My letter to Jack Thompson
From the Mind of a True Gamer
Dear Mr. Thompson,
For roughly three years now I've been reading about your crusades against violent games and media. I'm 16 years of age, and have played many of the games you so publicly bash. I'm writing you to tell you how wrong your "crusades" are. My request to you is for you to continue reading this letter instead of tossing it with others you might consider hate mail. The ESRB rating system is there to help parents look at what content goes in the games their children are interested in. Can you really blame Gamestop or the ESRB for the parent's decision to buy the game for their child? The stores or companies aren't the ones allowing the children to purchase the games; the parents are. Each child is a different individual in their own maturity level. I myself first played the video game Mortal Kombat at around four years of age, and I'm writing one of the most articulate letters you'll receive. Actually, I'd say I've turned out pretty well. To this day I still play games such as Manhunt 2, Grand Theft Auto, Halo, and Mortal Kombat, and I'm doing better than most young people my age. I attend a fine arts school and have already signed on to direct and produce my own full-length documentary about a school in South Africa. Sound like a typical gamer to you, Jack? Most sixteen year olds are flipping burgers and I've already got a career. How strange that even though I play these games I'm absolutely fine. I've done my research on you sir, particularly on your response to the Columbine shooting. The shooting was a horrible tragedy, no doubt. But I assure you Mr. Thompson, those two young men had significantly deeper issues than those found in DOOM. If someone plays a game, they aren't doomed to go insane and murder people. Those ignorant enough to do so have severe mental issues that should have been dealt with. I'm here to speak for those you're so quick to belittle; the gamers. How dare you group millions of people worldwide as psychopaths? Perhaps instead of pointing your finger so quickly you should look a little deeper, eh? Do you have any idea what could have been avoided had someone actually attempted to talk to the two boys? Lives could have been saved. It's not DOOM's fault, nor is it Marilyn Manson's. Those boys had issues years before they began playing those games and listening to hard music. Also, what is this I read about you boycotting Wendy's Restaurants happy meals because they feature Nintendo characters? Please give me some evidence proving that Mario is an evil character. I'm quite interested by your strange opinion on this matter. I have one more issue to address; the infamous "Hot Coffee" mod. Sir, the creators of the game didn't put that in there; somebody with way too much time on their hands did. It was a mod, meaning modification. Someone physically took a copy of the game, and added that in there. Your countless lawsuits and petty tirades are more sad than motivating. It seems that every time an M rated video game is released on the market, you take it upon yourself to sue the company. Have you ever tried loosening up and actually PLAYING these games? Would you rather someone take a sledgehammer to a virtual character, or a real person? I'm looking forward to your response, as I've been following your career for quite some time now. If you have any issue with these games, gamers in general, or even myself, I'll be more than happy to publicly debate the topic.
Yours truly,
Alex Moore
P.S. Can't wait to read about your GTA IV lawsuit! That should be a doozy, eh?