Elderly White Male Desperately Seeking Attention - Please Call!


Jack Thompson is at it again - this time with A Modest Video Game Proposal. Mr. Thompson has promised to donate ten thousand dollars to charity if a video game company follows through on his proposal to create a violent video game where the protagonist goes on a murderous rampage against basically everyone involved in the creation and distribution of video games. The cause being the death of his son, murdered by a gamer - with a baseball bat.

Thompson has been advocating for years the destructive effects of violent video games upon the youth of our time. If there's a murder to be investigated, you can bet Jack the Lawyer will be on the scene insisting the murderer played too many games. That's just the way he is.

I understand if someone wants to crusade against something, seems to me everyone needs to find some sort of meaning in their lives. Unfortunately, Mr Thomspon's latest efforts at publicity have merely dragged his efforts further into the realm of absurdity.

Because simply donating the money to charity would be too easy, there needs to be a catch. Tell the bastards to make a game about getting themselves killed - hah! So what's he really proposing? Thompson repeatedly refers to video games as "murder simulators", so I can only conclude that he plans to utilize the medium he detests to train an evil army of his own. An evil army of murderous teenagers that'll bring down the industry he's never been able to beat using the forces of law and logic.

Either that, or it's pure publicity, and he's aware the game will never be made. Ergo, Mr. Thompson has no intention of donating money to charity. So who's the asshole now?

To be honest, I really find it absolutely ridiculous that the man would demand the creation of a murderous and violent video game, considering his stance that those types of games create murderous children. I mean, wtf?

Children today are influenced by any number of forces, including but not limited to music, television, movies, books, magazines, friends, school and yes, video games. Know what's missing here? How about Parents. I know it still appears to be a novel concept in America these days, but aren't parents meant to be the primary influence upon their children? Is it really just that we're too busy to look after our children, or that we're simply irresponsible?

I'm not saying video games don't have the potential for harm. I'd be the last person to claim it's ok for an 8 year old to play a game where s/he kills cops and bystanders and spits or pisses on them or whatever. But instead of saying "Damn video game makers!" I'd be more inclined to say "How the hell did the game get into your hands?", and then remove it. That's the whole responsibility thing I was talking about.

If Thompson thinks bringing down the industry is going to solve any problems, then he's sorely mistaken. The unfortunate reality is that whether games exist or not, crime will continue without proper nurture and education. As Tim Buckley points out - Ignorance causes violence. Not video games.