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Saturday, September 16, 2006 12:00 AM

Virtually dead in Iraq

To protest the war in Iraq, a media artist infiltrates the U.S. Army's popular online video game and gets himself shot. While angry gamers, soldiers and even some peace activists call him a nuisance, others say his message hits home.

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  • Friday, September 15, 2006 08:54 PM

    If just one person thinks again...

    One sometimes hears the phrase "If just one person thinks again, it will have all been worth it" to justify protests like this.

    And so, for this effort, it's worth asking "Thinks again about what?"

    The "media artist" doesn't say.

    At the normal rate and frequency and length of comments posted in such games, it's hard to see how that critical "one person" would even notice a long line of text at the top of the screen, visible for a fraction of a second, let alone connect that text with any clear thought.

    Gamers are far more likely to be thinking about avoiding getting shot -- it is a war game, after all.

    As for someone running about offering themselves up to be killed, well, despite the emotive description of that in the article, the clearest coherent thought a gamer would have about that would probably be "What an idiot!" which clearly limits the "connection" with the text posted after the event.

    As is often the case, this cannot be anything other than a protest for the benefit of the protester. The critical "one person thinking again" simply doesn't exist in this case.

    And so I really do hope it makes him feel better, and wish him well. I take it he's not interested in effectively protesting the war in Iraq and so his real motives are, frankly, obscure and of little interest.

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