Flowers for Jack
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Starting January 21, 2006, two gamers, George Ettinger and Alyson Burch of Michigan, began a project to send Miami lawyer John B. "Jack" Thompson, an activist against violent video games, a large number of floral arrangements to draw his attention to a polite accompanying letter contesting his stereotyping of gamers. The concept was to make a non-threatening statement and open a casual dialogue free of insults and generalizations.
They collected donations via the internet, totaling $1,049.99. After paying for the flowers, the money left over was set aside to be donated to Child's Play. It was incorrectly reported as $750 US[1] and is accurately closer to $550. It will be mailed directly to Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade once the PayPal account is settled.
The finished letter was seven pages long and accompanied by ten pages of approximately 280 signatures of supporters and donators, spanning forty states and ten countries. Not all donators signed and not all signatories made donations, so a final tally of supporters is not yet known. Flowers For Jack estimated it at 400 people. The letter addressed issues including:
- Denouncing criminal acts by gamers, including phone harassment and threats.
- Asking his current position on the behavior and policies of the NIMF.
- Discussing the word "Pixelante."
- Requesting a clear statement of his agenda and goals for the gaming industry.
- Contesting the perception of average gamers and stereotypes.
Jack's response was, "They can send me all the flowers they want. I'll send them along to the families of the slain policemen."[1]
George Ettinger and the community that supported Flowers For Jack have since started a growing gamer activism organisation, Pixelante Nation.[2] It is currently expanding from its forum base and is accepting new members for setting up real-world correspondence and branches. It is organizing publicity movements to bring attention to gamer charity programs and the Flowers For Jack letter.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b Norman, Forrest (2006-02-09). Gamers Give Flowers. Miami New Times.
- ^ http://www.pixelantenation.com/
