Jack Thompson is so disbarred… oh come on, it’s funny damnit!

I don’t usually laugh at most people’s misfortune.  OK, that’s a lie – I do.  But I don’t usually laugh with such glee!

Jack Thompson has been disbarred.  Ok, if you don’t know who Jack Thompson is, then you might find this a little less funny.  Lemmie give you the highlights… 

Jack Thompson decided there was a link between video game violence and real world teen violence.  Except that whole bit where some studies show there isn’t a link.  At all.  I have no problem with his belief though – I have a belief there isn’t a link, and some studies show that I’m probably right.  But who knows – maybe it’s a delayed effect, and when this current generation of gamers turns 60, they’ll all be mass murderers because of Grand Theft Auto XXVI:  Old Age Home.  The long term sociological effects won’t really be know for quite a while.

So the belief is just a belief of his.  Can’t fault him there.

But what he’s done with that belief… wow.  Let’s see… he sent a letter to the exec of Take Two Interactive’s mom.  Comparing him to the Hitler Youth.  No, I’m not fucking kidding there.  Anytime there’s a shooting of an officer or done by a teen, he likes to blame it on video games (Grand Theft Auto is his favorite to take on.)

I wouldn’t laugh at it if it was just a couple of cases.  But it happens over and over.  He’s… a fanatic.  Really, that’s what he is in my opinion, just another fanatic.  

In one of those rare moments, justice has been served.  Jack Thompson was disbarred for life (ok, actually, the disbarment won’t occur for a couple of weeks yet, but the verdict was rendered.  They gave him 30 days to tie up loose ends.)  I like it when our system works – guys like this usually just get to keep screaming, suing people, and performing acts that are nothing but harrassment until eventually they fade into obscurity.  Obscurity isn’t good enough for me.  EXAMPLES are a good idea sometimes, and the justice system did it.

There’s nothing wrong with filing a lawsuit over a belief.  It happens all the time.  Facts when filing a lawsuit are a much better idea.  But the harrassment, repeated lawsuits (some thrown out of court because they lacked any legal basis), all of that just ties up our already clogged system needlessly.  

Now for the best part of the joke.  Jack Thompson has been ridiculed for about as long as he’s been filing cases against video games.  Now comes the disbarment… and the “Jack Thompson is so disbarred…” jokes 🙂   Twitter has been a non-stop source of chuckles for me.  Some of my favorites:

Jack Thompson is so disbarred, he’s not even allowed to approach the bench at a picnic table.

Jack Thompson is so disbarred, he can’t even file briefs in his underwear drawer.

Jack Thompson is so disbarred, he can’t even object to the high price of gasoline.

Jack Thompson is so disbarred, he can’t appeal to anybody! (But honestly, he never did.)

Jack Thompson is so disbarred he got kicked out of a food court.

There’s a couple lists of good ones floating around – you might try this one first.  And if you still aren’t convinced it’s funny – please check the Wikipedia Entry for Jack Thompson.  Read it all through, and you’ll realize two things:

Jack Thompson is a Fucktard.

Yes, it IS funny to see the right thing happen to a Fucktard 🙂