Videogame: Over the (Border) Line


Newsweek


May 8, 2006 issue - 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.

—Jamie Reno


© 2006 MSNBC.com

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