November 22, 2006
The police who patrol Boston's transit system have joined the call to remove ads for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories from subway cars.As reported by the Boston Herald, Hub Patrolman's Association President Thomas Nee said:
These games threaten and risk the lives of police officers. To use a public conveyance in our city to sell a product that condones murdering police officers is complete lunacy.
Facing pressure from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino as well as police and other officials, Daniel Grabauskas of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority said:
We are reviewing existing case law to see whether we can legally amend our guidelines to prohibit this or other advertisements that market products with violent themes.
Grabauskas told the Herald the MBTA has no legal authority to regulate advertising content. The newspaper spoke to controversial attorney Jack Thompson, a longtime critic of the GTA series, who disagreed:
It is utter nonsense for the MBTA to suggest the First Amendment somehow prohibits it from not participating in a criminal conspiracy. What’s next? Bus ads for crack cocaine?
Here is GP's earlier coverage on the MBTA controversy.
Comments
I totally agree. Censorship sucks and must be done away with, when it comes to violent media. Jack Thompson is a liar and everything he says is a bogus lie and he just doesn't even probably know how to tell the truth. He is an ambulance chaser and finds any excuse to sue the video game industry. He claims he is fighting against a great evil by attacking and sueing an innocent industry. He is the real bad guy and the real great evil. He has to lose his license to practice law. Him saying that he is protecting people from these games is stupid.
What is he protecting people from? Having a good time? That's like if someone made it illegal to have a T.V. and then said it was for your own protection. That's how flat his arguments and lies are. He is a liar and should not be listened to by anyone. Violent video games are good and must be protected from that ugly monster, who calls himself a lawyer.
He is a liar, a jerk, a golddigger, an ambulance chaser, a pig and, ultimately, a thief in a suit and tie stealing from an innocent industry through his lying lawsuits. I used to wonder why my father hates lawyers so much. Now, after reading about Jack Thompson as much as I have, I know why very well. My father often used to refer to them as lawyer liars. Jack Thompson, and other like him, give the legal profession a bad name. He is a disgrace and, in my opinion, he should be disbarred at once.
Fellow gamers, I have read enough about this nut to know that he is not just a pest. He is a real threat to the video game industry. If we let him, he'll destroy all future games, of a violent nature, and call it protecting people. That's a very lame argument. People need to be protected from diseases, accidents, abuse and other bad things, but fun is not on the list of things people need to be protected from. If people like killing computer coded electronic characters, they should be allowed to regardless of anything, including age. Not a single violent act has ever been committed because of violent media, of any kind, including video games. You are correct in your assessment of that liar, who is also a golddigger, he needs to stop being a jerk, a liar and an ugly pig. Oh, by this I don't mean to put down pigs. Pigs are higher and cleaner than Jack Thompson. Also pigs don't sue innocent companies and screw people over for their own selfish gain, so pigs are higher than Jack Thompson and better in every way.
Thank You,
Happy Thanksgiving
The Family Guy episode you're thinking of was "PTV" which lampooned the FCC. And yes, it would apply perfectly to our situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW0jEPuYByM
First off, I've been on the trains during my time in Boston, and there were some kids, though not many (possibly due to it being a tad late in the day) on board. The train advertisements don't show any form of violent gameplay, sexual actions, or anything else. Anything out in public like that would obviously be wrong. Most advertisements wouldn't show anything within their product if it were in a form of entertainment other than actors and a logo (I mean, we show desperate housewives on TV, makes you wonder how that would affect people) or just a logo and a few words or the combination of the logo, actors, and some words.
There are very few games being advertised publicly like this, and this is very small, though a step more than TV Commercials.
Consider how illegal Crack is, I doubt they will...though in technicalities, they do somewhat show usage or anything to that extent through TV shows, but never the actual drug.
And I doubt Jack will ever win. It's like a football game, Gaming Industry vs. JT. Jt thinks he scores a Touchdown (via winning something for the opposing Video Games) and then the Industry challenges the play and calls penalties up the wahzoo against JT, and thus, losing the credibility and value of the touchdown since it's taken away.
These games threaten and risk the lives of police officers. To use a public conveyance in our city to sell a product that condones murdering police officers is complete lunacy.
It's pure lunancy to think that Grand theft auto threatens the lives of police officers, it actually punishes killing police officers (other then the corrupt ones that are involved with the storyline), if you shoot an officer its an instant two star which means the police will go on a reletnless chase after you.
I think the simpsons said it best in their halloween special
"As the fox censor its my job to protect you, from reality"
Also Jack thompson is getting a real pest I propose that we he dies we start a ddr contest . . . on his grave.
