QUOTE(letter from jack thompson to president of NIU)
John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law 1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111 Coral Gables, Florida 33146
February 16, 2008
John G. Peters, President Northern Illinois University 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy. DeKalb, IL 60115-2825 Via Fax to 815-753-8686
Re: Part of the Explanation for this Awful Disaster
Dear President Peters:
First of all, my condolences for this terrible loss. I have had the disturbing privilege of representing a number of families devastated by these types of incidents. I represented all six parents of the three girls killed by a 14-year-old video gamer in the Paducah, Kentucky, school massacre. I currently represent the families of three policemen in Alabama who were slain by a teen who trained to kill them on the cop-killing simulation video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. This case was featured on 60 Minutes. See [here].
The day after the NIU tragedy this week, I was on the Fox News Channel predicting that the killer on your campus would be someone who was immersed in violent video games, as this is a common thread in almost all of these incidents. I mentioned in the interview the mass murder simulation game, Counter-Strike. It was the game of choice by the killers in the two worst school shootings in history—Virginia Tech and Erfurt, Germany.
Sure enough, the New York Post reports today the accuracy of that prediction. I attach herewith the Post article.
Governor Blagojevich was on Fox hours later echoing my specific concern about the linkage between violent video games and school killings.
I have addressed roughly 200 college campuses about this problem. I am more than willing to come to your campus, free of charge of course, to explain to the students and faculty and surrounding community why these games, played by students, pose a public safety hazard. Brain scan science recently coming out of Harvard explains it well. There are multiple reasons why these evil events happen. Immersion of young males in murder simulation as a form of entertainment is one of the more powerful reasons.
Blessings,
Jack Thompson
Am I the only one who's absolutely disgusted by this? And not just because he's trying to blame games again... the deaths clearly mean no more to him than an opportunity to further his own campaign against games...
ninja_lord666
Feb 21 2008, 01:37 AM
QUOTE
the deaths clearly mean no more to him than an opportunity to further his own campaign against games...
You expected any less? He's a lawyer. There are so many evil lawyer jokes for a reason: they're all heartless bastards who care of nothing but themselves. I could sense while reading this a superiority complex the way he was talking about how he was right that the killer played video games. I feel ashamed to share scarcely similar DNA with him, like the gene for brown hair. it disgusts me that he cares so little for the lives lost, but instead focuses on the killer. The only reason he pays any heed to the killer's victims is because they are just that. I'm also repulsed that he described games as "cop-killing simulation" and "mass murder simulation." Does he know nothing about those games? If he actually played them instead of repeating what he heard from others who in turn heard it from someone else who heard someone talking about how (s)he overheard someone else mention it, he'd realise he's completely wrong. There is more to those games that killing.
Malchik
Feb 21 2008, 01:37 AM
But that is true of every 'evangelist' and I am not using the term in any religious sense. Being in the UK I do not have the delights of Fox News to bring on a stroke every day. I think people should be pleased there are video games to use up youthful frustration. Otherwise the lure of armed fundamentalist groups would be much greater.
Perhaps one should look at the number of teenage killers internationally in relation to availablity of computer games. I have a sneaking feeling that the more games there are the fewer killers. But that is a guess.
Duskrider
Feb 21 2008, 01:37 AM
The guy's a well-known lunatic and attention-whore. The only really interesting part of this article is that he's moved to Florida, after having his law license revoked in several other states. I was wondering how long it would take him to move to one of the states matching his single-digit IQ.
I could pick apart his laughably poor argument point by point, but honestly, that would be giving him too much respect. I think a wise old man had a much better plan.... first, kill all the lawyers.
ninja_lord666
Feb 21 2008, 01:42 AM
QUOTE(Malchik @ Feb 20 2008, 07:37 PM)
Perhaps one should look at the number of teenage killers internationally in relation to availablity of computer games. I have a sneaking feeling that the more games there are the fewer killers. But that is a guess.
