Kotaku
By: Brian Crecente
Just hours after the shooting on the Virginia Tech campus, Jack Thompson worked his way onto national television to attempt to tie the tragedy to video games - hours before authorities had released any information about the suspect or his motive.
Watching the video (provided by a Kotaku reader), I found more than a half-dozen points which were either grossly misleading or out-right lies. Hit the jump for the analysis of his comments from the video.
1. The FBI and Secret Service found that the most common denominator for shootings prior to Columbine was that the perpetrator was immersed in "incredibly violent entertainment, most notable video games."
Time: 30 seconds
Verdict: Not exactly True
Evidence: In 2000, the FBI published an analysis of 18 schools, 14 of which had actual shootings. In the other four, students planned shootings but were thwarted.
The analysis broke down the assessment model of a shooter into four prongs.
While "The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective" found that a "fascination with violence-filled entertainment" was one personality traits and behavior common among shooters, in one of the four prongs,it lists another 27 traits as well. It also does not single out video games as being most notable among the "violence-filled entertainment" shooters were fascinated with.
The student demonstrates an unusual fascination with movies, TV shows, computer games, music videos or printed material that focus intensively on themes of violence, hatred, control, power, death, and destruction. He may incessantly watch one movie or read and reread one book with violent content, perhaps involving school violence. Themes of hatred, violence, weapons, and mass destruction recur in virtually all his activities, hobbies, and pastimes.The student spends inordinate amounts of time playing video games with violent themes, and seems more interested in the violent images than in the game itself.
On the Internet, the student regularly searches for web sites involving violence, weapons, and other disturbing subjects. There is evidence the student has downloaded and kept material from these sites.
In the lengthy study's proposals the FBI recommends training parents to track their child's use of the Internet and viewing of violent videos. No reference is made to tracking video game playing.
2. The FBI found that Red Lake school shooter Jeffrey Weise had "basically rehearsed for the massacre" by playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City in order to get his heart rate down and be able to kill.
Time: 49 seconds
Verdict: Cannot prove or disprove
Evidence: The only references I could find on the Internet, with the FBI, in the newspaper coverage, with the police department of Weise training for the Red Lake School shooting come from Thompson himself. On several occasions he both predicts that police will find this to be the case and then goes on to say it is the case, but never provides any sort of proof or source.
3. Prior to going on a shooting spree at Dawson College in Montreal, Kimveer Gill "trained on Super Columbine Massacre."
Time: 1 minute 10 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: While one could argue endlessly about the merits of Super Columbine Massacre RPG and whether it crosses a moral boundary, there is no argument about it's use as a tactics trainer. The game was created using RPG Maker and requires zero tactics or marksmanship to complete. Instead you roam endlessly through a generic school setting killing students in an abbreviated turn-based attack system similar to Final Fantasy.
Gunman Kimveer Gill did play the game, including it among a long list of games he liked to play. It was not his "favorite game" according to his profile on his blog.
4. Michael Carneal was spurred to go on a spree shooting in Paducah, Kentucky by computer games and trained on Doom before the shooting.
Time: 2 minutes 12 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: That song and dance is certainly what Jack Thompson tried to prove in the $130 million lawsuit he filed in April, 1999 against two Internet pornography sites, several game developers and the makers and distributors of The Basketball Diaries.
Fortunately, Thompson lost that little bid. In 2002 the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it was "simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom."
A psychiatrist who interviewed Carneal also rebuked Thompson's claim that Carneal had never fired a gun, saying that the teen admitted to stealing a .22-caliber pistol and practicing with it and other handguns.
Thompson continues to spread this particular lie despite a court of law saying it isn't true.
5. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold used Doom to train for "what they did at Columbine."
Time: Two minutes and 32 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: Again, a lawyer tried to show a connection between games, including Doom, and the shootings and again that lawsuit was tossed out by a federal judge.
In dismissing the suit, the U.S. District judge said there was no way the makers of violent games including "Doom" and "Redneck Rampage," and violent movies such as "The Basketball Diaries," could have reasonably foreseen that their products would cause the Columbine shooting or any other violent acts.
But perhaps Thompson is talking about the wide-spread myth that Harris created a level for Doom so he could practice the deadly shooting. Again, not true. While Harris did create four levels for the game, none of them resembled the school.
6. Jeffery Weise uploaded a "flash game version" of Grand Theft Auto Vice City in which he was predicting what he was going to do.
Time: Three minutes and 15 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: While Jack Thompson certainly tried to liken Jeffery Weise's animation to both a video game and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it is clear neither are true.
The animated short, entitled Target Practice, shows an animated character shooting four people and blowing up a police car before committing suicide. Shortly after the Red Lake school shooting Thompson also tried to tie another short, entitled Clown, to a Rockstar game, saying it was a"replication" of Manhunt. Also, obviously not true.
7. After Robert Steinhauser's deadly shooting at a school in Erfurt, Germany, police found "52 shooter games, most notably Counterstrike Half-Life which was his game of choice." Steinhauser "dressed up like the hero in that game for his assault." The involvement of video games in that shooting changed the law in Germany.
