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?

[juliar]

I think the problem with comparing GTA with this game is that GTA was a videogame that you had to BUY. It was clearly marked with a rating that many parents would probably be concerned about and would control. This game is drawn to appeal to kids and is also available, for free, on the internet. This makes it more readily accessible to kids, who, as mipadi mentioned, are easily affected by videogames and the sort.

However, I think it would cause more racism than violence. I just tried playing the game, and all of these people are mexicans. The game refers to them as "wetbacks", "Paco", etc. But those who already have strong opinions against mexicans, or "wetbacks" as they call them, and are thinking about doing something about it may be encouraged to do so by this game.

Edit: Apparently this site has alot of other games that can potentially cause violence. There's "SHOOT THE FAGS BEFORE THEY RAPE YOU!" , "Kaboom! The SUICIDE BOMBING GAME." "Eddie Murphy in AFRICAN DETROIT COP" and a few others. In addition to giving people a twisted view of race, games like this are encouraging racism and encouraging violence.