One doesn't even need to look outside the country. One can looks instead at a single city. Take Milwaukee for example. Every day people are shot in Milwaukee, every single day. Where and by whom? In the ghetto by poor gangsters who can barely afford the clothes on their backs. Do you think those people play games? No. If you look at the middle class families, there is almost no violent crime. Who buys the most video games? Middle class families.
Duskrider
Feb 21 2008, 01:53 AM
Really, all you need to do to see the flaws in his "argument" is to remember a rule from Statistics 101: correlation is not causation.
Currently, video games are so widespread in society, especially among younger men, that saying someone plays video games tells you essentially nothing about them. Even if there was absolutely no causal link between video games and violent crime, and violent criminals were just a completely random sample of the population, you would still get a strong correlation between crime and video games, just because such a high percentage of that random sample would be gamers.
Our friend Mr. Thompson doesn't even bother to look at the statistics or think about this, really. After the Virginia Tech shooting a while back, he immediately rushed to blame video games. Unfortunately for him, it turns out the shooter never played them. Sucks to be you, Thompson.
If Thompson's idea of correlation = blame is legitimate, let's apply it to a different correlation. Violent criminals tend to be male more often than female. Plotting violent crime rates vs. maleness would give you a pretty strong correlation, at least as strong as the video game link (and for the same reasons, it would be wrong). By his reasoning, we should take this to be a causal link, not just coincidence.
So clearly the even better solution is to ban men!
kungfubellydancer
Feb 21 2008, 04:32 AM
QUOTE(ninja_lord666 @ Feb 21 2008, 01:42 AM)
QUOTE(Malchik @ Feb 20 2008, 07:37 PM)
Perhaps one should look at the number of teenage killers internationally in relation to availablity of computer games. I have a sneaking feeling that the more games there are the fewer killers. But that is a guess.
One doesn't even need to look outside the country. One can looks instead at a single city. Take Milwaukee for example. Every day people are shot in Milwaukee, every single day. Where and by whom? In the ghetto by poor gangsters who can barely afford the clothes on their backs. Do you think those people play games? No. If you look at the middle class families, there is almost no violent crime. Who buys the most video games? Middle class families.
This is exactly one of my points on why gaming is not the cause of killing. Even if a few people are inspired to kill because of a game, how many other people kill because of other reasons? Gaming is hardly main reason for killing. I don't know the true statistics but would it be safe to say that 1 out of every 500 murders in the US were somehow connected with video games?
WoogieMonster
Feb 21 2008, 04:59 AM
Sorry Terminator, but I had to stop reading after I saw who it was about. That man ( I only call him a man because he has kids, which means that at some point in his life, his anatomy included a set of nuts) infuriates and offends me in ways that even therapy and heavy medication can not compensate for.
Ironically, in the game he hates most, Grand Theft Auto, there is a radio commercial that describes his entire career perfectly: "The great thing about our legal system is that you can sue anybody for anything and you'll probably win, or at least get a settlement..."
decal_mirror
Feb 21 2008, 12:22 PM
I don't know that mentioned lawyer that much I could say anything about him. However, I tell something about my self. I've been playing whole my life, and very violent games since I went to school. Still, I have NEVER started a single fight not to mention killed someone. What I think, is that games can to make one use violence. However, he must be mentally ill. In every way healthy person won't just go trigger-happy and start killing no matter how much violence he has seen in media. Besides, talking about violence. Today's news broadcasts include much more shocking pictures than any video game. I've seen close ups from dead bloody bodies and guns firing in morning news. Why these are not mentioned and blamed about increasing violence?
Ohhh man..its guys like him that give Republicans bad names.
Marcus Wolfe
Feb 21 2008, 08:06 PM
Well, I'm not surprised. Jack Thompson is again going on a holy crusade against us videogame playing infidels. Why, Thompson, why? Why us? Why not poverty? I'm pretty sure that triggers far more murders than videogames do.
batlham
Feb 21 2008, 09:27 PM
QUOTE(Marcus Wolfe @ Feb 21 2008, 02:06 PM)
Well, I'm not surprised. Jack Thompson is again going on a holy crusade against us videogame playing infidels. Why, Thompson, why? Why us? Why not poverty? I'm pretty sure that triggers far more murders than videogames do.
attacking poverty would not make him money. Its all about the money. I don;t really think he gives a care about people and video games...just the money he can make.
