Dr. Phil Invited Me, Says Jack Thompson
Dr. Phil Invited Me, Says Jack Thompson
August 15, 2007
Yesterday, GamePolitics reported that popular TV shrink Dr. Phil was planning to tape a video game violence episode, featuring a mysterious "game violence specialist" later this week.Anti-game attorney Jack Thompson subsequently posted a comment to the story, claiming that he was initially invited to be a guest on the program:
Dr. Phil’s people called me last week, and at that point they were going to take the show in the direction of video game violence. They indicated they wanted me on the show.
I got a call yesterday, and they decided to take the show in a different direction, with the focus on role-playing game addiction. They have a girl who has that problem.
Look, I’m giving you the straight scoop here... Dr. Phil’s people were very nice, very professional, and quite enthusiastic. Of course, Dr. Phil was spot-on after V-Tech...
Thompson is referring to comments made by Dr. Phil just one day after the Virginia Tech shootings which seemed to blame the massacre on video games. Many gamers were outraged by remarks.
As we reported yesterday, there was also some discussion about Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin appearing on the show, but Hal was told that Dr. Phil had lined up a "game violence specialist."
GP is working to track down the details concerning the upcoming Dr. Phil episode and will post them as soon as we can.
Comments
Hell he's shown he fails to grasp the concept of user created content, how can he be considered an expert on anything to do with games?
"Of course, Dr. Phil was spot-on after V-Tech…"
No, he wasn't. The police did NOT connect the actions of that one, insane, lost soul with gaming, or with an entire group that enjoys that recreation.
I, myself, am not planning on shooting people, in fact I am planning on doing aid work in Darfur some time in the future. Please, try to fit that in somewhere with your "evil gamer" theory.
The universe will implode!
Huh? Not to my knowledge. Dennis had previous banned John Bruce for violations of GP posting policy and even IP blocked him.
Mr. John Bruce "I'm above all laws, rules, and policies" Thompson apparently, according to Dennis, started using a different IP address, which circumvented the IP block. And Dennis, during the recent 4 part rebuttal to an interview John Bruce did with PopZArt, decided to, probationally for lack of a better word, allow John Bruce posting privilages. At least until John Bruce breaks the rules again. Or so I understand.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Anyway, I feel it necessary to post here what I stated in the previous post.
I feel the problem is not with games or developers. It’s with our flawed ratings system which, lets face it, was spawned out of pure panic and fear of government regulation of the gaming industry, nuch in the same way the MPAA was. The problem is also with parents refusing to acknowledge that they have a problem and instead try to use our government to make laws to do the title jobs they should be doing: Parenting.
Lets be honest with each other. a 9 year old kid cannot get his hands on an M-rated game. Granted he could get a game rated teen with relatively no difficulty as there are no policies (I’m aware of) or laws against it (for the time being, at this rate). However, given current store policies, there is no way he could get his hands on that game, especially if the location is a GameStop or EB Games.
In addition, chances are a kid in that general range is not going to have $50 ($60 for the new generation of games) laying around to buy a game with. An adult is going to have to provide the resources to buy him that game. On that note, a parent must take upon some level of responsibility for providing the resources for a child to buy the game and take the blame for such rather than trying to redirect all blame and responsibility onto the developer, the publisher, and the ratings sytem; All whom did there job as they were supposed to.
This entire mess makes no sense to me. It just seems that a great deal of parents don’t want to take responsibility for their (simply stated) fuck ups to me.
Anyway, I wonder if Thompson will suggest that we waste tax dollars to create laws for the purpose of doing something similar to what China does with people they feel are addicted to the net.
The use of "homosexuality" may start to fall under the Godwin Law, but really, I'm comparing the competency of Dr. Phil and Fred Phelps as being able to judge anything without bias. In other words, they couldn't if their lives depended on it. Nor could any of their "experts" that they would call.
Hence why John Bruce was called.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Self reference?
