64Digits

Okay, so here I am in Current World Affairs class, sixth period, around 1:00 GMT-07:00. We usually watch the news on TV while reading a newspaper or U.S. News & World Report, and sometimes get a lecture on some relevant world topic. Today we were scheduled for a lecture.

We didn't get one. The news on TV about <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266374,00.html" target="_blank">the shooting at Virginia Tech</a> was considered to be a huge tragedy, so we watched it instead on Fox News.

So I'm sitting there watching the news, and all of the sudden, the anchorman says*, "…With us now is a prosecuting lawyer who's familiar with cases such as this, Jack Thompson."

Now note that I was only half-listening at the time, as I usually do in that class. But upon hearing this, I twitched, thinking to myself, "…did he just say Jack Thompson?!" After hearing "Jack Thompson" repeated again, I couldn't help but think: "no way, not the self-righteous bullshit-spewing videogame-hating ambulance-chaser I know and hate, is it? Surely Fox News (in my opinion, the greatest television news network there is) wouldn't stoop so low as to ask Jack Thompson for his thoughts on a school shooting?"

Before Mr. Thompson even opened his mouth to speak, I considered this a second. Maybe he actually wouldn't be retarded for once. This is a huge national tragedy, having the highest body count of any school shooting in America to date, and I hoped that Mr. Thompson could maybe, in his heart of hearts, not rant on about how clearly it was Doom that caused another school shooting.

He did.

What he went on to say can be accurately paraphrased thusly:

Quote: Jack Thompson (paraphrased)

Hi, I'm Jack Thompson. As has been reported, the authorities are searching the suspect's apartment, talking to his friends, looking on his computer, questioning his parents…but let's stop at "looking on his computer," and talk about it for a bit. Obviously, it was entirely pop culture's fault. I mean look at the past; two different shootings have been caused by the ultra-violent computer game Doom**, and obviously it's violence in the mainstream media that's once again causing these psychotic people to do these terrible things. I mean, one guy even*** played Grand Theft Auto to calm himself before a shooting. Obviously he was desensitizing himself to violence by playing a videogame! Pop culture is quite obviously the cause of all blah blah blah blah bullshit blah blah…</blah></blah></blah></blah></blah>

Everyone in the class except for the teacher was ridiculing the idea that videogames cause violence, but I myself was more shocked by the fact that Mr. Thompson had just spewed a whole load of bullshit on completely unfounded ground. Never once has any report yet been made that the suspect of the case has had anything to do with videogames (in fact, as far as we know, he/she never even played them), yet he decided to once again take a tragedy and use it as his political grandstand to inject bullshit into the minds of our nation. Literally everyone else who I saw come on Fox News that hour made it blatantly clear that they were highly distraught about the whole fiasco, yet Mr. Thompson never once offered his condolences.

It's not even the fact that it's videogames that Mr. Thompson is condemning that's pissing me off right now. It's the fact that he's ranting on about his own political cause during a national tragedy, and making accusations on completely unfounded ground. This is about the same as if a second World Trade Center incident occurred, and a lone Democrat said, "yeah, well, you do realize that this is all Bush's fault."

In closing, I honestly hope that Jack Thompson chokes on the bullshit he's spewing from his mouth and dies.

Links

<a href="http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-tech/breaking-idiot-blames-va-shooting-on-games-252702.php" target="_blank">Article on the subject</a>

<a href="http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?p=5247211#post5247211" target="_blank">My posting on the Facepunch forums about this</a>

* Note that not all quotes are verbatim.

** Yes, he did reference Doom by name. id software is presumably pissed.

*** Reportedly, although Mr. Thompson left out this crucial word.

[108] Jack Thompson Abuses Tragedy

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