Don’t Blame It On The Games
Further to yesterday’s post about censorship and Jack Thompson being whack: A $600m lawsuit blaming the makers of Grand Theft Auto for slayings in New Mexico.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer is non other than whack Jack. This isn’t the only case he’s got going against Rockstar Games. Oddly enough the one mentioned at the end of the article also seeks damages of – you guessed it - $600m. It would be interesting to see where Jack is getting this seemingly arbitrary yet consistent dollar amount from, if not from his own ass.
The main lawsuit discussing in the article pertains to how a 16-year-old shot his father, step-mother, and step-sister. The suit claims that this would not have happened had he never played that video game.
Actually, information obtained elsewhere on the web indicates the child was abused both physically and verbally. But of course, that wouldn’t ever push anyone to commit such a heinous act, would it? Thompson would have us believe Marilyn Manson shot those kids in Columbine, and Rockstar Games murdered this kid’s family.
From the article:
The game trained him “how to point and shoot a gun in a fashion making him an extraordinarily effective killer without teaching him any of the constraints or responsibilities needed to inhibit such a killing capacity,” according to the suit.
Admittedly I have played very little of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. The games just don’t appeal to me. Oh, and I’m afraid they’ll turn me into a murderer who breaks people’s heads with baseball bats (because after playing Mortal Kombat for the first time I went nuts and pulled people’s still-beating hearts out of their chests). I don’t see how holding a video game controller can teach you how to shoot a gun. Not that I have ever shot a gun, but I’m pretty sure you don’t do it by holding the R button while aiming the Left analog stick and tapping the X button.
EDITED TO ADD: Let’s not forget that the game that is being blamed is one rated M, meaning it’s for gamers 18 and up. Parents cried about Mortal Kombat being gory, and shortly thereafter game ratings were introduced. Funny that kids nowadays gravitate towards rated M games. Parents don’t seem to want to take responsibility for what their kids are exposed to.