Dr. Phil was completely in the wrong with the statements he made after the VTech shootings.
We have already pointed out the flaws in his statements, but it just doesn't seem to sink in for some people. Refusing to give in and accept defeat is an admirable trait in a sports team, or someone facing difficulty in their life, but when it is an argument you are proven wrong in, then it's just silly.
Dr Phil said: "You cannot tell me - common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high."
If you are "a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage", then anything can set you off. My girlfriend is a psychiatric nurse and a patient in a facility she worked in was comitted for beating up a women he saw operating an ATM. He believed that he owned all the money in the bank and that she was stealing from him.
You can't just pick one thing that is ALLEGED to have set off a person like this. If you want to blame video games for the actions of "a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness" then you must also blame everything else that has caused similar actions such as the music of the Beatles (Charles Manson), the novel Catcher in The Rye Mark David Chapman), ATM machines (as in my previous example), abuse during childhood (John Wayne Gacy), etc.
Dr Phil also said: "We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murders of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose."
Incorrect. The mass murderers of tomorrow are indeed children of today, but they will not be murderers because of being "programmed" with violent media. They will be murderers because like every one before them, they will be as Dr Phil himself said, "a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness", and something will happen to set them off. Getting rid of violent media will do nothing to prevent future mass murderers. The only way they can be stopped is through early detection of their mental problems and proper care and treatment.
Nah, he just spouts inane accusations and baseless legal threats at anyone who actually, through the use of FACT, tears his claims a new one...
That is, almost anyone who has ever posted in the same news article as Jack..
@ Jack
It's not your views against us that make us dislike you, It's the lying, hissy fits, and all around unethical behavior you display to EVERYONE. How does your family TRUTHFULLY feel about your crusade? Now, there is a way to be civilized and hold onto the your passion of anti-games that you so dearly love....there called Jehovah's Witnesses.
Please be a "christian" elsewhere. Why did I put it in quotes? 'Cause there's two kinds of 'em now: Ones that'll kill you for disagreeing and ones that won't.
No one is doubting that you have been called by Dr. Phil's people. So don't worry. We don't want you accusing us of a vast conspiracy to not believe that you have been called.
As for the DR. Phil show, I have never watched and I am not sure if I will watch this. I just don't think that I will be able to withstand the massive dose of hyperbole and misconceptions that will be construed throughout the show. As well, the "advice" that he will give might just give me an anuerism.
So who am I supposed to believe? The one who provides further information, or the one who claims to have further information yet never provides it?
But seriously, does Jack have to keep saying stuff about Virginia Tech and it having to deal with video games when the police said it didn't?
Yup, like E. Zachary Knight said, we're not accusing you of not going on. We're accusing you of being the egotistical, lie-spewing jackass you are.
Anyhow, this whole thing reminds me of something I heard about (I tried to look for video, but to no avail). Apparently, there was an episode of Tyra where they talked about us pagans, and satanists. But it was such BS, because she didn't listen to anything they said and kept asking ridiculous questions like "Do you cast death spells?" and repeating incorrect statements, like "I can't believe I got people who worship Satan!" If you know anything about that stuff, harm against others is very much frowned upon nor is that what magic really is, and secondly, real Satanists have nothing to do with the Christian devil at all. In fact, I find some of it rather reasonable; it's most certainly not a bad faith. But then at the end, they got this uber-christian, supposedly an ex-witch, woman who came on and started spewing nonsense on how evil it was and such.
The worst part though, was I read some of the comments on their website, and there was some like "Oh wow Tyra, you have really opened my eyes" and praise and such. It makes me sick; she taught nothing, and anyone who considered it informative, they learned nothing either, yet people believe all the same.
And sadly, if little boy Jacky is on Dr. Phil, as said earlier, the same thing will happen there; there will people who actually believe the falsity of this crap, because Dr. Phil says this or that.
Good going.
Shut the hell up.
