September 24, 2007
Miami attorney Jack Thompson has apparently threatened to rain some legal fire on webcomic My Extra Life and its author, Scott Johnson.Scott's crime? He's running a Jack Thompson PhotoShop Contest:
Jack Thompson actually gave me a "cease and desist" Not any sort of official or legal one, mind you, but he did indeed send me the following this morning:
Subject: You have one hour to cease and desist
...Since anyone with half a mind knows he has no legal basis to say anything to me about anything, especially something as dumb and satirical as a Photoshop Contest, it becomes more the matter of do I respond at all, say anything, do this post, etc. and give him the additional exposure he seems to crave among the gaming crowd...
Why would a person sit in front of a computer and search... all day to see if people are saying your name? Why would a person care about a photoshop contest to the degree that they make threats...? Why would a Florida bar certified lawyer even bother with our stupid little mom and pop shop here?
GP: Speaking of Jack Thompson parodies, what ever happened to last Friday's 5PM deadline for Rockstar to remove the attorney mission from GTA4?
Answer: Nothing, because there is no case there.
Thompson, who is so enamored of his own visage that he routinely cites his television appearances in court filings, seemingly has not adapted so well to the flipside of being a public figure - that one is subject to criticism and parody.
Comments
When I was unsure of who it was, I replied with the following:
"If you are the real Jack Thompson, then I should be getting a LEGAL cease and desist letter from you, not some anonymous comment in a blog post. So since I did not get that. And since I don’t think you are him at all, then the answer is no.
Nice try though…made me giggle.
Scott"
To which he then replied:
"Ok, your mistake. Laugh your ass off"
Phoenix:
Funny how Jack doesn't even know how to file a proper cease and desist paper so he just goes about like a middle schooler and posts about it in a blog....I guess that shows that he really is immature...but we already knew that.
Just like Baby Construction.. And Harry Potter..
Don't forget the "impure thoughts"- you go to hell just for thinking!
Yeah, those bastards are always on your arse..
Personally, I'd rather see him on an episode of "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!". Now that would be a good episode for P&T to do: the Video Game Controversy. And you know they could get Jack to appear. Sure, he'd get raked over the coals like never before in his life, but this guy cannot say no to the spotlight, so I'm positive he'd accept.
Jack: Jack Thompson, Miami attorney and video game violence expert.
Penn: (VO) And then there's THIS asshole!!!
Ooh, I want that! I'd tape it and watch it every single day!
It's finally had enough...
-Mike Schwinger
Still unable to take a fucking joke.
Chalk up another failure for JT.
History, Joke Thompson. It prevents you from repeating mistakes.
We tend to hold lawyers to a certain degree of professionalism and JT has exhibited none of that, and it's one of the reasons why he ought to be disbarred. How he can act that way boggles my mind as well. There are probably other lawyers out there who are just as unprofessional (scary as the thought of that may be), but because he's been the most visible, his behavior is big black smear on the already tarnished reputation lawyers have. Plktrn's analogy to "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" BTW is a remarkably apt one.
@Artem & Spartan Michael
I'm suprised Trey Parker and Matt Stone haven't skewered Thompson yet after all this time, especially when you consider South Park was also in his crossharis some years back and usually Parker and Stone are pretty quick to make fun of anyone who criticizes or speaks ill of them. For that matter I'm also waiting for Seth Macfarlane to take a few potshots at him on Family Guy. Or for that matter Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb on Xplay (considering Adam's confrontation with him last year). I don't know why they haven't yet, but a possible reason why coud be because they feel he already does a good job of making fun of himself.
You haven't earned that right.
Thompson is far more violent and likely to make a threat on you using the law than simply talk to you like an reasonable human being, in many ways, he's the walking epitome of everything he claims Video Games turn people into, incapable of original thought or action, and merely parroting a set of actions repeated time and time again without remorse or guilt.
"So.. how many people actually went to look at the Photoshop Competition?"
I did! I started saving all of the photoshops in a folder on my desktop. My favorites so far include a Super Mario Bros. screencap with Thompson's head photoshopped over Bowser's, and another of Resident Evil 4 where Jackie has joined the Los Ganados in attacking Leon.
Maybe he thinks he's doing his own version of David and Goliath, although frankly, I'm more inclined to think it's more like David and Galactus.
I personally think the GTA one is the best. I mean, we all know the old wanker's done that to someone..
They did this:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/10/14
And this:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/01/05
Can't speak for everyone, but empty threats like "...or else" don't really establish credibility in my eyes.
With that in mind, someone should do a photoshop of Master Chief smacking JT with his rifle butt. It's what he deserves. ;)
just wait a few minutes for the howling to stop lol
"Crackpot lawyer makes empty threat to web site"
Jack Thompson is a hypocrite.
Jack Thompson is a bully.
Wolfenstien? I thought it was Doom..
This was when GP was on livejournal:
"You post anonymously at this site at your own great peril.
You've been warned. Now we're going to see how smart you really are. We know how dumb Dennis McCauley is. He put you in this bind when he went to LiveJournal. Really, really dumb. "
Wonder what happened with that? :)
See, if he actually found out who I was, he'd have one countersuit from me, one from my employers and another thrown in from me, just to make him realise what it feels like.
You can wager he'd also have the US Government and/or Military on him through some posters.
But, as usual, he was talking out of his arse.
What a loser. At some point the "any press is good press" stuff loses its appeal.
I thought it was Doom at first glance, but the actual Minigun-wielding Robo-Hitler was the end Boss of Wolfenstein, they were both based on more or less the same engine anyway :)
"Again Dennis Mcaully gets it wrong again" comment from Jack, something IS wrong!
You can't be in the public spot light and not expect someone (if not the majority/all) lampoon you, your believes, your ethics, or even those that know you.