Deja Vu All Over Again

I just read about a lawsuit alleging the makers of the popular video game "Grand Theft Auto III" are responsible for the deaths of two people earlier this year by two teenagers who claimed they were inspired by the game. From the article: The boys told investigators they got the rifles from a locked room in their home and decided to randomly shoot at tractor-trailer rigs, just like in the video game "Grand Theft Auto III." In a suit filed Monday in Cocke County Circuit Court on behalf of the victims, Miami lawyer Jack Thompson and local lawyer Richard Talley alleged the game "inspires and trains players to shoot at vehicles and persons."

This reminds me of the heady days when Joe Leiberman stood before Congress and testified that games like Mortal Kombat would cause teenagers to rip each other's hearts out.

No mention of blame on the part of parents who didn't notice that their teenaged sons might do something as crazy as begin shooting at random cars. No mention of the irresponsibility of leaving firearms where disturbed teenagers could find them. About the warning labels, telling parents (who should be monitoring what their children watch, listen to, and play) that the game isn't intended for audiences under the age of 17, zero.

I can't wait until someone decides to jump off a roof because the HeroClix Superman can fly. I'll laugh at them as hard as I'm laughing at this, and then I'll weep for the human race, because this is so fucking pathetic.

If they were going to sue anyone, they should sue the parents for negligence. Because the millions of people like me, who can differentiate between fantasy and reality, will be hurt by the two assholes who could not.