Jack Thompson Files Take-Two, Rockstar Lawsuit 451
rtt writes "Jack Thompson is back on the video game scene and has followed through with his threat to file a law suit against Rockstar, Take-Two and Walmart for Rockstar's upcoming "Bully" title. bit-tech was sent a copy by the man himself which started as follows "Take-Two has until five o'clock p.m., Eastern time, Monday, August 14, 2006, to inform me in writing that it will forthwith provide me with a copy of Bully so that I and others can analyze it to determine whether it still poses a threat of copycat violence in our schools.""
I think I've tried that one (Score:2, Insightful)
Or maybe he could just eat a dick (Score:5, Insightful)
He's a self-promoting moralistic jerkoff. Stop giving him air by paying attention to him.
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:5, Insightful)
In Thompsons warped view of the world, games make children violent. This isn't a particularly rational viewpoint, but his actions here are consistant with it. What does he care that the game doesn't condone bullying? It's a Rockstar game (which he hates), and it's violent (which gives him a chance to get up on his soapbox and preach).
Oh, it's Jack Thompson again... (Score:4, Insightful)
Honestly, he has to be - he always makes me laugh with tears when he cracks one of his "how videogames [verb] the [noun]" jokes or when he retells the original classic "why videogames are root of all evil" one-liners.
Also, I really love the way he pretends to be the biggest, most bigoted dumbfuck on earth. I mean, this guy has pure talent - no one alive could be such an gigantic arsehole as he pretends to be.
Re:Or maybe he could just eat a dick (Score:5, Insightful)
With Jack, ignoring him will merely be taken as a sign that you either cannot counter his flimsy arguements, or else that you agree with him. He may be the worlds biggest troll, but he's considered credible by politicians and the media, and that makes him more dangerous than most crackpots.
oh lordy (Score:5, Insightful)
To file a lawsuit you need a small amount of money. That's it. This doesn't mean anything. Trust me. They have no standing, they have no legitimate cause of action, this will go nowhere. Just calm the hell down people.
Re:Here's hoping for a "Jack Thompson head" mode.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Being pissed off at what an asshole Jack Thompson is makes me violent.
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:4, Insightful)
Still (Score:2, Insightful)
Bzzt, Wrong Answer (Score:5, Insightful)
A warning for those of you lazy self absorbed and/or just plain inattentive parents: All the censorship in the world won't make up for bad parenting if your child is more influenced by our games than by Mommy & Daddy, both you and your offspring have much bigger problems than the gameplay. So before you go hauling us or any other studio into court, look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you did the best you could, because if you're considering taking us to court, you didn't.
Inspiration for above [wikipedia.org]
Re:Or maybe he could just eat a dick (Score:2, Insightful)
Jack, come to our offices and we'll let you and your group play. We'd love to send you a copy, but this is really unoptimized code that only works on our computers. Just let us know a day and we'll have first-class tickets for up to 10 people, a limo, and a hotel for a few days.
Then, set up a media blitz with schoolgirls, freckled-nosed bullies, taped-glasses geeks, and more schoolgirls. Hot ones. Big tits and short skirts. Jack and his stuffy-nosed panel will be met by and accompanied everywhere by these mostly-naked babes. Take some comprimising shots of Jack gettin' his uber-micro on while some hot schoolgirl rubs her tits on the back of his head.
Or, just come up with some other offer that he can't possible accept. Put the ball back in Jack's court.
Re:Case without evidence or a crime. (Score:3, Insightful)
can't remember the legal term, but he was trying to pretend to be a lawyer in an out of town case, and the judge basically said 'um, no - you are a retard' and kicked him out.
I couldn't say it better myself (Score:4, Insightful)
Enough is enough! (Score:5, Insightful)
Instead of going after media (games, movies, whatever), why not focus on the ONLY place where social problems can be adequately addressed...the HOME.
Re:AOL Response (Score:5, Insightful)
Then sue him for slander, breach of NDA (assuming any of his comments are even vaguely related to the game, which may be tricky) and soak up even more free publicity.
Profit...
