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[Bold] = commentary added afterwards
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Jack Thompson Emails
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From: "Jack Thompson"
<jackpeace@comcast.net>
To: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want the
facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would you?
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 17:02:39 -0400
URGENT!
John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
jackpeace@comcast.net
August 5, 2005
Patricia Vance
President
Entertainment Software Rating Board
[Address edited out]
Re: Killer 7
Dear Ms. Vance:
I have just learned facts that indicate
the above violent game most likely deserves an AO
rating rather than the M rating which your
ESRB has given it.
As you may or may not know, more than
forty states have sexual material harmful to minors
statutes which prohibit the sale of sexually explicit
material to anyone under 18 years of age. This hiatus
between the M (age 17) rating and the statutory
criminal standard (age 18) has always posed significant
peril to the industry through games that contain sexual
material, and it appears that those pigeons may come
home to roost in Killer 7. Hot Coffee is
a fairly recent example of the peril. As to Killer 7,
please note:
The following is found in a review of
Killer 7 by Matt Casamassina at http://cube.ign.com/articles/630/630908p1.html
which contains the following observations at this pro-violent
game Internet site:
profanity, sex and bloodshed
are commonplace
We can't stress it enough: kids
should not play Killer 7. Not just because there's an
M on the box, but because for once that M really means
something. There's much more than blood and guts in
the game. Everything from the design of puzzles to the
subject matter is designed for older players and it's
really that simple
. And there are cinematics that
feature full-blown sex sequences
. Killer 7's adult
themes, which encapsulate extremely violent, profane
and sexual situations, as well as a wide range of issues
from terrorism to the sale of children, make the M on
the box really mean something.
Ms. Vance, this game was released on
July 7, 2005. It may be that the stir caused by the
Hot Coffee in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
distracted all of our attention from Killer 7.
There is no question in my mind that
a video game containing full-blown sex sequences
cannot be rated anything other than AO rather
than M. The reviewer above in fact says
that this games M actually means something,
and he says it twice for emphasis.
There are those who would say that people
such as I are prudes who have no problem
with violence but get uptight about sexual content in
games. That is a disingenuous charge, and you know why.
I have been on national television programs, as early
as the week before Columbine, complaining about 13-year-olds
being enabled by the ESRB to violent M games.
But it is your sister organization, the Entertainment
Software Association, that is in court right this second
in Illinois trying to prevent the extension of the sex
argument to the violence argument. It is
your industry, then, that thinks violence is okay for
kids but that sex, given state laws already on the books,
is not okay. Well, the Killer 7 game underscores the
fact that your organization and the industry it fronts
for appear to try to get away with anything that is
harmful to kids, whether already illegal or not.
What it also means is that if jurors
in a criminal prosecution were asked whether Killer
7 contains sexual material harmful to minors
in violation of statutory standards, then, based upon
the above enthusiastic review at IGN.com, the answer
to that question would probably be yes.
That answer would put the Entertainment
Software Rating Board, in my opinion, in the middle
of a criminal conspiracy to distribute sexual material
harmful to minors in violation of criminal statutes.
This is not a situation in which the ESRB has been blind-sided
by hidden or embedded content, Ms. Vance. You all have
known that the full-blown sex sequences
are patently present in the game, yet you chose to put
an M rather than an AO rating
on it. Big mistake.
If I were you, Ms. Vance, I would immediately
ask the makers of this game, and all retailers, to pull
it from store shelves. If you dont, expect for
others to use this latest scandal, which I am hereby
officially kicking off, to call for a dismantling of
the ESRB.
The fox has guarded the chickens long
enough. Killer 7 seems to prove it.
Sincerely, Jack Thompson
Copies: Senator Clinton, Senator Lieberman,
Senator Brownback, Senator Santorum
Assemblyman Yee
Federal Trade Commission
Congressman Upton
Class action counsel
Media
Others
[I could really care less about his email to the
ESRB. Why he emailed it to me I do not know.]
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
17:24:04 +0100 (BST)
From: "Scott Ramsoomair" <sramsoomair@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
To: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
Hello, my name is parody its a pleasure to meet
you! Im a literary or artistic device used in a
jovial fashion for the purpose of comedic effect. Though
my subject may be real my, I however do not have to be.
For I exist as a mockery of that subject. Best wishes!
-Parody.
Now that youve met my good friend
lets discus just what it is youre trying to say.
This sex isn't hidden, Scott.
Wouldn't want the facts to get in the way or your drawing,
now would you?