Jonlissla
Feb 21 2008, 10:19 PM
I don't really have any REAL kind of grudge against him. You are free to have your own opinion. If he thinks that games ar bad, then fine. He can think that games are bad. Then what makes me hate that man so much? BECAUSE THE BASTARD MAKES SURE THAT ONLY HIS VOICE CAN BE HEARD! It's the same thing about global-warming-poo. If you don't "believe" in it, then you are branded as a "heretic", and virtually cast out of society. Al-Gore and those other guys problably haven't even made some REAL kind of research behind it. And what really ticks me of when talking about our climate, is that the media is saying "Oh noes, the glaciers are melting!!!1". Well, yeah dumba$$es, it's NATURAL for it to melt. The next year, it'll be built up again. It has always been like this.
Thompson is an 4$$-hole. He's is kicking an Average-Joe while he's tying his shoes, and claim that he is the crook. It doesn't matter what the evidence say, as long as a murderer has a computer, then he's right there, flying like some scavenger. The media ain't helping it either. All the time we have to put up with this crap. When will it end!?
Marcus Wolfe
Feb 21 2008, 11:53 PM
Aye aye aye.........there's no end to the videogames he'll attmept to ban. Take a look at this: LINK Come on, standing up to bullies part of the gameplay, at least give it that. Additionally, why the F*** does he call it a 'Columbine simulator' when there are no actual guns in the game?
worm82075
Mar 3 2008, 10:24 PM
OMFG..........this guy is Harry Anslinger incarnate. "Although it would appear that Anslinger was a conservative who truly believed marijuana to be a threat to the future of American civilization, his biographer maintained that he was an astute government bureaucrat who viewed the marijuana issue as a means for elevating himself to national prominence."
People like this will always be around to take advantage of one thing or another to further their own career. But where will it end?
I can for see something like this for videogames in the near future
rob_b
Mar 3 2008, 10:57 PM
QUOTE(batlham @ Feb 21 2008, 02:27 PM)
QUOTE(Marcus Wolfe @ Feb 21 2008, 02:06 PM)
Well, I'm not surprised. Jack Thompson is again going on a holy crusade against us videogame playing infidels. Why, Thompson, why? Why us? Why not poverty? I'm pretty sure that triggers far more murders than videogames do.
attacking poverty would not make him money. Its all about the money. I don;t really think he gives a care about people and video games...just the money he can make.
Exactly - no one really gives a rat's a$$ about who got shot up by some deranged video game addict just because you feel for the person. Here's a little something for y'all to consider:
Q: What makes this world go 'round?
A: $$$
ninja_lord666
Mar 4 2008, 01:26 AM
QUOTE(rob_b @ Mar 3 2008, 04:57 PM)
Q: What makes this world go 'round?
Gravity. The sun is pulling Earth in, but Earth is pulling away causing it to spin on it's axis. The moon regulates our rotation, but doesn't cause it.
That's beside the point, though, and I understand you were just trying to come up with a clever metaphor. Aside from the physical impossibility of money causing any sort of spinning, I agree. No one cares about what's right and what's wrong; people only care about what's lucrative and what's not. I'll bet Thompson doesn't even abhor games; he just pretends he does because it'll get him rich.
rob_b
Mar 4 2008, 02:47 AM
@ninja no no, that's ok lol - but seriously, when you think about, the Almighty Dollar is what makes the world tick (putting aside all the physics and sciences), and everyone wants to have a piece of the action.