Video games aren't violent... (Score:3, Insightful)
The converse is also true. I play World of Warcraft, an intensely PVP game but have never fought another player (mostly because they're all noobs and I'm too nice to pwn them severely). I could easily play an hour of GTA without killing a single NPC. It's not the point of the game, but I could do it if I wanted to.
Still, I'm thankful that the vast rightwing conspiracy is taking time off from the war on drugs, fighting against pr0n, opposing gay marriage, defending the rights of blastocycts, installing surveillance cameras, wire-tapping my home, and working feverishly to perfect SOME kind of mind-control device to protect me (a 47 year old man) from violent video games. Thanks, dudes!
Society has been down this road before... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Bzzt, Wrong Answer (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, what is the point??? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Case without evidence or a crime. (Score:3, Insightful)
There's a legal term for that: "Prior Restraint".
Times have changed I guess. Back in my day lawyers in independent practice fought against it, but what the hell did we know? We were all fired up about about such quaint notions as "Civil Rights" and shit.
KFG
Parenting philosophy (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, bad people do mean things, and you can't stop that. But you can do many things to ensure that the bad people don't do those mean things to you. Whether by locking your bike, (so it's not stolen) avoiding dangerous situations, or by demanding respect early in a relationship.
There's a kid who lives nearby (whom I'll call Ray) who is a classic victim. It seems like, no matter what, things just don't work out for this kid. It's sad, really. But recently, this he has been hanging out at our house, and we've been counseling the him to stand up for himself. He really had no idea how much of his bad situations he had personally been contributing to, and the result is that, even though we aren't his parents, he's really bonded with us.
When a child is victimized, if the authority does nothing to teach the victim how to handle the situation from a position of strength, it reinforces their position of weakness. They are given the message that they need to be coddled by the authorities against the bad bullies, and I think that's just wrong. This then prevents the situation from actually improving long term, and when it gets bad enough, the victim pops and mows down a schoolyard with an AK-47.
Bullies should be punished, and frequently, so should the victims.
When fights break out among our kids, we punish both parties equally. While the aggressor gets punished for "taking things to the next level", the victim is punished for allowing it to happen to him/her. They can develop means to encourage aggressors to leave them the !@## alone, and they do.
Forget "fair". Life isn't fair, and law is just a set of consequences that only take effect when you get caught. Teaching towards not being in the victim role helps people avoid the pain of being taken advantage of, and being hurt by the very authorities put there to protect them.
For the record, actual fights are very rare in our household. Our children are usually described by others as unusual in how close, polite, and considerate they are towards each other. Said children range from age 9 to age 17.
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:1, Insightful)
Not so sure his view is warped or even askewed in the slightest.
When I was in grade school, I was going to CAP (Civil Air Patrol). We flew flight simulators all day long. Come to find, every pilot has to pass simulator tests which are designed to assist the physical transition of sitting in a real cock-pit. Part of Navy SEAL training (among all the other simulation like trainings) involve them going through a controlled drowning, simulating what it feels like to actually drown, they are then revived as soon as they go under; this I believe is to eliminate a fear of the water, completely. FBI, CIA, KGB, Massad, Osama bin Laden... EVERYONE conducts simulation to condition their subjects for whatever task is at hand. Whether it's a SWAT team training to storm a building, or your local city cops training for a situation where a simple speeding ticket goes wrong. It's ALL simulation. And only a fool would suggest simulation is in pure vain.
There are many ways of simulating a scenerio to condition a person to be prepared for an actual hypothetical event. Cartoonish video game characters are no more comical and innocent than smiley faces drawn on water melons stuck on staffs for mounted calvary use to use to train for field combat. The blocky faces of the Unreal Tournament at least give a feel of depth and 3D, how can it be possible someone could take serious the traditional 2 dimensional spring loaded cardboard flap that pops up in many police simulations? And for those that might wish to draw the line of effective simulation for hostilities between mental capability and condition versus physical ability and condition... this is a very dangerous precedent. While physical ability is somewhat important, any person that has ever hunted large game, actually had shot another in combat will tell you flat out; 99% of the ability to perform your job in those situations to include pulling the trigger is all psychological. A computer simulation, can assist you in overcoming those psychological barriers... and it doesn't take much excercise at all to pull a hair trigger. You're done, and ready.