When you can play the entire game,
while using a strategy guide mind you, and not encounter
this hot coffee mini-game once. Yes Id
have to say that it is quite hidden. The content is
there but not accessible. Its like pirates gold,
unless you have the map youd never have known
it was there.
I took this information and applied
it to fictitious events through the comic. Even with
the dreaded pixilated breasts. I can claim whatever
I want in this because guess what, its not real!
Once again its my good friend, parody.
Theres also my original
assertion in which your rewording was derived. Where
I state, you are in this for your personal goals and
really couldnt care less. Have you not launched
class action lawsuits on behalf of families who are
victims of violence? Do you not stand to receive your
cut if any of these win?
Your crusade is nothing more than an
attempt to sway the public to your side. You have your
own greedy goals at heart. Stepping on the backs of
these families is nothing short of despicable.
At the end of the day I can sleep at
night knowing Ive made someone laugh at your own
egotism.
-See you space cowboy.
Scott Ramsoomair.
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From: "Jack Thompson"
<jackpeace@comcast.net>
To: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 12:47:14 -0400
Get a name and a life
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
17:56:38 +0100 (BST)
From: "Scott Ramsoomair" <sramsoomair@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
To: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
Hit a little too close to home, did
I?
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From: "Jack Thompson"
<jackpeace@comcast.net>
To: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 12:59:40 -0400
uh,no. i don't have time for twits, especially in light
of the below. knock it off:
RUMOR #2: The FBI is investigating death
threats e-mailed to Florida attorney and feisty game
industry critic Jack Thompson. Source: E-mails threatening
great bodily harm forwarded to this and
other publications by the attorney himself, as well
as a Thompson-penned plea
to Senators Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman (sent
to their offices
and media outlets, including GameSpot) wherein Thompson
asks for "help your
respective offices could give me in persuading the FBI
to act in response to
these threats."
The official story: "People are
threatening to kill me." And: "The FBI is
all over these." --Jack Thompson. "No comment."
--FBI spokesperson, North Miami Beach Division.
What we heard: Among the dozens (and
dozens) of unsolicited e-mails this Web site has received
from attorney Jack Thompson over the past weeks, a handful
were singular in nature: they included e-mails purportedly
sent to Thompson which contained threats on his life.
By anyone's standard, the e-mails sounded dastardly,
indeed. One read: "For being a total f***ing ***hole.
I think video games or [sic] freaking awesome, and they
are my entire life, and for you to insult them, is like
telling me my life is totally worthless. For this, sir,
I AM GOING TO F***ING KILL YOU!!!" [Expletives
masked by asterisks.--ed.] Another forwarded to GameSpot
from Thompson read:
"this is not spam, its [sic] my right as a citizen
to send you thousands upon thousands of emails saying
the same thing until you die painfully from gun shot
wounds." And a third: "Everyone thinks you
are insane, hence the name 'Wacko Jacko', which makes
you the equivalent of a molester. Therefore you are
gay. I hate you, and the world would be a better place
if you were brutally urdered." We gasped along
with Thompson. When we alerted Thompson that we intended
to seek out additional details and verification of his
claims from the FBI itself--as to the status of such
an investigation and progress being made (the FBI employs
trained media specialists for such
purposes), Thompson replied with some urgency: "Are
you, crazy? ... People are threatening to kill me. Either
report what I have said, having been provided the emails,
or stop bothering me."
Bogus or not bogus?: With members of
the Bar (aka lawyers) compelled to tell-the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth,
and an FBI agent who doesn't overtly deny that an investigation
is underway, likely not bogus.
[Just a note, yes he did copy and
paste that respose... He pasted it twice.]
RUMOR #2: The FBI is investigating death threats e-mailed
to Florida attorney and feisty game industry critic
Jack Thompson. Source: E-mails threatening great bodily
harm forwarded to this and
other publications by the attorney himself, as well
as a Thompson-penned plea
to Senators Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman (sent
to their offices
and media outlets, including GameSpot) wherein Thompson
asks for "help your
respective offices could give me in persuading the FBI
to act in
response to these threats."
The official story: "People are
threatening to kill me." And: "The FBI is
all over these." --Jack Thompson. "No comment."
