Jack Thompson Found guilty

In what will possibly go down as a day for history in the Video Game Industry, Jack Thompson was found guilty on 27 charges of misconduct. I've written about Jack Thompson back in 2007 when taking Dailytech out to the woodshed.

So, where do people like Jack Thompson fit into this? Well, if I had my guess, I'd say he was a liberal socialist out to cause trouble. The problem is, that isn't how Jack Thompson sells himself. He sells himself a Republican (or at least that is what the reports I have read indicate). However, his rhetoric isn't in line with what most Republicans believe, full stop, end of story.

Now, if you want my opinion, it is the desire of the RIAA and MPAA, and their partners within the mass media to sell Jack Thompson as a Republican, and promote him as such. The result is.. well... destructive. One on hand, Republicans are put on the spot that they don't want to outright reject the concerns over video games, since the concerns mimic the concerns they have about Movies and Music. So there are feelings that something does need to be said. On the other hand, if Republicans don't quickly reject the arguments of Jack Thompson and call foul, you get the impression that the Republican parties are fully behind Jack Thompson... which isn't true.

Obviously, I'm not a fan of the guy, and view him as a pawn in a move by liberal backers to discredit opposition to ever growing pushes on the boundaries of decency. There is a very good possibility that the conviction will result in the disbarment of Jack Thompson from the Florida bar, an event that is several years overdue. Hopefully with Jack out of the way, organizations and publications such as Plugged In will have an easier time getting their points out without being lumped in with trolls like Jack Thompson.