So don't try to make it out as if people aren't conditioned, affected, or change of sensitivity in the least by video games. Especially games today like Hitman, SOCOM and the like which actually try to encourage the player to think and discipline their actions as a real assassin or special ops soldier.
The military has used simulation for thousands of years... simulation of all the current technologies of their times. Given how much bloodshed has spilt throughout history... simulation and conditioning for battle is EXTREMELY effective. You can belittle this with calling it a "game" all you want though, noone has yet to stop you from that.
What about the parents who have to work! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Or maybe he could just eat a dick (Score:2, Insightful)
Because copycat violence is a problem in a country saturated with YOU_MIGHT_DIE_RIGHT_NOW "news" on Fox. In a country where a womans breast is deemed obscene, where bad words and problematic opinions are censored by the mainstream media. Where B2 Stealth bomber pilots are less affected by a bombing run than I am from playing BF2 online. Where the Daily Show, comedy and freaking blogs are the last critical voices available.
Image Columbine without guns. Two broken noses and a pissed headmaster. Guns dont kill people. People kill people. And most people are fucking stupid when under attack.
Yeah... blame virtual (non-real, fictional) reality ! Seems to be the norm.
PS: American roast beef sandwich on rye with everything ! Lays chips ! Mountain Due ! $25 Hot olive pizza ! Go Giants ! Whoowhoo!
2 Live Crew, anybody? (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't understand.. (Score:2, Insightful)
The only people Rockstar has to let see the game is the ESRB so that they can rate it. That's an industry standard practive, not a government regulated practice.
I can't wait for the day a gamer is able to step toe-to-toe with Jack publically AND profesionally (i.e. not like Adam Sessler did last week)
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:3, Insightful)
Games, as a whole, don't make people violent. Violent video games might make people violent (or just serve as a release for their violent tendencies) but that's why the very violent games are rated M (not for children) and parents are expected to determine whether or not a game is appropriate for children. Adults should be able to determine on their own whether or not it's appropriate for themselves. The biggest problem with this current move by Jack Thompson is that he wants to determine whether or not a game is appropriate for everyone else. That's just off-the-wall unacceptable, no matter how you look at it.
Re:He represents zero threat. (Score:1, Insightful)
The left-wing nanny-staters as well.
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:5, Insightful)
Training simulation try to keep as close to the original deal as possible in content and control. You will have cockpits set up to resemble or sometimes explicitly copy the cockpit of the actually vehicle, all the controls will be in the same place, the controls will have force feedback to simulate the true to life vehicles resistance, many time the simulation will even have hydraulics to simulate the vehicles roll pitch and yaw. This is all there so when you get in the actual vehicle there is little change.
There are some parallels to this in video games. Games can teach you how to sneak up to someone, the correct maneuvers to use in certain situations; it may help in some skill sets. However not nearly to the level of simulators. Games are not designed to teach how to shoot a gun or drive a vehicle; they are set up to be entertainment. The vast majority of the things you would learn in a simulation, you will not learn from a video game because they are not represented in the content of a video game. For example, go ahead and ask a counter strike player if they know where the safety latch is on a Maverick M4A1 Carbine, if they know it sure as hell isn't from playing counterstrike.
Simulations and game can make something feel familiar. However gaining skills in maneuvers and controls is not what this is about. The reason that videogames are under fire is because people believe that it will make children violent, it changes into killers. This just isn't true, and if you ask anyone who trains people on these simulation trainers they will say the same thing.
Video game and even military simulation can not teach killing intent, it can not remove moral and ethical values from the user and it can not make the user feel more inclined to use violence. They might make it easier to know where the trigger is, but they do not make it easier to pull the trigger
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:5, Insightful)
1) count to 10 - dont lose your cool
Always ended up in 10 more seconds of teasing and bullying
2) Walk away
Last I checked, bullys have legs too
3) Ignore them
Bullys find that to be more of a reason to tease/bully
4) Ask an adult/teacher for help
When I ask for help Im always told that hes not doing anything wrong and that I should be able to do the above 3 things to get rid of them
So unfortunately I ended up having to defend myself any way I could and the most effective being me beating the living snot out of them.
