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Opinion

Lawyer at war with video games

Shaun Rodriguez
Opinion Columnist

Growing up, I was taught from many different sources that it was good to be a decent man with morals and conviction, to be generous and compassionate to my fellow citizens and, overall, to be a man of integrity. 

OK, so I made some mistakes along the way, some larger than others, but I feel that as a person I am improving and coming closer to meeting those high standards. I would hope that everyone strives to be better than what they are now, that they rise above petty issues rather than exacerbate them. I guess a certain Florida lawyer by the name of Jack Thompson must have skipped class on morals day.

His name is known to many a hardcore gamer these days. Anyone who reads such game-related Web comics as www.penny-arcade.com or www.ctrlaltdel-online.com is aware of his ill will toward the game industry and any other proponents of video game violence. While I tend to argue against views such as his, I know well enough when to give up and leave, especially if the argument is going nowhere. 

Thompson not only continues to beat a dead horse, but he actively seeks the public attention he gains when he attacks the video game industry in the national media. His feud with Penny Arcade is the stuff of legends, with threats to have the creators of that great comic thrown in jail for all sorts of reasons. The feud was ignited after they called him out on his public offer to pay $10,000 to charity if a game developer would create a game based on the premise of a father's search for vengeance on the game industry after his son is killed by a gamer. In a related story, Penny Arcade generously paid the $10,000 to charity in Thompson's name after he retracted his own offer.

Nowadays, not only has Thompson made a mockery of himself, his own supposed allies in the fight against video game violence have disowned him and his actions. The National Institute on Media and the Family wrote an open letter to him exclaiming they wanted nothing to do with him or his headline-grabbing shenanigans. 

You would think a rational man would take this as a hint and either give up or tone it down, but not Thompson. He even replied to the letter with one of his own, containing vague legal threats, which it turns out is his standard way of dealing with those who criticize his actions -- just ask Penny Arcade. 

Recently, based on information in a letter Thompson sent out to various media outlets, a formal disciplinary complaint has been filed against him within the Florida Bar Association. This makes the third complaint against the outspoken game critic to the Association, at least two of which were filed within the last six months, and all are under investigation. I would say you have more on your plate than you can handle, Jack.

If someone has an opinion against video game violence, I can respect that. I may not agree with it, but I can respect it. But for one to take actions like Thompson's simply for the media attention is just despicable, and I have absolutely no respect for, and will give no credibility to, such a person. 

Perhaps he should return to ambulance chasing — at least then I won't have to hear about him in the national media.

Rodriguez, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at chrono_magi@hotmail.com.