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Jack Thompson Files Take-Two, Rockstar Lawsuit - rtt writes "Jack Thompson is back on the video game scene and has followed through with his threat to file a law suit against Rockstar, Take-Two and Walmart for Rockstar's upcoming "Bully" title. bit-tech was sent a copy by the man himself which started as follows "Take-Two has until five o'clock p.m., Eastern time, Monday, August 14, 2006, to inform me in writing that it will forthwith provide me with a copy of Bully so that I and others can analyze it to determine whether it still poses a threat of copycat violence in our schools.""

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Jack, Jack, Jack... Can I see your badge? Can I see your government credentials? Can I see a single shred of evidence that you are some sort of legally appointed world censor? Because, let me tell you, if that's a career path you can take, sign me up - I'll have reality TV and crazy lawyers censored so fucking quickly your head will fucking spin around like that chick from the fucking exorcist. Do you catch my fucking drift, Jack?

You see, Jack, it's not that I don't think you have a right to complain about Bully, or any other title. It's not that I don't think you have the right to say Bully should be banned, either. It is, however, that I think you have no goddamn right what-so-fucking-ever to sue someone to see their work of fucking art before they're good and fucking ready to show it to the public. Did you sign their contract? Are you a part of the review and approval process over at Take 2 or Rockstar? Are you even a fucking agent of either goddamn company, you colossal boob? Of course you're not. The shares you acquired bought you a right to attend and speak at shareholder meetings, nothing else.

Don't you get it, yet? No one has the right to abridge expression in this country. That means you, me, president Bush and anyone else who'd like to see people like you shut the fuck up or people like Rockstar stop making controversial games, fucking well can't! STOP. For the love of the God you say you are so devoted to, STOP. If God wanted Rockstar's work to stop, don't you think you'd have succeeded, even one fucking time? Seriously, you're goddamn irritating.

Now, I'm going stop the swearing just to revel in my constitutional right to do so. So, why don't we get down to the nitty gritty, OK? Friend Jack, don't you realize you're doing nothing for any of your causes with your rhetoric and your hyperbole? Your grandstanding stunts aren't crusading for righteousness, they're self aggrandizing, vainglorious ego-stroking on your behalf. You alienate most Americans, even those who might secretly agree with your position because of your unyielding and inflexible mindset. You refuse to even consider that you might be wrong, even in the face of tangible evidence and isn't that a sign of delusion?

What makes you a better judge of what should or shouldn't be censored than, say, me? Don't you get it? The whole reason we have a first amendment is so that what you want to have happen, cannot happen. Our forefathers knew damned well that allowing censorship places one person, or a small group of people, in a position to dictate to the masses, effectively make one person or class of people "more equal" than others. They put these laws into place because they knew that to do otherwise would leave open an avenue for a tyrant, a dictator (one who dictates law, as you seem want to do), to take power. The founding fathers could no longer suffer tyranny, but now a couple hundred years and some change later, here you are. You're hoping to become some new tyrant of morality, aren't you?

You're concerns are hollow - as empty as the logic you use to back them up. What threat of copycat violence? Crime rates are falling. Juvenile crime rates, as my friend Humphrey points out, are down to their lowest levels in a generation - the gaming generation is less violent than your own generation was when they were young! Doesn't that mean anything to you? How many game related crimes have there really been? Even if we were to take every over-inflated case you've filed as true, isn't that still less than a dozen? How many years has your crusade gone on? You could only find a dozen in that whole time... Why aren't you crusading to get guns banned? Or pushing for sane drug enforcement policy? The majority of crime in America has NOTHING to do with games, but somehow you would have us believe we should care more about gaming's impact than we should about the fact that more than half of all prisoners in our jails are non-violent drug offenders? How can we be expected to take you seriously when you make choices like that?

Statistically, I think gaming has made things better (in terms of violence), not worse... What's the issue you're afraid to tackle? What has scared you so much that you need to focus on something as inane as video games? Let's tackle that issue, whatever it is.

Have you considered therapy? You very obviously have issues and you're exhibiting signs of mania; is this some sort of obsessive compulsion? Zoloft, I'm told, can help you with this problem, perhaps you should speak to your doctor?

As a fellow human being, I'm worried about you, Jack. Hitler showed a lot of the same public behaviors you exhibit, including your paranoia that people are trying to sabotage you. Hitler's issues almost brought the whole world under the control of ruthless fascists and ruined his country, are you willing to risk your issues doing the same?

Down the road your obsession has paved lies madness. Step back from the brink, dear friend.

While there is still time.

- Snipehunter