On Class and Straws

It's a popular fact that I defend my interests with such a bias that may seem a tad bit whimsy.  We all like our own things, you might like guys who wear makeup and do their nails, while I enjoy things of other natures which I find much more fulfilling.  I do believe some things, although, should be seen in a common human interest.

Another popular fact is that I love my video games.  A form of escapism, a immature hobby, a desperate cry for help; call it whatever you want, and if I don't like it, I will probably tell you to go poink yourself.

The third popular fact of my list of truths is simply logic.  I defend my interests, my interests are video games, therefore, I hate Jack Thompson.

Oh noes!  Another Jack Thompson rant!

I feel this one is in the realm of common human interest.  Even if you hate video games, please, hear this out.

This was posted on GamingHorizon.com:

"Earlier this month, gamer named Mitchell S. with the online screenname "Kuja105" who posts on a few online videogame forums (including GameFaqs.com and MetalGearSolid.org) committed suicide. On January 2 he posted a message in both forums detailing his intent to end his own life, citing overwhelming complications with school and finances.

A very brief period of initial disbelief was followed by a barrage of replies from fellow forum members pleading that he not take his life, trying to talk him out of it.

For days, no word was heard from Mitchell. Fearing the worst, members and administration from metalgearsolid.org began searching for contact information, spending hours on the phone trying to get in touch with him. Finally on January 4, Ryan K., an administrator at metalgearsolid.org, got him on the phone and spent hours desperately trying to talk him out of it.

Sadly, Mitchell soon ended his own life by consuming antifreeze and painkillers.

Later, members from the site contacted Mitchell's family to find out the grave news. They reported it to their online community, and posted a tribute to their passed friend on the front page of metalgearsolid.org."

As it is, this is a sad tale.  It is very obvious that this person was well respected and liked by the online community, and without a doubt his personal friends and family.  I don't recall ever actually reading any of Kuja105's posts, but it does sound like he was popular within the forum communities.
Despite who he was, what he did, and why he did it, this sort of situation is never easy on those who are close.  I never heard of him before reading the article.  As a human though, the second portion of this story is what gets into my core...

Jack Thompson, known as the lawyer against the first Amendment, a one-man march against video games, sent in the following letter to Metalgearsolid.org, a forum that the former gamer had frequently posted on.

"Your "gamer friend" will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's too late for that.

There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation. If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not necessarily a sexual one.

The real tragedy here extends beyond the life and death of this one fellow. There are literally millions of young people and young adults whose despair is deepend by turning to the things of this world and then finding them meaningless.

All of you gamers need to put down the controllers and get a life. The utter inanity of the vast majority of postings here shows how vapid "gaming" really is.

You are one of the cheerleaders for this wasting of time and the wasting of lives. Do you feel any remorse for having contributed to this "culture of death?" Of course not. Hey, let's all play MORE games, and ignore all the really productive things to do with our lives.

Let's pretend to be shocked that a gamer might descend into deeper depression, as his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call 911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess.

Sad. Sad for all of you."

Is there nothing we can do to fight back against this sort of hatred?  Nobody deserves this.  It doesn't how a man lives, a vilification should never be a replacement for a eulogy.  Jack Thompson, I don't know if your Lord supports your self-plaudit and your sheer disrespect towards the friends of deceased, but I don't think I need to say anymore for my readers to understand what is going on.  Your pathetic bewailing for the last word, your acclamations for popularity will rally no support.  If you simply wish to prove a point, by making gamers hate you, job well done.

You are a cold man, Jack Thompson.

Friends, readers.  Is there anything we can do?
There has got to be a way to stop this sort of thing.  The man is a Lawyer, yet he is as childish and classless as nothing else.  If you have any ideas at all, please, feel free to discuss this.  I really urge you all to give your thoughts.

Especially those who feel that they can blame the problems of the world on our entertainment instead of themselves.

This seems like the same kind of man who blamed the gay community of New Orleans for Katrina.

I hope his god shows him the same mercy in judgement that he seems to shower on others.

~MJ

~Don Berdeen

"...his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call 911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess."

Psych 101: Quite a few experiments have been done seeking a relationship between the number of people witnessing an emergancy and how likely it is they will respond. Many of the test results demonstrated that the greater number of people available, the less likely it is any of them will do anything to help the situation and in an online forum, there are easily dozens of members reading and posting. It can be concluded then, that the witnesses' failure to act really does not necessarily have any relation to their being gamers at all. This is just another case of blindly and ignorantly putting blame on the best target in sight.

There is so much more to add, but honestly, the best way to deal with blind attacks is to just ignore them. As the comment above me says, Mr. Thompson and any others seeking to ignorantly seek scape-goats for the world's problems will run out of fire eventually. We might as well just watch them with amusement as they do.

...and on an extra note with no offense meant to anyone whatsoever, Thompson's obvious religious zealous brings up an interesting thought that I would like to pose as a question for the readers.

How many wars have been fought in the name of an all-loving god? How many people have been killed in the name of a god? Is there not enough evidence to perhaps suggest that religion can be linked to violence? Once again, I mean no offense and I do not criticize the religion at all, though I suppose I do criticize the people who abuse it by using their god's name as a way to justify their personal agendas/desires.

~Anonymous

I feel he's simply trying to get our attention, and while it's working, it's doing nothing for him. It's a ridiculous topic, and if it weren't for the recent letter he sent to metalgearsolid.org, I wouldn't have even considered uttering his name again. He's simply an icon that will be around until he's forgotten, he holds no power, but, I'll be the first to admit, he causes much frustration. It's mostly the stunt he just pulled with his little "eulogy." That should not be tolerated, no matter who you are.

~Lynk