1. go fuck yourself
2.stop implying GTA is a criminal conspiracy,the shit that comes out your mouth is more of a conspiracy
3.stop being a stupid heartless little homophic,crybaby,douchebag/wench
4. yea i said! i know you read articles on this site,thompson, what are you gonna do you little piece of shit? sue me? go ahead, i dare you,you worthless twat
Besides, people ride inside the train not outside, so they won't even see the adds for violent video games. I live near L. A. and I have seen several billboards in downtown L. A. that advertise True Crime Streets of L. A. No one whines about that. I don't think that, on a train, very many people will even notice it. These games have the right to advertise anywhere and everywhere they please. They don't cause good people to go on killing sprees and become psychopaths.
They are fully protected and if the people at Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive paid to have their advertisments there, then they have everyright to have them there and if some whining submoronic people, like Jack Thompson, want to whine about it, just ignore them and their immature whining. Don't give in to them and their whining. For the Boston Metro System to take money from Rockstar to advertise their games and then pull them down is wrong and fraudulent. Rockstar Games is innocent of any homicides that have happened in the past. GTA type games, like Reservoir Dogs, should be protected and should be allowed to do whatever they want and shouldn't be restricted because of violent content, there's nothing wrong with it.
I was reading one of the other papers about this that said something along the lines of "You can hire prostitutes in this game and kill them after having sex with them, in a city where (can't remember the number) women were raped, that's nice!" It went on to talk about how you can "spill the blood of innocence" and how since there were a certain number of killings, these ads are despicable. Do they honestly think that if this game wasn't ever released, or even ever MADE that they would have 1 less killing? Instead of going after virtual realities why don't they focus on the shoddy tunnels that can kill people, or I don't know, actual killers and rapists?
I first heard about this story on the Opie and Anthony talk (sort of shock jocks) radio show and they basically said what I thought about it, and also most of them and their staff are actually in Vice City and Bully. If you guys wanted someone to go head to head with people such as Jack Thompson, these might be the ones who could do it and make them look like the idiots they are. Of course they aren't 100% serious but they are mostly objective and (in my opinion) very funny and make good points. As a side note I would love for them to debate against Jack Thompson, and knowing Jack's pension for publicity he would more than likely agree.
You know what? Sure. If crack cocaine ever becomes legalized, I see no reason not to advertise it on buses. BUT, until the drug becomes legal (which the sales of GTA has always been) then it will just have to wait before being advertised by the MBTA. The First Amendment doesn't protect the advertising of illegal merchandise.
November 22nd, 2006 at 2:12 pm
@pointmicro and Grahamr
What an offensive comparison. To think that you would lump Jack in the same category as muderous subbterranean monsters is sickening.
You two should apologize to the Locust Horde this instant."
Oh, you have no idea how much i offend monsters. I almost got booted off air america for my racist comments about the Chimera and Cloven.
Would there be any less violence/crime that would to occur if the ads were replaced with, lets say, dell computers, or other non violent imagery?
“bostons hookers are divided over whether the MBTA should be running ads on trains for a videogame in which players kill and rob ladies of the night. “i think it’s horrible” said sage, a boston area prostitute contacted through her craigslist.org ad, about teens seeing Grand theft auto vice city storys ads. “It’s just ridiculious out here nowadays. just the violence among teenagers.”"
Ok, so if i read this paragraph correct. Having ads for a video game that “might” be bad is some sort of horrable deed. But on the other hand, having prostitutes in real life that CAN be bad for you is ok. *X-files theme song kicks in.*
For while the GTA series be in poor taste, the legality of it is unquestionable.
Can't JayBeeTea let one issue pass without ejaculating his thin and tepid man-sauce all over it?
Say what? The games are threaten the lives of police officers? How is that happening? Is the game just going around shooting cops? Does it make cops sick when placed several feet from a precient? Can it teach a kid how to usre a firearm to kill a cop? NO!
You got parents out there who need to grow a pair and tell their kids 'no' when they want to purchase a violent videogame.Some of these paeople complain that videogames keep kids out of tuch with reailty while making statments that clearly show that they arn't either. You should not ban things simply becuase You dont like them.
- Warren Lewis
God forbid we teach children that actions have consequences.
So, anyone know if the MBTA ever posted ads for Dark Blue or Training Day?
Prostitutes are killed more often? More likely because they are associating with the more violent portions of society, not because some kid in the 'burbs is trying for 100% completion in GTA.
The games threaten the lives of police officers only if the video games are being thrown at the police officers....
"It is utter nonsense for the MBTA to suggest the First Amendment somehow prohibits it from not participating in a criminal conspiracy. What’s next? Bus ads for crack cocaine?"
I guess he forgot that Video games are legal and Class A drugs arent.
Man, he always gets these things confused. No wonder he failed the Bar exam on his first try!
I go back to the point that was made in an early thread on this issue. If GTA is so dangerous, maybe we ought to pull every alcohol-related ad in the subways too! Drunk driving accounted for over 17,000 deaths in 2003 and over 500,000 injuries according to the NHTSA.
