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When You Lie to the Media, You Become the Story

Robbway

Shared on Sat, 04/21/2007 - 10:00
One thing the news is good at is printing stories that are on the forefront of debate at any given moment.  Unfortunately, Mr. Jack Thompson decided to use the murders at Virginia Tech as a launching pad for their own personal agendas.  The isn't anything new, but its in very bad taste.  MSNBC has run a story with expert gamers and expert psychological analysis that is both credible and contrary to Mr. JT.  I'm curious as to what JT's expertise is on this matter.  He clearly doesn't play games nor does he have any credible sources for his information.  Lying to the press will eventually fry you, and this is just the beginning.

Comments

J-Cat's picture
Submitted by J-Cat on Sat, 04/21/2007 - 18:04
Wow. This annoys me for a couple of reasons. 1. For some reason he's chosen gaming as his personal crusade and nothing will stop him. I like gaming so I am (obvisouly) in opposition to his view. 2. He doesn't have his facts in order. He jumped to conclusions (gaming was the reason for the massacre) without doing any research. Now it comes out that the killer had a history of mental illness and I haven't heard that he was a gamer. So Mr. Thompson is wrong. 3. He's a hypocrite. He accuses video games of causing violent behavior. What is violent behaviour but the lack of control over one's emotions? This guy can't hold it together for a few days to see what the facts are and just charges on like a bull in a china shop. THis shows he has a lack of self restraint. 4. He's stupid (or just acts it). Let's face it, 33 people died. What's more the act was senseless, and it's randomness frightens people. Obviously everything about this story is going to be played up in today's 24 hour new world. Instead of chosing his actions carefully, he just goes forward. This is a stupid action for his cause. People will read/hear about his tirade, then hear that the killer was disturbed and will dismiss Mr. Thompson's argument. Obviously I don't like his argument, but it's really difficult to have a rational discussion with someone like that.
Robbway's picture
Submitted by Robbway on Sun, 04/22/2007 - 09:31
I am not a psychologist, but I understand the principles of schizophrenia. Unlike the older movies, schizonphrenia is not multiple-personality disorder. I think we're getting better educated about that. Schizophrenia's main symptoms are paranoia and delusions of grandeur. My own mother had these symptoms, so I feel better experienced to know the disease. I've also been exposed to two separate "schizo" people in the workplace. The non-violent one displayed severe symptoms. The violent one seemed harmless and was harder to recognize. Luckily, the violent one was stopped before he did anything (yes, the system does catch some of these) as he was arrested trying to take a bunch of guns into Canada. So what does this have to do with Jack Thompson? From my experience, his behavior in the legal circuit displays these same schizophreniac symptoms. As a self-proclaimed expert and crusader against media violence, he fabricates data (VTech shootings) to support his self-importance. That's the "delusions of grandeur" symptom. The "paranoia" symptoms are displayed by his immediate jumps to conspiracy theories in regards to gamer's criticisms, industry lawsuits, and media reports. I don't think JT is literally "dangerous," but if he isn't seeking professional help on a personal level, it is likely he should. I feel he is probably the least qualified person to be tackling this whole media violence issue.

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