Room 101

#1 - Has anyone here even READ the statement issued by Association for American Indian Development? For those who have not (and I think it's safe to say most of you) here is the exact wording:

"CALL TO ACTION: WE ARE DEMANDING OF ACTIVISION INCORPORATED, (THE PUBLISHERS OF "GUN") TO EDIT AND REMOVE ALL DEROGATORY, HARMFUL AND INACCURATE DEPICTIONS OF AMERICAN INDIANS FROM THE VIDEO GAME "GUN" INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE SLAUGHTERING OF THE "RENEGADE" APACHES, THE ATROCITY OF "INDIAN SCALPING" AND THE MIS-INFORMATION OF INDIAN TRADITIONS OF "KILLING" SACRED WHITE ANIMALS. WE ALSO DEMAND THAT UPON THE RE-RELEASE OF THE EDITED VERSION OF SAID VIDEO GAME, THAT ACTIVISION DO SO IN A MANNER THAT IS RESPONSIBLE TO THE GREAT APACHE PEOPLE AND IS CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY ACCURATE TO THE STRUGGLE AND PLIGHT OF ALL PEOPLE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ANCESTRY."

Below this "Call to action" is the "BOYCOTT "GUN" Information" statement. They go on to write "[...]we understand that historically, this kind of violence occurred all too often."

Were "Renegade" Apaches ever slaughtered? Yes
Did THE ATROCITY OF "INDIAN SCALPING" ever happen? Yes
Was MIS-INFORMATION OF INDIAN TRADITIONS OF "KILLING" SACRED WHITE ANIMALS ever present? Yes

#2 - Did Gun EVER claim to be historically accurate? No

#3 - The near genocide of Native Americans is an unfortunate fact in American history.

#4 - Should it be condoned or trivialized in a game as if it were okay? That is subjective. If you want the game to be "CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY ACCURATE", the killing of Native Americans (namely the Apache, a powerful and warlike tribe, constantly at enmity with the whites) WAS condoned AND trivialized as if it was "okay".

#3 - The real issue here has nothing to do with historical accuracy though. It is about the insensitivity of Multi-billion dollar gaming companies toward minority groups. The estimated number of Apache people living today is "5000 and 6000" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache). Even if all 6,000 Apache people were so offended that they boycotted the game, did you seriously think Activision would invest the extra time and money to try and go after those 5K-6K potential sales after they were already signed up for the petition saying they were NOT going to buy it anyway? Gun sold 225,000 copies in 2005. And of those 6000 Apache, how many do you think would realistically even consider buying the game? Maybe a 1000 if they're lucky.

To Activision, this is a numbers game. They have shareholders that they have an obligation to earn profits for.

Is it insensitive to the Apache people who still live today? Of course it is!

Is it unfair? Of course it is!(And no I'm not going to fall back on that ludacris cliche' "Life's not fair". Because life is what you make of it.)

Is it really such a shock that the children of today are so moraly inept and desensitized to violence? The molding of young minds is more-often-than-not left to cold and uncaring individuals who treat them more like a burden than a blessing. The greater our population grows, the more detached we become from one another. The more competetive we are forced to become with one another, to survive. If you think there are enough resources to go around, you will be sadly mistaken.

Good night, and good luck!