Originally posted by volkl
Here's an interesting interview with Jack Thompson:
After reading it, I believe the reply you received from him is real (hilarious IMO). I'm still not 100% convinced that you are really a parent. But if you are, I'm with Jack on this one. He may well be another amublance-chasing greedy lawyer but I agree entirely with all his interview responses. Battlefield 2 is a great game, albeit violent. I'd hate to see it banned. Nor should it be. But games like GTA are purely anti-social. Don't buy into that phony and dismissive "it's the parents' responsibility" argument. Yes it's true, parents have the responsibility to monitor their kids. But the fact is, many do not. And third parties should not suffer as a consequence.
For those who are in denial of the effects of violent games, answer me this: after playing Battlefield 2 all night do you ever dream of running around the map as if still playing in your head? Obviously there's something interacting with your brain circuitry. Or how about going outside after playing Far Cry for several hours. What is your first impulse when you hear a chopper overhead? Ever think, need to grab my rocket launcher and shoot it before it takes me out?
I only read about half the thread, but it seemed to need an opposing point of view. So there you have it. It'll be interesting to see if I am banned for not towing the party line (I fully expect to get flamed).
After reading it, I believe the reply you received from him is real (hilarious IMO). I'm still not 100% convinced that you are really a parent. But if you are, I'm with Jack on this one. He may well be another amublance-chasing greedy lawyer but I agree entirely with all his interview responses. Battlefield 2 is a great game, albeit violent. I'd hate to see it banned. Nor should it be. But games like GTA are purely anti-social. Don't buy into that phony and dismissive "it's the parents' responsibility" argument. Yes it's true, parents have the responsibility to monitor their kids. But the fact is, many do not. And third parties should not suffer as a consequence.
For those who are in denial of the effects of violent games, answer me this: after playing Battlefield 2 all night do you ever dream of running around the map as if still playing in your head? Obviously there's something interacting with your brain circuitry. Or how about going outside after playing Far Cry for several hours. What is your first impulse when you hear a chopper overhead? Ever think, need to grab my rocket launcher and shoot it before it takes me out?
I only read about half the thread, but it seemed to need an opposing point of view. So there you have it. It'll be interesting to see if I am banned for not towing the party line (I fully expect to get flamed).
In that same vein, I recall a case against Midway where the parents of a child murdered in a shooting claimed that playing games allowed [the shooter] to fire off six head shots over the course of three seconds, which is higher than marksmanship quals in the military. I can learn that headshots are bad just by watching the opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan, and by citing that i'm probably helping along Thompson's cause in some small way, but I believe that if he were serious about change, then he'd look at the whole picture rather than just one facet.
My first game was Street Fighter when it first game out on the Genesis, a game that my mom originally didn't want to buy because it had blood in it. A few years later when I enrolled in Karate she sat me down and made damn sure that I knew the difference between what I saw on the screen and what I could do in real life. This was an 8 to 7 mom, and my dad was in the military and still managed to call and make sure I knew. Afterwards, when I started going through some social problems (School. Suprise suprise.) she sat me down again, and when she was sure that I was still not saying all there was to say, she took me to a shrink. I sat in his office for an hour, and he said that I was completely fine. That was the only time I ever went to a shrink. When I was 14 I punched my brother hard enough to shatter the bone that supports the eyeball. Why? He hit me first. Why'd he hit me? It was a fight amongst siblings. It had nothing to do with a video game. I punched him in the face because i'd been hit in the face and knew it hurt.
I'll be the first to admit that retailers don't play by the rules. M-rated games go to 17+ period, but when these changes are made and the parent has to purchase the game for their child (therefore taking on the responsibility), what then? I seriously doubt that the scraps that are allegedly attributed to video games are going to stop, and I doubt further at that point that responsibility will stop with the parent. We'll see more Old Woman cases saying how they were mislead, that they didn't know, never realizing that it's their job to know.
Nope, never had fantasies about Battlefield 2. I have random points where I brainstorm movie ideas, but that's about it. Probably the only game that has any type of effect on me is the Sims 2, where I dreamt I could click an arrow and speed up time. Dunno how that counts anyway, making a distinction between two similiar situations is something we do all the time, whether it's "Hey, I was here yesterday" or "Sweet! A blackhawk! Those are in BF2!"
I understand why people are pissed off. I personally don't like it that someone is telling me that I have no moral code because I play video games, or that by exposing it to children I have the makings of an abusive father. I'm of the belief that a good number of the folks that play this game are teens and are standing up and shouting "Look here! We're not all psychotic!" but the media in all it's whorey looks solely to the negative. Thompson is in it for the money. His movement will most likely overtake the US since every politician looking to get some spotlight is getting behind him. I can get behind him on some of the points that he's proposing, but overall I think he's a fanatic.
If you're really interested in violence, read the Bible.
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