Time: Three minutes and 55 seconds
Verdict: Not exactly true
Evidence: Police did find violent comics, movies and video games in Steinhauser's home after the shooting, but according to Erfurt Police Chief Rainer Grube there were "several computer games featuring "intensive weapons usage" not 52.
While Steinhauser did dress in black "ninja-like" garb, it would be a stretch to say he was "dressed up like the hero" in Counterstrike.
His last point, about it changing the law, was a bit tricky to prove or disprove. I finally tracked down an update at EurActiv, which tracks political actions in the EU. According to the site, while there was a lot of initial political grandstanding, no law was ever passed. Instead the Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini called on ministers meeting in Dresden to agree "to share best practices" on curbing the sale of violent video games to minors.
Update: Reader Lazy points out that there were some changes in law due to the shooting.
Conclusion: What do we learn from this assessment of Thompson's babble on national television? That you can say anything on TV and not have it fact-checked as long as you say it quickly, when TV needs someone to fill time and it's a good sound bite.
Comments
Jack Thompson's lying should be the assumed position and the news should be when he says something sane and logical, not the reverse.
Any one see that Dr. Phil is also blaming video games?
http://gamepolitics.com/2007/04/17/dr-phil-blames-video-ga...
Add a link to digg! I am too lazy to submit it :P.
Thank you Brian! A journalist who researches.... thank you!
JT an expert on school shootings? RIGHTTTTTT
-Zach
@Uglysad:
Amen. Logic & fact have no place with him.. so why bother breaking it down. We all know the truth.
i don't think blame can be cast on anybody, not even the parents. what goes on in people's mind is anyone's guess but i do agree with the guy in the other thread that this kid was trying to send a message to all of us - and unfortunately this was the only way he knew how
R.I.P. slain Virginia Tech students and educators
Jack Thompson lying/misrepresenting facts/taking things out of context? Never saw that coming.
Wow, you did all that investigating, Brian? That's why you're Brian Crecente.
The digg link... please add Brian!
http://digg.com/gaming_news/Kotaku_dissects_Jack_Thompson_...
Very thorough Brian, and nicely written. I am glad someone has the intelligence to rationally research and disprove what someone like him is allowed to spew on television and pass it off as fact.
I really look forward to his response to you and how it continues on. He will not go quietly and will no doubt mouth and fight you on this one. I am surprised he has not yet claimed to have gotten you fired (when you recently just quit), and no doubt will use that...
I just want to know when one of these homicidal-videogame-playing maniacs is going to visit Mr. Thompson...
I just wrote into Fox News and requested that they stop giving King Douche any airtime or mention at all. I urge everyone else here to do the same.
foxnewsonline@foxnews.com
Its Fox 'news' ... get over it.
I think more time and attention should be given to the victims instead of this fucktard.
They refer to him as an "expert of school shootings"?
You'd think the term "vulture" would be more appropriate for his area of expertise.
Respect for keeping it above the belt. The best way to counter Thompson is with rationality and fact. They're like his kryptonite.
@Soygen:
I hope they don't. Just make a martyr of him.
In any case, he's a fool figurehead. Every time he jumps out of his crazy box and starts ranting about video games being the work of the Devil, he makes his cause (censorship, banning of video games) look completely without merit.
We loose him, we may get someone who ISN'T stark raving mad to lead the charge and make an argument that isn't batshit crazy, and may actually convince a few folks that they are right.
I was talking to my father about the massacre and what JT is trying to do blaming videogames... My fathers quote is the best:
"This is the same as the guy that comes home, sees his wife cheating on him with his best friend on their living room couch and the guy blames the couch..."
Fox News Channel is one of the most one-sided fear mongering news stations.We live in a society that loves violence even our government revels in war and killing.We have the death penalty and we are the only country in the world to use nuclear weapons not once but twice. All of these government approved actions are never seen as influence on children only video games.
Trained on Doom eh?
Soooooo, he practiced his rocket jumps?
Thank you Crecente. Someone who can actually do their job correctly. It's horrifying that people like Jack Thompson are allowed to live let alone speak on national television.
Thankfully it was Fox News, which no one actually takes seriously anyways.
more like Faux News.
@RocketFella: aye
Here's comes the baseless threats and slander accusations from Jacko for *gasp* telling the truth about his bs.
3,,,, 2,,,,
Lets hope not, the news outlets would perceive him as a martyr.
Good piece. Thompson is something else and you can't deny that he's determined. Pity he doesn't put all this effort into something useful, oh, and stop making crap up.
Oops, my comments directed at Soygen***
Whats sad is that MSNBC had this dirt bag on today as well.
Or it could be that people with homicidal tendencies are the ones who are drawn towards certain games, instead of people who play violent games down the line develop these homicidal tendencies.
Anyone want to look into that? It probably isn't the single cause but I'm sure they're correlated somehow.
They say that if you say "Jack Thompson" in front of a mirror ten times, it will summon him from his soulless pit of despair from which no light, hope, or intelligence escapes. He will then eat your brains by first opening his wretched, damned maw, and releasing a sound so drowning in it's own stupidity, it will liquefy your cerebral cortex, allowing him to drink the vile nectar that leaks from your ears.