But no, no one is crying about those ads. Not even the police. :P
What exactly makes it criminal conspiracy?
Because Jack wishes REALLY hard that it was? ;)
@BustermanZero
Well, there's my respect for Boston Transit police spokepeople going out the window...
Or Serpico, or The Shield TV series, or Boyz in the Hood, or...
"These games threaten and risk the lives of police officers. "
The hell they do.
I don't really blame the police in this situation. I'd imagine that being a cop would instill a certain level of paranoia. On the other hand, you think an investigative organization would actually want evidence.
Jack is a locust. Once the controversy surronding a game has been evaporated of it's worth, he'll latch himself onto another game even if it's less violent/controversial. It's all about the 5 minutes of fame for this old boy and he'll do whatever to get it.
I actually kind of feel sorry for Jack after I read his article in Rolling Stone though. His son is embarrased of his father's crusade against the evils of the videogame industry.
Yeah, it's like the UMD discs pop out of their cases and slice their officers like melted butter. Besides, you baconheads have nothing to worry about because GTA couldn't train a mentally inefficent chimp to use a firearm.
Call the COG!
Yay, JT is back in the news! Its been way too long.
And its a typically silly comment too.
Don't get me wrong, I've played the GTA series and enjoyed them all thoroughly. Nor am I making any kind of legal argument here.
But advertising GTA on the subway, isn't that rather in poor taste?
My problem is that the MBTA apparently has no problem advertising:
-alcohol
-movies about gangs
-movies about corrupt cops and/or violence towards cops
-TV shows depicting the same (I'll bet they ran several "Soprano's" ads
So to turn around and suddenly say "oh gawd gta is teh devil!" seems rather hypocritical of them...
The game doesn't condone violence. It shows consequences for your actions. If politicians keep acting stupid and influencing parents in the wrong way, can anyone imagine what games will be like in the future?
Damn typos.
I actually kind of feel sorry for Jack after I read his article in Rolling Stone though. His son is embarrased of his father’s crusade against the evils of the videogame industry."
Yea. Bully was his latest target..i expect after this, he'll go after rule of rose in europe. Well, over here, but you get the point.
As for the rolling stone article, i think the reason he gets email harassed is because he harasses gamers in the first place. In fact, he probably wants to be harassed to he can make himself a martyr.
“Jack is a locust.”
"Call the COG!"
LOL! Yeah, i had suspicsions that he was a subbterranean monster for a long time.
The only way that a videogame can harm people is when someone drops all of the unsold E.T. games onto the police officer's head.
What an offensive comparison. To think that you would lump Jack in the same category as muderous subbterranean monsters is sickening.
You two should apologize to the Locust Horde this instant.
Yes, the "good taste" argument is a valid one, even though I don't always agree with it. However, this isn't the reason being used by the mayor and police to take down the ads. They are flatly stating that they want the ad gone because they insist that the game it advertises causes real-world violence, without citing any evidence to back that claim up. They cite no scientific studies that prove a causal link between GTA and violence, nor do they mention any incident of an actual violent act where such a link was ever drawn. They say it like they expect us to take their word for it. That's an insult not only to our intelligence, but the intelligence of their own community.
It's just as well, since many studies that try to draw a causal link are inconclusive and have been refuted by the scientific community and the courts alike. And the few links that have been drawn between GTA and a real-world violent act are tenous at best, and are usually eclipsed by much stronger and more relevant factors (mental illness, bullying, etc.).
That's why we are opposed to the plans of many of the city's prominet figures to remove the ads. Not because they want to keep good taste. If that were true, why aren't they complaining about ads for other violent media (see Jabrwock's above posts). Instead, they are trying to link the ads, and the game they advertise, with real-world violence, even though the evidence points to the contrary. I, and other posters here, will not stand for that, no matter how good their intentions are.
Maybe the ladies of the night should be more careful of John Law than someone with a psp. I know I personally walk on egg shells carrying that thing. Theres no sense in having a 200 dollar whoops to beat a ho.
If they ban this they should ban every film, music, and booze ad on the subway and any other public transit. They should also ban fashion and perfume ads since they may promote promiscuous sex. Won't someone please think of the children. >_o
It might hurt if it hit your groin, and if you were a pussy.
An advertisement...
For a game...
That has been a scapegoat for crazy teenager killers..
Is a threat to the lives of police officers....
What the *uck?!?!?
Jack Thompson: suck my dux
everyone else: OH NOES! THE TRANSIT POLIZE!
It is utter nonsense for the MBTA to suggest the First Amendment somehow prohibits it from not participating in a criminal conspiracy. What’s next? Bus ads for crack cocaine?
Utter nonsense that something is stopping them from participating in a criminal conspiracy? how about THE LAW!?