Could THIS videogame cause violence? Options

[*mipadi*]

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.[1]

I agree with attempting to use public-nuisance laws to shut down this sort of game. Say what you want about violent videogames—I can easily see this game encouraging violence against immigrants, illegal or legal. What do you think? Could this game incite violence against immigrants?

[*mipadi*]

It's pretty clear how this is different from many videogames, or a television show. It's directly interacting with violence on a level that is very true to life. I don't mean to say that it will turn ordinary people into killers, but it's pretty clear how a person with already violent tendencies towards immigrants will see this game and think that it's acceptable to maim or even kill immigrants. The game sends a message that such violence is tolerated or even encouraged in our society, which acts as justification to the player who already has such inclinations. It says that there are people like him who find violence towards immigrants an acceptable expression of hatred, and it normalizes such hatred in such a way that the expression of it is deemed acceptable or even encouraged.