}{ellKnight
Mar 4 2008, 02:04 PM
Riiight... blame it on videogames... ignore the fact that any Joe can easily get a gun even if he's mentaly instable -.-
worm82075
Mar 4 2008, 04:48 PM
Ok, ninja i just can't resist, learned as you are I'm really surprised at you. Rob i'm afraid did not just come up with a clever metaphor for the evils of money out of the blue. That metaphor is probably well over a thousand years old and has stood the test of time to prove it's enduring validity. We have come so far in solittle time. [/sarcasm] Oh well, you can lead a horse to water...
rob_b
Mar 4 2008, 09:03 PM
...But you can't make him drink
@}{ellknight You'd be right, but it isn't quite that simple. As easy as it may seem the good ol' U.S. of A. to acquire a gun legally, the same can't be said of Canada (or any other economically stable nation for that matter, which to me is ludicrous , but that's another discussion). And no, mentally unstable individuals CANNOT acquire firearms for just that reason - because they are mentally unstable.
Here's a little something for all of you to ponder - guns (or in this case, video games) don't kill people, people kill people. And you cannot put the blame on a violent video game just because of that, as any person in their right mind isn't gonna turn into some psychopathic serial killer, just because they saw it on a game. Anyone who actually believes will indeed be shot because they are bullheaded S.O.B.s who don't even give a rat's fat a$$ about anybody except how much money they can get out some stupid lawsuit against the poor sod who killed an innocent person and who also plays video games...
ninja_lord666
Mar 4 2008, 10:17 PM
QUOTE(worm82075 @ Mar 4 2008, 10:48 AM)
Ok, ninja i just can't resist, learned as you are I'm really surprised at you. Rob i'm afraid did not just come up with a clever metaphor for the evils of money out of the blue. That metaphor is probably well over a thousand years old and has stood the test of time to prove it's enduring validity. We have come so far in solittle time. [/sarcasm] Oh well, you can lead a horse to water...
I know that rob didn't make that metaphor. "I understand you were just trying to come up with a clever metaphor" does not necessarily mean make a metaphor yourself. That could mean just conjure up an already existing one. Rob was trying to have a clever metaphor, so he just took one.
QUOTE
Here's a little something for all of you to ponder - guns (or in this case, video games) don't kill people, people kill people.
Hmm...you make a good point, but just last week I saw a gun grow an arm, pull it's own trigger, and kill a man dead (or at least mostly dead). How do you explain that?
One funny bit on video games and violence: On Saturday, I went to the first showing of Video Games Live in Wisconsin. At the beginning, the speaker was asking a few rhetorical questions the third of which was something along the lines of "And how do you feel about those people who think video games cause violence." Of course, everyone booed. Then, one person near the front shouted out, "WE'LL KICK THEIR ASSES!"
rob_b
Mar 4 2008, 11:05 PM
QUOTE(ninja_lord666 @ Mar 4 2008, 03:17 PM)
Hmm...you make a good point, but just last week I saw a gun grow an arm, pull it's own trigger, and kill a man dead (or at least mostly dead). How do you explain that?
Well, huh, gee, I don't know - maybe it was one of those new-fangled bionic limbs I so recently told you about
LordNyghthawk
Mar 5 2008, 03:44 AM
And this is related to the lack of 2 somethings called, "Common Sense", and "Personal Responsibility". Blame it anything but the person that did it. Oh yeah, and sue anybody in sight, that has any possible, yet remote connection. Quick joke....What do you call 7 lawyers on the bottom of the ocean?
A> A good start.
Povuholo
Mar 5 2008, 03:59 PM
QUOTE
I represented all six parents of the three girls killed by a 14-year-old video gamer
It won't be much longer until we aren't regarded as humans anymore...
rob_b
Mar 5 2008, 07:55 PM
QUOTE(Povuholo @ Mar 5 2008, 08:59 AM)
QUOTE
I represented all six parents of the three girls killed by a 14-year-old video gamer
It won't be much longer until we aren't regarded as humans anymore...
PAH! If anyone is to be regarded as nonhuman, it'll be everyone else (not us)
Landsknecht
Mar 5 2008, 08:31 PM
Thompson is the not only nut with power that believes this. Let's not forget that a certain female Democratic candidate has similar views...
...not that I like any of the other front runners of either major party any more...