--FBI spokesperson, North Miami Beach Division. What
we heard: mong the dozens (and dozens) of unsolicited
e-mails this Web site has received from attorney Jack
Thompson over the past weeks, a handful were singular
in nature: they included e-mails purportedly sent to
Thompson which contained threats on his life. By anyone's
standard, the e-mailssounded dastardly, indeed. One
read: "For being a total f***ing ***hole. I think
video games or [sic] freaking awesome, and they are
my entire life, and for you to insult them, is like
telling me my life is totally worthless. For this, sir,
I AM GOING TO F***ING KILL YOU!!!" [Expletives
masked by
asterisks.--ed.] Another forwarded to GameSpot from
Thompson read: "this is not spam, its [sic] my
right as a citizen to send you thousands upon thousands
of emails saying the same thing until you die painfully
from gun shot wounds." And a third: "Everyone
thinks you are insane, hence the
name 'Wacko Jacko', which makes you the equivalent of
a molester. Therefore you are gay. I hate you, and the
world would be a better place if you were brutally murdered."
We gasped along with Thompson. When we alerted Thompson
that we intended to seek out additional details and
verification of his claims from the FBI itself--as to
the status of such an investigation and
progress being made (the FBI employs trained media specialists
for such purposes), Thompson replied with some urgency:
"Are you, crazy? ... People are threatening to
kill me. Either report what I have said, having been
provided the emails, or stop bothering me."
Bogus or not bogus?: With members of
the Bar (aka lawyers) compelled to tell-the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth,
and an FBI agent who doesn't overtly deny that an investigation
is underway, likely not bogus.
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
18:06:48 +0100 (BST)
From: "Scott Ramsoomair" <sramsoomair@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
To: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
I remind you good sir. You emailed me.
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From: "Jack Thompson"
<jackpeace@comcast.net>
To: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 13:56:23 -0400
No, you emailed me. HOnestly, are all
of you gamers on drugs, or what?
[At this point he starts to fight like a two year
old.]
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
19:05:35 +0100 (BST)
From: "Scott Ramsoomair" <sramsoomair@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
To: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
I would have to say the same about you.
Here let me forward the exact email you sent me.
[So I forward the email to him]
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From: "Jack Thompson"
<jackpeace@comcast.net>
To: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 14:16:38 -0400
dear idiot: you initially contacted
me. stop, or else. got it?
[Name calling and physical threats, a two for one
package!]
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
19:35:46 +0100 (BST)
From: "Scott Ramsoomair" <sramsoomair@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
To: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
Or else? Oh Jack, you're a blue berry
muffin of creamy fun.
Forwarded the original messege you sent
to me, back to you. You probably don't remember sending
it. It's okay. It happens with age.
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From: "Jack Thompson"
<jackpeace@comcast.net> Add to Address BookAdd to
Address Book
To: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: Re: This sex isn't hidden, Scott. Wouldn't want
the facts to get in the way or your drawing, now would
you?
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 14:38:40 -0400
Scott, this is your last warning. Don't
send me any more emails. You are the person who initialed
contacted me. I did not solicit the email. You will
either stop or I will take legal action to make you
stop.
[I honestly don't think the man is there in the head.]
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Jack Thompson Emails,
Intermision
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[He's taken to forwarding
me his response to letters from others. This one was the
best.]
From: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
To: "Daniel Gaskin" <aumanite@hotmail.com>
CC: scott@vgcats.com
Subject: Re: Scott Ramsoomair
>> Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 11:06:28 -0400
>> From: Daniel Gaskin
>> To: jackpeace@comcast.net
>> Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 10:50 AM
>> Subject: Re: Scott Ramsoomair
>>
>> Heh, you're funny. Hang on, lemme try this: A
straight yes or no question.
>> Did you forward Scott Ramsoomair
an email that you wrote to the president of the ESRB
>> Just a yes or no; don't
try to get all lawyer-fancy on me.
yes, and when Scott emailed me he did not indicate it
was a response ot my email. I assumed it was just another
pinhead gamer threatening to kill me, harass me, mock
me, etc. He did not identify who he was as I recall. If
he can't figure out how that happened then that is his
problem. This does not explain his other improper conduct,
now does it? |
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005
19:20:55 +0100 (BST)
From: "Scott Ramsoomair" <sramsoomair@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Scott Ramsoomair
To: "Jack Thompson" <jackpeace@comcast.net>
So your excuse for acting in vulgar manor was that you
didn't know it was I? Well that answers everything! "I
thought I could get away with it so I acted like a jerk."
Bravo sir, bravo. Do you CC your mother with that font
face?
I mean it's not like my name was in
the title bar, subject line, and from header. As well
as in the forwarded message attached twice, on reply
and again later. I'd miss that too.
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