Before the comments got deleted on the previous Dr Phil story, GamerDad said he was approached, but they lost interest when they realized he didn't think games lead to violence. I added that GamerDad would of been a great guest, not just for the discussion, but also because he can give parents the tools they need understand games with his site. A simple plug would do that job. The refusal to use him reveals that Phil has no interest in informing his audience.
Let's face facts. Media has little to no impact on people. I can watch 300, The Matrix, or Terminator all day, then play Gears of War, or Resistance and still be horrified by a dead animal. The worst those movies and games could do is desentize you to fictional violence.
Video games are practically brand new, but some of the most famous murders are much older. Manson? Son of Sam? Jack the Ripper? Any of these sound familiar? Its odd, but I'm unaware of any modern serial killers. Have there been any knife wielding lunatics recently (I'm not counting bombers)?
No I am pretty sure a small black hole will form and pull them into one monstrous being.
Then let's see them, since last time anyone asked about phone records for some reason you couldn't be bothered to get them.
Oh don't worry Jack we believe you. After Virginia Tech Dr. Phil proved to be nothing more than a media sensationalist by riding your coat tails on the "Cho" was a gamer thing, without evidence, hours after the event. It would surprise me if such a louse didn't invite you.
1. No one cares about your cell phone
2. No one is paranoid about you
3. It doesn't matter what you say on Dr Phil's show, he's already lost credibility.
4. It doesn't matter what you say ever, you lost credibility when you called me a nazi gamer
5. Dr Phil was wrong about Virginia Tech, Just as you were/are
6. The fact that you had to make a comment in a story just to tell Dennis about this proves how pathetic you are
7. I'm pretty sure most people that have seen you on tv aren't going to watch this, since you'll just grandstand and spew lies faster than a speeding bullet
8. Anyone who does watch it, should be able to see your grandstanding for themselves and thus ignore you.
Phil wants some sorry sap he can parade around before giving them vague advice that anyone studying 1st year Psych would spit out.
What the girl with the addiction problem needs is REAL help, not Dr. Phil. He won't counsel and supervise her every week as she deals with her addiction. He won't delve into why she spends all her time on the computer instead of with RL friends (my guess, she has very few, and this was before she got addicted...). The parents will assume that the game brainwashed her, and they're helpless, and the only thing they can think of is to take her computer away, without realizing that it might be the only social interaction their daughter gets nowadays.
Phil won't deal with any of the underlying issues at all....
And he's fucking dead.
Well fo course, in this Jack can inject his message into the eyeballs of his new army, over concerned parents who are hell bent on completely wussifying their kids.
@brokenscope
However their ideas will still escape because they lack substance
@Jamie
That's the thing, they want freedom of thought and expression extinguished. Remember the independent thought alarms from The Simpsons? we're close to that being real.
You seem to really like this website. You just keep coming back to this "worst example of a game industry stooge".
Every person I know would distantiate his or herself from websites which they know would never agree with their statements or sympathize with their beliefs. You just keep coming back to the people you call "paranoid", people that will never give you the attention that you want. Unless you like negative attention and you're just out to hurt your own feelings.
Please tell me why! It baffles me..
By the way Thompson, what was your basis for saying Cho was a gamer. Let me guess, because he was heavy set and asian, that was your only real reason, because, all asians are gamers, right? [/sarcasm]
Wow. Just wow. That post was full of irony.
Quit feeding the troll. Though, of course, when you put down the @ JT, I know not to bother reading it.
@ Nightwing2000
I agree with you. Having Dr. Phil do something on video games is exactly like Fred Phelps (or any of his cult/clan) doing something on homosexuality. Or Sweden. Or America for that matter.
las Says:
August 15th, 2007 at 10:30 am
I’d go as far as calling JT a Nazi, but calling everyone who disagrees with them Nazis is now the trademark of JT, the Republican party and the rest of those right-wing racists out there.