Lord Slyther
Mar 5 2008, 08:33 PM
Jack Thompson, if you're reading this, then you are wrong. WAAY off the course.
If you think gun-shooting action video games make everyone violent, then I have GTA. I have fun playing it, but I don't go out and kill people. What the hell is wrong with you?? Who are YOU to say that nobody should play games like Counter Strike, and Grand Theft Auto?? You're a miserable son of a b**** who doesn't appreciate video games!
So, Mr. Thompson. If GTA is a violent game, then so is Halo, and Oblivion.
This is very unfortunate. I hear this f***ing hypocrite hates games that are violence. Just because GTA has some violence, and I'd be pretty pissed off at the cops in the game, doesn't mean I hate them in real life. I have no connection between fantasy and reality.
This is what I think of your campaign against games.....
That's you on the floor, Thompson. And that's me holding my gun in the air.
Marcus Wolfe
Mar 5 2008, 09:40 PM
Yeah, Jack, if you're reading this, go F*** yourself. Then, end your anti-videogame crusade.
Y'know, I bet there's a mod for almost every FPS that lets you kill Jack Thompson.
ninja_lord666
Mar 5 2008, 10:13 PM
QUOTE(Lord Slyther @ Mar 5 2008, 02:33 PM)
That's you on the floor, Thompson. And that's me holding my gun in the air.
What a great example of how nonviolent we are!
Lord Slyther
Mar 5 2008, 10:23 PM
QUOTE(ninja_lord666 @ Mar 5 2008, 10:13 PM)
QUOTE(Lord Slyther @ Mar 5 2008, 02:33 PM)
That's you on the floor, Thompson. And that's me holding my gun in the air.
What a great example of how nonviolent we are!
Ninja Sarcasm are we? Of course that won't solve anything, but that's what I feel like right now.
rob_b
Mar 6 2008, 12:31 AM
Hey, at least we're not flaming one another XD
Marcus Wolfe
Mar 6 2008, 02:06 AM
For the moment, dear robby, for the moment!
Lord Slyther
Mar 6 2008, 02:22 AM
I ain't flammin'.
UDPATE : And never yet. I don't think so, Marcus. Nice try...
Marcus Wolfe
Mar 6 2008, 02:36 AM
............yet.
Standing by with the fire hose though.
In the meantime, let's resume insulting that spineless worm Jack Thompson.
freddycashmercury
Mar 6 2008, 02:53 AM
QUOTE(Marcus Wolfe @ Mar 5 2008, 08:36 PM)
In the meantime, let's resume insulting that spineless worm Jack Thompson.
Spineless? I think not. It takes a strong spine to make completely unfounded assumptions the way he does. I'd say he is an idiot, though.
ninja_lord666
Mar 6 2008, 03:07 AM
QUOTE(freddycashmercury @ Mar 5 2008, 08:53 PM)
QUOTE(Marcus Wolfe @ Mar 5 2008, 08:36 PM)
In the meantime, let's resume insulting that spineless worm Jack Thompson.
Spineless? I think not. It takes a strong spine to make completely unfounded assumptions the way he does. I'd say he is an idiot, though.
Yeah, definitely. It takes a lot of gall to do what he does. He is one of the bravest people I know. Of course that 'bravery' is just a mask for his idiocy and pigheadedness, but it still takes a strong will to go out there and baselessly accuse and insult most of the world's population.
rob_b
Mar 6 2008, 03:52 AM
QUOTE(ninja_lord666 @ Mar 5 2008, 08:07 PM)
QUOTE(freddycashmercury @ Mar 5 2008, 08:53 PM)
QUOTE(Marcus Wolfe @ Mar 5 2008, 08:36 PM)
In the meantime, let's resume insulting that spineless worm Jack Thompson.
Spineless? I think not. It takes a strong spine to make completely unfounded assumptions the way he does. I'd say he is an idiot, though.
Yeah, definitely. It takes a lot of gall to do what he does. He is one of the bravest people I know. Of course that 'bravery' is just a mask for his idiocy and pigheadedness, but it still takes a strong will to go out there and baselessly accuse and insult most of the world's population.