Of course this solution always ended the same way at school. The bully would get a slap on the wrist and be sent back to class ( if not bloodied up ) or sent home to be cleaned up and recover a little, and me being suspended/expelled from school because nothing the adults taught me worked.
I learned at a young age from adults
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:3, Insightful)
A game is a game. You -know- it's a game when you're playing it. There's no personal sense of risk, of danger, of imminent death. Desensitizing someone to the point of being able to point a weapon at another human being and knowingly and deliberately killing them takes a lot more than playing UT and fragging your friends, or even lighting up those same friends on the paintball field.
There are exceptions to every rule or condition, of course. There are those who might be desensitized by such things. The problem lays with them, not the game they're playing.
Moron! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What about the parents who have to work! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:1, Insightful)
How does teaching children to not be victims make them any more likely to be aggressive? Somehow, they've all grown up peaceful and very intellectual. (My twin 17 Y.O. are in their 2nd year of college) My theory is that by learning to stand up to the injustices of the world, they don't harbor unexpressed anger, and can then focus on the better parts of life.
There's a big difference between "kick the shit out of the bully" and "don't be a victim". One is an aggressive act, another is a demand for respect. They do not equate.
From my original post:
Emphasis on usually.Rapes happen. But there are almost always mitigating circumstances. Victim is at a wild party. Victim is drunk, with strangers. Victim is alone and in an isolated/vulnerable location. Victim is involved with unusual sexual activity, or has provoked an obviously aggressive party. Et cetera. Rare is the rape that's truly random.
Counseling my children to avoid these types of scenarios isn't bad parenting; it's good sense, and something that you would do well to consider.
Re:They'll ignore him (Score:3, Insightful)
He needs to be taken down (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not just games. Lawyers have completely destroyed the fun of playgrounds. As a parent, that pisses me off. You definitely can't have anything that spins because someone might fall off or get dizzy. Nothing too tall. Big slides & swings? Not a chance. It's even hard to find sand in a playground anymore, because a kid might throw some in another kid's eye.
Getting hurt when you do stupid things is an important life lesson that lawyers are ruining. Elementary schools have banned nearly every competative sport. No baseball, football, handball, volleyball, tennis, running or tag! No after school programs. No skateboards, rollerskates, or scooters. And definitely nothing that might offend anyone for any reason at all. Maybe Columbine would be less likely to happen if people like Mr. Jack didn't make life suck so badly for the kids he wants to "protect."
Mortal Kombat didn't cause America's youth to murder their parents any more than heavy metal music did during the 80's. Despite all of the concerns about young people holding hands, dancing, watching violent films, listening to gangsta rap, and such... violent crime is down. Youth crime is down. Why can guys like this spout off to politicians when their "concerns" have absolutely no rational basis? I'm not for book burning and I'm definitely against censorship for no good reason.
If Thompson is allowed to continue his bogus mislead fight, games will suck bigtime... like playgrounds, school recess, and everything else about childhood that guys like him want to destroy. He wants to make sure that every kid is having a fun time the Jack Thompson way, and that scares the hell out of me.
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:4, Insightful)
I guess Jack had better go after the Better Business Bureau next. After all, they're funded by the businesses [bbb.org] who make up its membership. I think we need a "Truth in Business Ratings Act" to help counter this illicit collaboration between the BBB and its members.
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:4, Insightful)
I see what you're saying, and I've seen this point of view a lot, but blaming the victim of rapes is never the way to go. What about the young girl who was abused by her dad, or uncle, or mom's boyfriend, etc? When someone is abused, especially sexually, it is usually a traumatizing experience. Telling someone that they were raped because of their own fault is insane...you're just victimizing the victim again.
The real sad thing about this is, many times victims of abuse, whether it's sexual, physical or mental, are young. And when you are abused when you are young, it alters your brain chemistry. And magically they find themselves in situations where more abuse will occur. Telling these people that it's their fault these things are happening to you is insane, insensitive, and down right stupid. You do not tell people who are victims of abuse that it is their fault. Ever. The fact is, a lot of abuse is random, but it affects the victims in such a way that they find themselves in abusive situations again. Do not blame these people...it will not help. Bullying is just another form of abuse, and telling a victim of bullying it's their fault is just crazy. I'd rather tell them how to avoid abusive situations rather than saying you're making people bullying you. The sad thing is, a lot of victims of bullies also become bullies, and then the cycle starts again.
