- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
The letters from gamers who are arguing versions of "this is a game for/by a specific community, not a place for protest/politics" are people who truly do not understand the world we live in. Historically there have been two industries that have pushed the development of visual graphic technology: the military and entertainment. The two are intricately tied, as the funding for this game makes very clear.
I LOVE video games, but to act like they are not related to the dehumanization of modern warfare is like acting your SUV has nothing to do with the nation's energy policy. Its not a direct connection, but no matter how much you deny it, a relation between the two exist. I also know that someone away from the game is annoying, but seriously, does it ruin the entire experience of playing?
The importance of this protest is not disturbing your gameplay, or immediately changing the mind of players. It seems the point is to draw attention to how easily we have come to accept the remote, meaningless-to-us death of Iraqis and US soldiers alike. And any kind of positive change isn't going to happen from yelling at politicians, but from raising awareness of what is happening in what drives the politicians' actions, our larger culture.