You're telling me - I loath the fact that people are actually trying to end our fun It's complete and utter B.S. - now they're gonna get what's comin' to 'em
ninja_lord666
Mar 6 2008, 04:47 AM
QUOTE(rob_b @ Mar 5 2008, 09:52 PM)
You're telling me...
No, I think I was actually speaking to Marcus. (Sorry, I've been in a sarcastic mood lately; it's my new outlet for rage since my last one (expressing my rage) was taken away... )
Anyways...
QUOTE
I loath the fact that people are actually trying to end our fun
I would have to say they aren't doing it to piss us off; we actually play no part in it. What we say, do, think won't change them. They're all in it for the profit. Ripping games gives them leverage allowing them to charge more money. "As you know, I fought this game. So I'm a good lawyer, and good lawyers cost good money. That means that I'm raising my rates and you must pay more."
Lord Slyther
Mar 6 2008, 12:01 PM
QUOTE(Marcus Wolfe @ Mar 6 2008, 02:36 AM)
............yet.
Marcus, you cannot judge my actions. You don't know what will happen next. Now stop saying yet. There will be no events where I'm in the state of flamming. You don't know me, Marcus. You don't know how I behave.
Plus, it's the moderators job to tell us to stop flamming. Not yours. So that fire hose would be pretty much useless to you if you used it. Even proves you're the weakest one if there was an argument unless you got something useful to say. Also, there's a report feature. Do not get yourself involved. Use the report thingy instead.
Now back on to the discussion of Jack Thompson....
He will not end our gaming no matter how many times he tries. Because he will fail, and GTA will likely to beat his lawsuit. Violent games don't make violent people. Violent people are the ones who decide to commit crime.
doomjockey
Mar 6 2008, 04:31 PM
Dear Jack Thompson,
Still kicking after your sparring match with Penny-Arcade? They always find a way. Back to your old antics, eh? Fighting the "good fight", right.
Well it never surprises me how low you will stoop to further your maniac campaign against all things game. I can't stomp a roach without you saying I learned it from Vice City. Were the 80s not kind to you? Did Bushnell snub you at a kegger then make out with that girl you pined for secretly, dancin' in the dark while singing along with "Take On Me"?
But, I'm not surprised, nope! Seems we have to find a reason for our misbehavior- reasons for our dysfunction- These reasons include stress, drugs, rap music, rock music, sex, meat, hookers, and a bad day. But hey, I've always believed the problem is people. Oddly enough, people like you who believe they know what's best for the world. Question: Can't I just be f**ked up? I've wanted to kill people, sure! But only crazies, soldiers, and action heroes act on it. And soldiers must. It's part of the job description.
It doesn't always take outside influence to turn anyone to murder, I think it rarely does. I mean, I can't even see someone arriving at murder right after playing:
"Haha! Take that Sonny! The Vercetti Gang is king of the underworld! Now... to that bitch teacher, Ms. Duvall... Cuckold me, will you?" *loads clip*
I dunno how you click on it in a letter, I'm just sayin, it's friggin hilarious.
Get Well Soon, Tony P.
rob_b
Mar 6 2008, 10:57 PM
Hahaha lol - well said Doom, well said And that's probably the reason why many lawyers take people to court, is because they themselves want all that money
Like I said, money makes this world go 'round!
Marcus Wolfe
Mar 7 2008, 01:27 AM
I’ve realized something: If 2 crazed cosplayers duke it out at a convention, this jackass could attack anime and manga! The horror!
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What I think, is that games can to make one use violence. However, he must be mentally ill. In every way healthy person won't just go trigger-happy and start killing no matter how much violence he has seen in media. Besides, talking about violence. Today's news broadcasts include much more shocking pictures than any video game. I've seen close ups from dead bloody bodies and guns firing in morning news. Why these are not mentioned and blamed about increasing violence?
, but that's another discussion). And no, mentally unstable individuals CANNOT acquire firearms for just that reason - because they are mentally unstable.
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