Videogame: Over the (Border) Line

mzkhadir

Diamond Member
Mar 6, 2003
9,509
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Newsweek

May 8, 2006 issue - Links to a bloody new Flash videogame called Border Patrol, whose object is to kill as many illegal immigrants as possible, are making the rounds through e-mail forwards. The game, which comes at a time when U.S. leaders are working to revive a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate, encourages players to kill targets such as a "Mexican nationalist," "drug smuggler" and "breeder" (a pregnant woman with two small children) "at any cost." When a target is killed, blood splatters on the screen. "It's violent and unnecessarily hurtful," says Jack Thompson, a lobbyist against violence in videogames. "We should use public-nuisance laws to shut down this game because it poses a clear and present danger to an entire class of people. Illegal immigration is a real problem, but this game only coarsens that debate."

The game's origin is unknown, but it's been popping up recently on a number of Web sites. "I certainly defend the game," says self-described white supremacist Tom Metzger. "I told a Mexican activist that he better be happy that we're just playing a game on a computer, because the temper of thousands ... is reaching the boiling point." The U.S. Border Patrol has been quick to distance itself from the game. Todd Fraser, a Border Patrol spokesman, says: "The Border Patrol does not condone or encourage violence." Neither should anyone else.

?Jamie Reno

 

Kaervak

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
8,460
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I knew Jack Thompson was going to be involved with this somehow. I wonder how much of a "crusade" he's going to turn this into.
 

skace

Lifer
Jan 23, 2001
14,488
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Newsweek quoted Jack Thompson, everyones iq everywhere went down 5 points.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
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"We should use public-nuisance laws to shut down this game because it poses a clear and present danger to an entire class of people. Illegal immigration is a real problem, but this game only coarsens that debate."
Grrrrr.... these kinds of idiotic statements irritate me. Clearly, the game is in bad taste, but just because something is in bad taste does not mean it's against the law -- nor should it be. Political correctness crap again.