Kotaku
Hal Halpin, head of the Entertainment Consumers Association, has issued a statement following the tragic events at Northern Illinois University, events which our dear old friend was so quick to seize upon and blame on videogames. The statement reads:
We'd like to extend our condolences to the families, friends and classmates of those who were affected in the school shooting at Northern Illinois University. Separately, we are disgusted, but no longer shocked, to find that anti-game activists are again rushing to conclusions about what drove Stephen Kazmierczak, the clearly disturbed 27 year old who police say was responsible for this tragedy, to commit such an act.So sad that a statement like this has to even be issued, and that such calm, reasonable statements are ignored by types like Fox News in favour of the ravings of a spotlight-hungry, ambulance chasing loon.Blaming video games for the behavior of the mentally-challenged is vile on many levels. And, as Generations X and Y mature, it is extremely likely that just about all of us have played at least one video game at some point in our lives. Drawing a parallel between games and violence without any substantive proof is sensationalism for its own sake. This is a sad event, made worse by the irresponsible actions of attention-seekers and the media that has given them a platform for their reckless venom.
Comments
Fuck you Jack Thompson.
Its a sad thing that happened. Nothing is worse than an activist jumping on a non-existent band wagon to get kudos with a conservative news audience.
Don't blame video games in the first place.
@the bishman: Indeed.. =(
Agreed, I bet you this statement will be ignored also. :x
Folks love to hear what they want to hear and not the truth.
Nice to see a proper statement issued nevertheless though.
I really wish the ambulance chasers and story spinners would just focus on the real news / tragedy of the incident(s) instead of trying to up ratings or their own personal image. :x Its a real sad state at what the media has become really.
@InsolenceAndHeresy:
quote of the week, I second that motion
my moms coworkers neighbors daughter was shot in this shooting.last word has it shes in the hospital injured in the throat but doing fine.no condolences please since i dont actually know this person.(you know someone would have)its really sad though
@Witzbold: As somebody who lives right here where all the story spinners have dropped upon our little college town like an army, amen.
Bottom Line - Ultra Violent video games, along with gorefest movies, tv, comicbooks and violent music ALL have an impact on society (regardless of how minor ir may be) and yes this individual was part of that society and could have been more easily influenced...
but it's obviously not the root of the deep seeded issues he had, just a contributing factor
As soon as I heard about it on our local news(I live in chicago) and heard that it had ties to VTech, I thought to myself: "FUCK! How long is it going to take for this to go national?" Then Jack Fuckhead has to go on his shitty little diatribe on how videogames are to blame, not even a day after!
This is really tragic and sad on so many levels. JT is such a scumbag.
I heard someone was going to take JT's email address and use it to sign him up for a bunch of pornography...
And I almost thought Jack had changed his ways after he gave his take on the Mass Effect controversy....
@Truepatriot: Jesus thats sad stuff. D:
@kingclip: Man that must be so not cool. Since Im sure the last thing folks who were involved with the incident is be hounded by those who dont want the truth but bits of info that can help sell their stations / image better to the unwashed masses. :x
I remember shit like that going on after 9/11 with reporters comming to my friends game store asking if there were any games that portrayed New York in it, or any flight sims that involved aircraft and buildings. Was so getting pissed off with that reporter in the store, along with everyone else. Talk about grasping at straws.
any incident like this is truly tragic, jumping on it to promote one's own cause is despicable. show some respect jack thompson et al. it's perverted, the moment something awful happens he dons his best suit and heads for the tv station with a smile on his face.
videogames are the new kid on the block in entertainment, this means they're lumbered with the same crap movies, tv and comics have all had before them.
i know it's a bit raw, but does anyone know the motivation of these poor psychos? i can't understand this stuff... it's all wrong
On topic: I'm troubled by the news these days and terrible events like this should never be leeched for the benefit of the likes of Jackass Thompson and the void between his ears.
Well I could be a socialist troll and come up with a long winded explanation about how money and corruption and the capitalist named Mr Murdoch is ruining our lovely little hobby but I won't.
For now I'll say: Stick to BBC News when you wanna know something hey you people across the pond...
Fox News is a waste of space. Anybody who knows anything about journalism knows that Fox should be the least trusted source of news. They are one tiny step above the Weekly World News.
That's why I get all my news from The Onion.
Actually, I'm thinking about just getting it from BBC. Their news is the best I've seen.
Here we go again... Why doesn't anybody blame it on how easy it is to get a gun in the U.S.?
Uh-oh someones going to be getting a wacko email in their inbox son I bet.
@GoKeithGo: "Fox should be the least trusted source of news."
Yeah, right below The Onion.
@ShaggE: I dunno about that since at times during the Iraq War reporting the BBC sounded way too much like CNN. So I was kinda disappointed by that since I really did enjoy the BBC over CNN before the Iraq war started. :x
@t0yrobo: Hes not done chasing the ambulances yet so I think Kotaku is safe for now.
It's simultaneously awesome and sad that a statement like this had to be issued.
While totally on the number, this will probably be ignored and most likely turned into another "Games make 'kids' violent" thing.
I mean, hello? What about the event itself?
So sad. I do hope people will wake up soon.....
@Malthius: Um.. The Onion isn't anything *like* a "source of news".. It's a source of humor. Pure and simple.
I remain dissappointed in the inability of my State of Florida to disbarr this man. I expect him to set new lows come this April. Media won't even bother to post retractions when it will likely be learned later that video games played no roll in this senseless act. Yes, disbarring Jack won't likely stop him.
Fox News : journalism the way ignorant people want it.