That's just what I've heard. It's true, I swear. I heard it from a guy.
One of the things about our society at the moment that I hate the most. In the wake of a tragedy like this we don't give any room to grieve. Within hours people are trying to place the blame, and move agendas.
Before even finding out what the situation completely is we have these goddamn talking heads spouting their own brand of non-sense. We do need to figure out what drives people to these kinds of things, but for Christs sake it's not gonna happen within hours of the incident without any fact or basis. Do we have to have every one of these assholes with an opinion express it mere moments after an atrocity happens? Lets have some modicum of respect for victims and their families.
Everyone digg this!
While I definitely feel that Thompson is nothing more than a media-craving ambulance-chaser (read: lawyer) - who peppers statements with outright lies and half-truths - all it takes is ONE true statement to throw the video game industry for a loop.
We don't know what the Korean in VA Tech had for a motive to go on a spree, but if it's found that he was "PWNED by n00bs" in Counter Strike or just lost perspective on reality after a World of Warcraft binge - especially since Korea in notorious for online game fanaticism - and went berserk on society, and watch just how fast Hillary Clinton and Obama and Giuliani swoop in. Then, watch how fast other lawmakers with power also swoop in and bring the industry to its knees.
Not saying it will happen, but it's definitely something to watch closely. I'm watching Hip Hop catch a beating for something that Don Imus did right now...
My question is why hasn't Thompson spent more time in jail because of his lies, harrassment, and conduct in court? This guy isn't going to go away simply because some people ignore him. Hes the type that will ALWAYS have a few other crazies interested in what he has to say and will take his insane comments as gospel. He will always get that little ego boost from those people and come back for more.
The only way he can be stopped is if he gets put away in jail, an asylum for his insane shit, or if hes stripped of all his legal abilities. Censor this idiot, and shut him up him for good.
Unfortunately the only thing to bring down Jack Thompson will be old age.
Society is currently slave to the idea that the news is the bringer of truth, where in reality it is a representation of the truth. The basic driving force behind it, to get as much information as possible to the consumer as fast as possible, unfortunately results in little to no separation of facts (if there are any) and assumption.
While society assumes that what they're receiving is "the truth" and remains oblivious to the multiple lenses through which news is constructed, news will continue to seed false information.
It's no point looking into a topic until days or even weeks later, when hopefully a proper analysis of the situation has been developed. Unfortunately first impressions last longer than corrections.
The most damaging story is the breaking story. After that, the stain remains no matter how hard the story is scrubbed clean.
No offense to the journalists out there, you're just doing your jobs ;)
@Torgo:
Though I wouldn't use the exact language in your post, it would be handy for a few of the gaming sites (such as Kotaku) to serve as a counterpoint to JT's babbling. A number of emails linking to the various proofs against his inaccuracies (however they're handled at FOX) could at least to them bringing up the topic again. And as is usual, JT can't really handle himself too well when somebody with preparred factual counterarguments takes him on.
No surprise he drags his family into the fray.
I kind of feel like when we react like this to Jack Thompson, we're giving him more power than he deserves. I do believe that we need to show outrage and we need to show that he is an idiot, but at some point we also need to let his idiocy speak for itself. When we get outraged to the point that we as a community look foolish - calling him an idiot, calling him retarded, otherwise becoming as immature as he is - aren't we just giving him the power to offend us?
Excellent job here. I hope this article finds its way to as many eyes as possible.
Its amazing to me how a person can spew out lies in one sentence and then call the nation to prayer the next.
I'm sick of people like Jack Thompson giving the world a horrible impression of Christianity.
Jack Thompson, chasing ambulances on the grandest scale.
How this guy's initial reaction to something this horrible is to run on television and decry a form of entertainment and storytelling, instead of grieve for the people affected by the shootings, proves that he is only on this anti game crusade to hear himself speak.
I wish he would just shut up and move on with his life.
If someone has it in them to do something like this, it isn't video games that pushes them to do it or put it in their head that it's alright to kill people. What about all of the other people that play violent games and don't kill people? I LOVE Gears of War and games of the like and I don't go around killing people, I've never been in a fight in my entire life!!! So what does that say about their bull shit reasoning that video games are what's wrong with these people? I wish people weren't so stupid... -_-"
Jack said "dressing like the hero in Counterstrike". Last time I checked there wasn't a set hero for that team based multiplayer game.
@amog: Calling him a retard is naturally not a course we should resort to, but to ignore him entirely is irresponsible.
He needs to be combated with reasonable and rational debate if our cries of his ineptitude are to be taken seriously.
Although I sometimes wonder, is there anybody out there who is actually listening?
I have been a reader of Kotaku for a long while and I have always found this website very humorous and entertaining. But this article has gone too far. I cannot just sit here and watch you make fun of and rip apart a very clearly mentally handicapped person. Thank you for all the laughs Kotaku. I won't be returning.
P.S.
haha, yea right, Jack Thompson's such a jackass
I love how the anchorman says, "So eloquent," at the end there. What assholes.