Anyway, that's how I'm reading what you're saying. Feel free to reply if I'm not understanding you completely...
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:1, Insightful)
that said... hes a dickhead.... but hey... its nice to know that even morons can be allowed to speak
also... i like the idea of a mod where you can just beat up JT... will there be a Dubya version also? (heck... you could make one with all the members of parliment)
Open Commentary to Jack Thompson (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's the problem.
There are people who see or read something and decide "Hey, I'd like to try that." Those people are choosing to do something, not being forced to do it and they aren't really copy-cats. They are only people who do not know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, nor have they been raised to have a sense of responsibility. If caught, they just say - "Uh, I played a video game, and it made me do it".... BULLSHIT.
If you do something, you and ONLY you are responsible for that action.
Why is that? I believe it is because of people such as yourself, who preach on about how "No one is responsible for their own actions" - they must have seen it in a video game, or a movie, or read about it in a book. You give them an out. If nothing else, all you are doing is making the problem worse. You're giving them their excuse to use before the judge. "Your honor, Jack Thompson clearly states that I only acted this way because of a video game!" You're making the problem worse, not better.
Let me tell you something else... There are a hell of a lot worse things to emulate on television. It's called the NEWS - maybe you should sit down and watch it some time. You know - the parts about people being blown to bits by terrorists or the military fighting the terrorists. Or the random acts of nature killing thousands of people.
Let's face it, what someone chooses to do is not the result of reading a book, or watching a movie, or playing a video game. None of these things *MAKE* anyone do anything. The people who do these things have not had a proper upbringing, where they are instilled with a sense of responsibility, and a clear deliniation between right and wrong, good and evil.
Schools are not responsible for this instruction.
Governments are not responsible for this instruction.
Parents are ultimately responsible for this instruction.
Jack - please, just - go away somewhere, and leave the raising of our kids to us. I don't care about your opinion. I don't believe anything you say. You have to respect someone for anything they say to have an affect on you. Trust me, you haven't earned anyone's respect by, in my opinion, acting like a blithering, idiotic, blow-hard.
** This used to be worded a lot harsher - however, I figured no one would take it seriously if I filled it with nothing but knee-jerk commentary.
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:5, Insightful)
You're right, they sometimes are at fault. Maybe they weren't careful enough. Maybe they did something stupid, leaving themselves open.
Still, they need to be told what they did wrong, and given the tools necessary to not have it happen again. Get raped? Fine. Go to martial arts training and kick the shit out of the next guy who tries to rape you. Got your bike stolen? lock it the hell up.
I'm not saying coddle the victim, I'm saying empower the victim. But punish? Fuck that. Being the victim of a crime is punishment enough.
Unfortunately, being the victim to a crime leaves them feeling lost. Action must be take by those who care about them to make certain it doesn't happen again - and the best way to do this is to give them the tools they need to prevent it; 'teach a man to fish...', after all.
Yeah. Punishment is negative reinforcement. Coddling is nill reinforcement (making the bad things go away is removing the already existing negative reinforcement). Training is positive reinforcement, the sort that can balance the negative reinforcement caused by being a victim.
That said, a good deal of this country are whiners; too many people think they are 'victims', to the point where the word loses its meaning. It's what happens when you cancel the reinforcement through coddling; the person thinks that 'victim' is just a natural state of being.
Fuck that. It's all about teaching self-reliance.
Still, your brain-dead method causes the opposite problem; the person becomes rediculously paranoid. This, if you can't tell, is also bad. Living in fear is not living. Your children may very likely have a lot of unlearning to do when they leave your household.
Or not. They may end up like my uncle, who was raised in much the way you described; machiavellian, self-important, and generally unhappy.
Jack is a bored house husband with extra time. (Score:3, Insightful)
So while I think that Jack did a wonderful thing in staying home to take care of his son, the fact is he hasn't had to have a job outside of the home in a long time. Now that his son is older, Jack must have a LOT of spare time on his hands.