I'm a republican, and there's a lot less racism in the republican party than the democrat party, so get some facts before you come with that weak ass bullshit.
One example? Affirmative Action.
As for Jack Thompson, I fear he suffers from Paranoia (and probably schizophrenia) coupled with an extremely large egocentric ideal.
-P
You mean you don't like House?
In my opinion you CAN'T be addicted to a video game. The people that "are"... are just using them to escape their lives. Which for one reason or another they aren't happy with. My brother was "addicted" and by that I mean he wasn't. It's not a physical need he could stop playing it at a moments notice which he did many a time to do things with the family. This was just after he lost his job. He has since found a new job and is doing just fine. (just in case you were wondering)
I'd be willing to bet money on it that this girl isn't addicted but hiding from her life for some reason. She needs a therapist to find the cause of these symptoms not to be paraded on stage for "Help" from Dr. Phil.
Yeah, a lot of people with 'addictions' use them to hide behind or to escape people, events, or just to not do the societal norms.
Your funny, cause you dont realize that both the rep and the dems are basically the same entity, no matter how much you try to deny it.
Both of them spew the most racist nazistic garbage.
Of course those that do are more on the extreme ends of things, like the Muslim extremists. Hell, if there wasn't laws against it, i bet you some of the conservatives and liberals would be doing the exact same thing right now.
This is why i don't like politics, too much of the he says she says bullshit. And in the end it doesn't matter who is in office, cause if its Reps or Dems, they are still going to mess it up. Cause the last two presidents were a 'warmonger' and a 'rapist'.
@James
Well from my view point, People use everything to escape from their lives.
People play sports, go riding and a number of things to 'feel great' cause reality sucks. It really truly does. There is a handful of people that it doesn't suck too much for, but those people are really limited.
It sucks cause no matter what is is that you do, want to do, or even are, there is going to be someone trying to tear you down.
So humans try to escape. They want to be on top of the world, their fifteen minutes of fame. A person playing something like basketball probably isn't thinking about his late car payments, the constant political struggles, the war or anything. For that moment of his playing, It is just the game of basketball and him.
He isn't a real Christian. He isn't a real Republican. He isn't a decent man, nor a good Lawyer.
All these titles are things he wields at people like they were facts, in a "I'm a lawyer christian republican, so I can be trusted on moral issues" manner. He doesn't actually do any of the things that come with these titles, nor probably believe in any of them; he just wields them like they give him power and make him someone we should all listen to. He wields the titles like the title of Rhode Scholar.
He's not a Christian. Christianity teaches that you should be truthful, and treat others as you would want to be; not to pass judgment on people who you have no knowledge of. REAL Christianity teaches you to have an open mind, and to fight only when need be to free oppressed or keep the meek safe.
He's not a Republican; one of the big things the Republican party stands for is the idea that we need LESS government, not more. We don't want parents to have to answer to agencies; we want them to be able to do whatever they want (within reason) and for the federal and state government to let it be. The Republican party is about taking personal responsibility in your own life, not needing the government to give you things and tell you every little thing to do.
So what can we say of Thompson? He is a liar.
And if Dr. Phil puts him on there, it'll just prove that Dr. Phil was never really about helping anyone, but about sensationalizing everything for ratings.
That is one of the smartest posts I've seen on GP yet
Never thought about House...
...or Scrubs.
D'oh!
Seconded.
A good example of that would be the whole Fantasy sports thing. I have no idea how it works, but apparently it demands an insane amount of knowledge from every nook and cranny of the league, to know the statistics and conditions nearly every player inside and out, and yet it's become widely popular. And that's just the tip of the iceberg for sports 'addictions' sometimes.
And it can be applied to nearly any sort of hobby. Cars and the like, porn, skateboarding and the like, TV, movies, music, games, pet shows and the like, books, hunting & fishing, the list goes on. All this i thought of from the hobbies of a good amount of my family members, young and old. Apparently, in republican eyes, people who have hobbies are nothing but addicts.
just to clarify it's being taped on thursday, it won't air on thursday. When it airs, we don't know.
