<p>After Thompson said that he thought the Sims 2 was a pedophiole training game and needed to be banned, I decided to shoot him an email:</p>
<p>I wrote:</p>
<p>"The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it
deliberately with faulty arguments "--Friedrich Nietzsche</p>
<p>As much as I feel that the legislation of gaming is a cause fueled by
ignorance and misunderstanding, I can't help but laugh as you harm
your own cause with flat out lies such as gamers having the ability to
rape and kill pregnant women in Grand Theft Auto, or the ability to
view full frontal nudity in the Sims 2.</p>
<p>Your crusade against the videogame industry is laughable, and your
"points" (I use the term loosely) are tenuous at best. Your example of
the Sims 2 was especially laughable. A pedophile is going to be a
pedophile whether he plays the Sims 2 or not. And if he really enjoys
looking at naked children, he's going to look at naked children. As
obvious as that may sound, I felt as if it needed to be clarified to
someone such as you. There's this little thing called the internet
where pedophiles can look at as much child pornography as they want.
You can't argue that they would rather look at Barbie doll non nudity
in a game that costs $50 dollars than look at actual child porn.
That's like arguing that a heterosexual male would rather pay $50 to
see adult female non nudity in the Sims rather than look at actual
porn on the internet.</p>
<p>There's precedent for your misguided sentiments failing. In 2002, a
mother blamed EA and Maxis for her son being homosexual. She argued
that him creating gay Sims and getting excited when they interacted
sexually proved that the videogame turned him gay. Want to guess how
far her libelous claims got her? Nowhere.</p>
<p>I'd request that you debate my points with sincerity, but seeing the
thoughtless ad hominem attacks you've used in response to other gamers
poking holes in your logic (or lack thereof), I won't be holding my
breath.</p>
<p>He responded:</p>
<p>Go check yourself into the nearest mental institution</p>
<p>I replied:</p>
<p>Ironic that you'd say that considering that you've actually been to a psychiatric ward yourself</p>
<p>He never responded to the last one, so I'd say I won that exchange. I just wonder hopw this guy has maintained any credibility whatsoever. Look what wikipedia has on him:</p>
<p>Jack Thompson is a stanuch opponent of all video games and of all violent media. In 1992, Thompson was named a "top ten" censor by the American Civil Liberties Union. Thompson states on his website that he considers the ACLU's 'award' a badge of honor.</p>
<p>Rhetoric and affectations nonwithstanding, Thompson has repeatedly, demonstratably lied about a wide range of issues in order to advance his arguments; more recently he has claimed that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas allows players to rape and kill pregnant women and/or children, and he has also accused EA Games of including detailed full frontal nudity and graphic sex in The Sims 2, which he likened to a pedophile training tool [1]. Whether these falsehoods were propagated as deliberate manipulations, or whether Thompson genuinely believed these and numerous other incorrect claims, is unknown.</p>
<p>In 1988 Thompson was the unsuccessful GOP challenger to Janet Reno for the Office of Dade County State Attorney. Following this, as the "Man in Miami" for NewsMax.com, he made a series of bizarre allegations [2] regarding Reno, met with incredulity in the press [3],[4], claiming that she was a closet lesbian suffering from various mental disorders as side effects of Alzheimer's medication, and that she was being blackmailed by the Mafia.</p>
<p>Following the Flores case Thompson became prominently involved in First Amendment issues, particularly concerning the possible effects of sexually violent material. Interestingly, the Florida Supreme Court ordered that he undergo psychiatric testing during this campaign, which he successfully passed. He later quipped that this made him one of the few sane lawyers working in the state.</p>