Such a sad event, and its sickening how qiuckly Jack seized upon the chance to blame the actions of another clearly mentally unstable person on video games.
Cant wait until Florida disbarres this motherfucker.
@Sniper_Zegai:
They've failed twice already in the last 5 years.
agreed... jackie, shut the fuck up. nobody cares about you..
you FAIL!
seriously, i agree with that statement. why videogames to blame? why not music? TV? Movies? or even personal experiences?
people have to realize that Videogames aren't just "toys" nobody takes it as if it were real media. it gets criticized so badly it ain't funny.
Jack Thompson, the opportunist.
@The_Saint: Whoever you heard it from, tell them to make it gay porn. That way he doesn't enjoy it. I think...
Dont you people understand, violent video games are the common denominator, and as such should be banned.
but there are more common denominators, did you know that in all the violent school shootings, all the perpetrators ate food, and wore clothes, as such I feel that these things need to be banned for they are obviously dangerous.
oh and one more, they all had guns.
So sad
anyone want to go with me and march on to the fox building? i mean.. i live in nyc... anyone?
@Xander:
It's not easy to get a handgun in New York State. I am still waiting on my background check, which you have to apply for in person at a sheriffs office.
My rifle took about 30 minutes, which I had to show a picture ID and wait for the Gander Mountain Employee to call Albany to run a short background check/mental heath report.
I submit to you why doesn't anyone blame this asshole for being crazy and killing people. He stopped taking medication and was acting erratic. This was in the police report. I do not yet know where he got his guns, but you can just as easily steal them from lazy gun owners who don't put a lock on their weapons.
Like I said on the other post, the worst of this all is Fox News going down tabloid level.
They should have some responsibility and commitment to it's viewers before throwing anyone the title of "School Shooting Expert". Specially if the guy is a very well known lunatic.
In the past, I've constantly objected to giving Jack Thompson coverage (and therefore, attention) in any way, shape, or form. However, I've recently decided that it wouldn't matter anyway, because all the attention he generates won't make him any less of a real life troll.
Nobody with a reasonable train of thought should give a squirrel fart about what JT ever has to say. Since he's savaged & ravaged all of his credibility a long time ago, he is going to automatically lose almost every argument he attempts to bring to a table of discussion. But, through media attention, hopefully more people can recognize and see him for the agenda-pushing zilch that he really is.
@Lain: Dude if I lived in NYC Id so join you man.
The people who knew the man who did this are absolutely shocked that he was responsible. He has been described as outgoing, motivated, intelligent and was displaying no evidence of any mental instability (except for the last 2 weeks after he went off some medication(s)).
It's defying any sort of neat and tidy explanation and I wonder if there ever will be a reason why he did it.
It's just horrible and tragic and immensely sad and my thoughts are with everyone who has been left behind and has to deal with the grief and shock.:(
Wow, that was awesome of Hal to release that statement. Too bad that it will probably be ignored in favor of fucktard ambulance chasers like JT.
Someone really needs to put Jack in his place, and give him an old fashioned ass beating. Then tell him that it was inspired by Jacks favorite book ... the bible.
@Lain:
I'd gladfully be there with you if I lived in NYC.
@Xander:
I second that. In Australia we had a shotting a tourist attraction. We all but banned guns. I don't understand how you can have this many gun related incidents and not have stricter gun control. I know the NRA has a lot of members. But once you start introducing gun laws their power will decline. And once you introduce gun restrictions, and if crime goes down it's very easy to promote yourself as the president/governor/whatever that reduce America's crime rate more than anything else.
Hell things like this one of the reasons why I moved from the US to Land down under.
@Lain: If i had the cash i would buy a plane ticket to NYC just to do that. But i guess iam stuck here in Los Angeles for now =(
@ZOIDBERG IS YOUR GOD: @dead_red_eyes: @Witzbold: Same here. Damn Florida... and personal responsibilities.
There is a reason it is called Fox Noise and Fixed News. :) Seriously not surprised one bit, sickened, but not surprised. Just waiting for Miss Clinton to jump on this one as well.
The reason that the media is so quick to point the finger at video games is that they, the media, are largely responsible for these repeated tragedies and are using video games as a whipping boy. Their sensationalism in covering these events and glorification of the "troubled youths" is why this stuff keeps occurring.
As long as the news continues to provide them with their blaze of glory, people who have been ignored or hurt by society will continue to create these tragedies so they will always be remembered
@kingclip: I grew up in Sycamore, and my little brother is going to NIU, so yesterday was fairly freaky with everyone's family members trying to call, and DeKalb's cell phone network overwhelmed. Thankfully, he wasn't in that hall or knew anyone caught in it. I'm sorry for the surreal media circus you'll all be living through in these coming weeks. :(
I hope all is well with you and yours.
if jack thompson had any heart instead of blaiming games he'd help shut up seriously...my freind is going to NIU he said he wasn't there thank god.
my prayers go out to the familys.
I wish I really were the violent gamer stereotype Jack Thompson claims we are. That way I could punch him in the face and say gitaroo man made me do it.
LOL
This is good to see, the longer americas gun laws stay as lax as they appear to be, the more we'll see of shootings such as these and Jack Thompson will happily take the call from Fox News every time.
The industry needs to start defending itself more often in these cases citing the high and stringent standards kept in terms of rating classification for videogames and that ultimately videogames are not to blame in what are ultimately the outbursts of the socially disenfranchised in a society where its far too easy to get a gun.
When most people begin to realise that gaming is not at fault for these incidents, the Jack Thompsons of this world will soon give up.....hopefully.
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