Send Dennis a personal note with what was said. He may have just not had the time to read your comments before all commetns were deleted.
"In my opinion you CAN’T be addicted to a video game. The people that “are”… are just using them to escape their lives. Which for one reason or another they aren’t happy with."
That's why I was commenting that Phil won't get to the REAL root of the "addiction", namely the underlying events that drive this person to seek a fulfilling of a particular need by MMORPG'ing. Or if he does, he'll just tell the person to "snap out of it", without bothering to help the person find some other way to fulfill those needs.
Just a typical example of conservative pigs joining together to spread their hate and lies to those gullible and stupid enough to listen. Isn't it funny that these people claim to be in the moral "right" when they base their morality around the creed of a genocidal bronze-age war God. And they claim that video gamers can's distinguish betweeen reality and fantasy!
Dr. Phil needs to put on secular experts after his video game show to speak about the dangers of religion, how it perverts rational thought, and how moral relativism is the truth of our day. Christians are idiots. Republicans are morons. They're the last people who we need to turn to about moral issues. Thompson is a superstitious pig who loves death. He turns his attention to video games to ignore the crimes that the US government is currently committing overseas. What an idiot.
Ahhh, but you don't throw an internet-wide temper tantrum every time you're not mentioned :P
The problem is that these shows want to cater to their viewing demographic, which seems to be straight-laced soccer moms of a conservative bent. The shows don't want to challenge the worldview of its viewers. They want to reinforce it so the viewers feel happy and secure knowing that lots of people share their beliefs, so they'll tune in again to get the same feeling. I too am bothered that Dr. Phil is essentially demonizing video games. But, the crosshairs were on gaming long before Dr. Phil cared about the topic, and now he's just covering it in such a way that the 'results' shown on the show are what he and his viewers want them to be - probably someone with a game addiction breaking free of the evil games.
Bottom line: we can all at least rest easy knowing that anyone who'd watch this Dr. Phil episode probably already is somewhat anti-gaming. He's showing what he and his viewers want to see, so no one's actually going to be convinced of the dangers of gaming by this alone.
/sarcasm
Am I the one that came back 55 times to GP under different screen names after being banned?
Am I the one that called GP 6 times in one afternoon, as was documented recently?
It's amazing how some people complain if you don't cover them and then complain if you do...
http://www.drphil.com/plugger/
Is he doing it as part of his regular show or a special?
Oh, look, a message board!
:: Rubs hands together and puts on an evil grin. ::
I can't wait til tonight. :D
Hey, I can daydream, can't I?
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
I mean Dr. Phil probably needs one himself but at least he is intelligent enough not to go through with getting JT on his show. He knows he is not a credible source.
@Benji
Yeah, that could be true (that the viewers are already somewhat anti-game), but still, it doesn't help very much all the same. *shrugs* Riles them up, basically, even though it's better when they're not. At least that's how I see it.
One example? Affirmative Action."
Except Affirmative Action is racist in all its form.
Or can white people only be racist now.
Wow. He's like a Marine with down syndrome!
Jack, this si the first article and thread solely about you in over a week, and the only reason others become about you is because you hijack them.
Also, Bioshock isn't from Rockstar, I thought it didn't interest you.
Come ot think of it, why have you never complained about Leisure Suit Larry Magna Cum Laude, or God of War, or Gears of War, or Doom 3?
All od those fit your "marketing porn and violence directly to kids" criteria, why have you never mentioned those, hmm?
(sadly sarcasm doesn't come through very well...)
And here's the video:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/clips-tyra-banks-talk-wow-addiction-232135....
All od those fit your “marketing porn and violence directly to kids” criteria, why have you never mentioned those, hmm? "
Same with the music, how come you only went after rap? I keep hearing country songs talking about sex and violence among other things, and (as much as I love my music) "death" metal, the "kill your mom music" or what about rock (which I love so much). This shows you are like almost every other person and only singling out the things you hate the most and not all that apply.
