The Legitimacy of Jack Thompson…
Now that Jack Thompson is due to lose his legal status in 30 days, the gaming industry can hopefully return to doing what it does best: providing people with a suitable means of entertainment that does its best to please the masses.
Of course, while some are pleased to see Jack Thompson ride off slowly into the sunset; others believe that his even having had the opportunity to ride is due to the fault of the gaming press. One person, Doug Lowenstein, the former president of the ESA, pens a letter here blaming the gaming media for giving Thompson a soapbox to air his rants.
I strongly disagree with Lownstein on this point; I argue that if it were not for the gaming media debunking his claims, Thompson would have been allowed more leverage to state his opinions on gaming. If anything; I am wondering why Lowenstein refused to challenge Thompson when he had the chance.
Oh well, now Lowestein is now lobbying hedge fund companies. I sincerely hope that he shows more action there than in gaming; perhaps he should leave gaming to the people that can handle it.
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I disagree with Lownstein and agree with you. While the game media certainly brought more attention to Thompson, they brought negative attention. Had game sites allowed JT to say whatever he wanted with no response from the game community, he probably could have gone further. Sitting on the sidelines isn’t something aspiring journalists (like game writers) should ever do. I believe more people should have challenged Jack Thompson. I actually got into a bit of a back and forth email argument with JT and was ordered by my company to not publish anything related to him because he was getting too much press. I was certainly upset with the decision to avoid a real issue.
I don’t think Thompson is riding into the sunset quite yet - most of his gaming protests were in a capacity when he wasn’t a lawyer. I’m sure he’ll continue that crusade, but his credibility with news stations such as Fox News and CNN on video game violence has been seriously impacted. And he won’t be able to put forth lawsuits against gaming companies since he’s been prdered not to file anything within the court without the sign off from another lawyer.
Very well expressed. I can appreciate a gamer with meat to his/her argument. If there is one thing JT did for gamers, he made us do our homework and unite against him.