Friday, February 17, 2006

What About That Ugly Video Game?


You know the one I’m talking about! It’s the one where the bad guys score points by killing cops.

Let me make it clear I don’t want to see killing cops made fashionable or in any way legitimate. I’ve seen too many murdered cops on Cook County Morgue autopsy tables.

I can never get the face of Joanne Crowley out of my mind as I passed the folded American flag to her at her husband, Pat Crowley’s funeral in the fall of 1976.

This poor widow was now burying her second Chicago policeman, at the very same church! Just a few years earlier, Joanne Crowley’s first fiancee, Tom Kelly was also murdered in the line of duty.

Officers Kelly and Crowley were great cops and good friends who were gunned down by the most vicious of Chicago’s criminals. I dare not to think of the emotional toll these senseless murders have taken on that fine woman. The sound of Joanne Crowley constant screaming during Pat Crowley’s wake and funeral will haunt me for the rest of my life.

So what do we do about that filthy video game? The knee jerk response is to legislate a ban on this disgusting game and anything like it. That will never influence the mindset that created this evil idea. Demands to shut the game down as always will fuel the sales and popularity of this product doing a disservice to all cops.

In the process of banning that garbage video game we take another bite out of our own freedom. It’s not worth it! Heroes Like Tom Kelly and Pat Crowley worked for our freedom and not against it. Giving in to the temptation to ban protected speech won’t protect cops.

Keeping violent criminals behind bars is the only remedy for this kind of culture.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Freedom is more important but anyone who enjoys that game neeeds the snot slapped out of him.

Anonymous said...

God bless joanne where ever she is today.

Anonymous said...

Pat Crowley, shot and killed in the line of duty, 13 Sep 76. Age 31. Looking at the plaque on the 006 wall right now.

Paul Huebl Crimefile News said...

He was working TAC, chased a drug dealer up some stairs and the drug dealer shot Crowley nearly right between his eyes with a .41 magnum revolver.

I remember the embalmer used a wax plug to fill the hole for the open casket wake.

RIP Pat.

Anonymous said...

Well written. Did you know that Lt. Banahan (aka bananaman) wrote and published a book. I can't recall the name at the moment but will get back to you.

Anonymous said...

Title of the book by Banahan is Threshhold of Pain.

E. David Quammen said...

This country is in very bad shape if a game about killing people is the new 'in' thing.
What do you suppose the founders would think of us today?