It may pain you to learn that BioShock has already been rated, is already in the Best Buy, Gamestop, Wal*Mart...store houses. And even already on the shelf at a Toy's R Us. So other than hitting the shelf a week early, I don't see anything happening.
I hate Republicans, so I'm automatically a Democrat? Nice logic Batman, I guess my anti-Nazi stance must mean I'm a Communist? Guess again, all those idiots in Government are victims of my disdain, I just happen to disdain the GOP more than the donkeys.
Anyway, I figured I'm an attorney now. Getting flamed on a video game comment board and having no legal training whatsoever seem to qualify Jack as one, so I guess I'm one too.
the universe will not implode a fake doctor and a fake lawyer being in the same place happens everyday in american court rooms
Yeah, seriously. Admittedly I have not yet played the game (or the demo, for that matter), but everything I've heard so far has been very positive. Furthermore, reviewers have dwelt on the game's story and art style rather than the violent content, leading me to believe that our favourite lawyer in the whole wide world cares only for its connection to Take Two. Can you confirm/deny this, Jack?
first of all, how many times do we have to tell you jacky boy wants to be your new bf lol
@gamerdad
yeah you should email gp im sure hed be glad to give you some coverage
How could Bioshock be a troubling game? It's pure science/horror fiction, intended for a mature audience and rated as such. Perhaps he is going to try and link some kind of crime with a game that has not been released yet?
The only problems I can see there being with Bioshock are shops not having enough stock to keep up with demand, developers award shelves not having enough space, or too much money for the creators and publishers as this game looks absolutely fantastic :)
From the 2K website : "2K Games is headquartered in Manhattan and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc"
the only bad thing is that the game has some moral choices one of them being do you kill this little girl to take her adam or do you save her. you can't actually kill her though. all that happans is the screen goes black and then you find her dead body in front of you. you can't just kill them either you have to fight her big daddy first.
Also, could you please provide a list of instances in which Bioshock is marketed to children?
Irrational Games did. 2k also pupblished the darkness but jacks not going after that now is he.
Just like when you got Grand Theft Auto pulled from the shelves and stopped Bully from being released? Or that time when you said that Take-Two would be out of business thanks to you earlier this year.
Oh wait, none of those things happened.
Have you ever heard the expression, "Don't count your chickens before their hatched"?
If I had to guess, Thompson will probably label Bioshock as a game that rewards you for murdering and mutilating children.
Bioshock is published by 2K Games which is owned by Take-Two.
Andrew Eisen
are you feeling ok? you expect jack to do research he doesnt have time for that man!!!!!
hes to busy pestering dennis
I like to see GamerDad get press in any form, becasue unlike JT & Co, he actually helps parents.
Whats up guys sorry i havent posted in a while but been hella busy with the usual stuff....And wow Jack has really really lost it...I mean come on any violent game starts to show some info about the release and what not and he instantly says its created by take two/rockstar.....
I'll prolly post again 2morrow but gonna be mia friday since i am gonna watch High school musical 2 (yep duffy is still a hardcore nerd,well that and i'll be playing 360)
Oh yea and jack GO THE HELL AWAY
THANK YOU COME AGAIN
I've been misunderstood!
I didn't post because I wanted Dennis to post a news item about me re: Dr. Phil show. I love it when Dennis does that, but I'm also proud that when he promotes GamerDad its because I've been profiled in the Hartford-Courant newspaper or because the ESRB used GamerDad to help find new Gamer-Raters. I'm very proud to be promoted when I've DONE something promotable.
I posted in this thread because I question the newsworthiness of Dennis posting that Mr. Thompson was. That's why I wanted an eye-rolling emoticon. To denote disdain, not disgust that I don't get this kind of promotion too.
Yeah that confused me as well as I believe its made by Irrational Games and