It’s very likely that you’ve heard about the Virginia Tech massacre by now. Everybody’s been talking, the news media has been relentless in their coverage, and at least one person IMed me a tasteless joke about it. It’s a pretty horrific story, one we’re not likely to forget for a long time.
But this isn’t about that. Not entirely, anyway. If you’re a gamer of any degree with access to the Internet, then you know that a certain lawyer snatched up his chance to stand tall and white-haired in the spotlight. Just hours after the tragedy, when most of the world was still learning what had happened and the killer hadn’t even been identified, Miami attorney/MASSACRE CHASER Jack Thompson was on FOX News pushing his anti-game agenda yet again.
Ever since, Jack has continued to take advantage of his role as an “expert on school shootings” and a shameless media whore. Even after Chris Matthews handed him a well-deserved asswhooping on “Hardball”.
Gamepolitics has been covering the story since it unfolded. In his latest television appearance, Jackie became really red under his Superlawyer costume’s collar after being read a quote from the executive director of the International Game Developer’s Association:
It’s so sad. These massacre chasers — they’re worse than ambulance chasers — they’re waiting for these things to happen so they can jump on their soapbox.
Jack responded by calling Jason Della Rocca an “idiot” and a “jackass”, on the air. Then he launched into a blubber-filled tirade about Columbine and 9/11 and how he saves puppies from villanious cartoon dog catchers.
Posters on GP immediately picked up on Rocca’s unique-sounding label, and it became the catchphrase of the day. I can’t say I blame them at all. “Massacre chaser”has a lovely ring to it. And it describes Thompson’s M.O. from beginning to bloody end.
Because Jack Thompson is a massacre chaser. For him to jump on the air at such lightning speed, when the entire population was only beginning to learn that something had happened, makes him a monster. In my personal opinion, he anticipates these things happening so he can get his face on television and make his harebrained connections between video games and violence. Grieving victims equal clients. Clients equal money. Thompson’s “games train killers!” campaign is our generation’s “Ow! My neck!” principle.
Which brings me to my next point, where I have an important announcement to make.
First of all, I know that this blog isn’t the most popular thing on the web right now. And even if there were a chance it could be, I’ve been so lazy about updating that any news I announce already has traces of green building up in the corners.
Scrolling down the page yesterday, I noticed something that was a little alarming and quite frankly, detrimental to why I started this thing in the first place. Every other story is a Jack Thompson story. In-between posts about crappy books found in the library, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Final Fantasy, there is something I’ve written about Superlawyer. This is my own fault for being so fascinated with the man’s hapless crusade to blame a hobby on senseless real-life killings. But by writing about him everytime he opened his mouth, it all backfired. “World 7″ is becoming the Jack Thompson news ticker.
So here’s my big announcement. Feel free to think any way you want of it: As of right now, unless there a SERIOUS need for it, there will be no more stories about Jack Thompson here at World 7. Being the center of attention is exactly what this moron wants, and I have no desire to hand him any more press. Not for free, anyway.
No more Thompson here. I’m not FOX News or MSNBC. I know better.