Free time + moral indignation + law degree = lots of lawsuits
Is there a place where you can look up the cases a lawyer has tried in court? I am curious if Jack has actually won any of the countless lawsuits he has been involved in.
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:5, Insightful)
Man, see, that's EXACTLY why I feel that when a woman is raped, we should stone her to death. Usually she was totally asking for it. Women are responsible for themselves and their own well being, and they are the ones who suffer when they don't ensure this.
You are wrong. A victim is a victim. Sure a victim could probably take steps to prevent being victimized, but a victim is never guilty because they didn't take those steps. If I leave my wallet on my front porch, if I put my social security number on the Internet, if I wear sleazy clothes into a bad kind of bar in a bad kind of neighborhood and flirt with bad, drunk people, I am putting myself in a bad situation. That does not, however, mean that I have done something wrong.
Look, if I'm a wussy, 98-pound weakling with no self-confidence, and I get beat up by some kid who is confused because his dad beat him too many times, it is NOT my fault, and I should NOT be punished. Punishing everybody involved, be they victim or criminal, is the opposite of a justice system. It will probably keep the peace, but it's not justice, it's not right, and it's about 1000 years of backwards.
Forget "fair". Life isn't fair, and law is just a set of consequences that only take effect when you get caught.
Do you know who think this way? Psychopaths. Life's not fair, but that doesn't mean we should abandon fairness as a goal. You're wrong about laws, too. They're not a set of consequences--they're a set of guidelines. The consequences are there to provide teeth so people like you will at least consider following some of them.
Jerk.
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:4, Insightful)
No, no - let him claim to have caused excessive delays! If Take-Two decides to sue him for lost income due to his interference, I'm sure those statements are going to be rather helpful.
Florida Congressman Jeff Stearns, who recently chaired hearings in the United States House of Representatives, discovered how thoroughly flawed the video game rating system is, as the ESRB is actually paid for and operated, in effect, by the video game industry itself.
Gee, I hope no one tells Cliff Stearns about the MPAA movie rating system. Then again, the video game industry doesn't have nearly the presence in Washington's wallets as the MPAA members do, and Stearns' big contributors are the telecoms anyway, so it's probably not big on his radar at the moment. In any event, it doesn't help Thompson's case that he can't even get the Congressman's name right.
I wish this asshole Thompson would pull his lower lip over his head and swallow.
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:4, Insightful)
Good day, Sir,
You have a very nice car. Well, that is to say, you used to have a very nice car. I liked it so much I'm afraid I stole it. Your radio presets are awesome too! We obviously have a lot in common.
If we're lucky maybe we can share a cell, but I expect you'll get caught for having your car stolen long before I get caught for stealing it, so fix the place up nice for me, 'k? Oh yeah, and wear something sexy.
Your partner in crime,
Bubba
KFG
Re:Parenting philosophy (Score:4, Insightful)
It sounds insensitive to tell a child that being bullied is partly their fault, but it's not. What's insensitive is telling them that it's NOT their fault at all, and letting them continue falling into the same bully traps.
Perhaps 'fault' is not quite the right word to use; it is emotionally charged. But I would say that, often, there are steps the victim could have taken to defuse the situation and prevent the bullying from taking place.
I, for one, think you absolutely have the right idea. I was bullied a lot when I was younger, and no one taught me how to handle it properly. It was only later that I discovered how much of the situation I controlled. After that, I wasn't bullied anymore (and also stopped fighting with my siblings; it's all related).
The world definitely needs more parents like you that are grounded in reality, and less parents living in fantasy land.
Re:Okay, I think I stand for all of us when I say. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Enough is enough! (Score:3, Insightful)
Is it just me, or have "Lazy Parents" taken a number-two spot behind "Jews" on the Big List Of Convenient Scapegoats For Blaming All The Ills Of The World On?
It can't be that an entire generation (present company, of course, excluded, can't use ourselves as scapegoats) has suddenly forgotten how to raise children. No, in reality, I think when a child does something anti-social like shoot up his schoolmates, there's other issues at play beyond "parents never told him it was wrong to shoot people".