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Here's a bunch of articles:
Why does this stuff shit me? It is just so much calculated crying into a teacup, that's why. These guys have the job of writing opinion pieces that are so far removed from reality that they would be better off tapping their red shoes together and saying, "there's no place like home".
There are far, far better ways to get people interested in history than to release a game so graphically depicting one of this nation's lowest points in the 1960s.
The low points of history are almost always the most interesting. Certainly, the thing that JFK is most remembered for by the public is getting shot under suspicious circumstances. Ask someone under 15 who was JFK and they will tell you that he was shot, ask the same person whether JFK has anything to do with the Vietnam War and they will say "huh?" Of course, the Vietnam War was the USA's real low point in the 1960s but the last thing we want people to do is remember what really went on back then.
Let's not forget how many ordinary people died in Vietnam and other wars (not presidents, not great heros, just grunts who left their lives, went to war and got their share of shrapnel and bullets). Does that make it wrong to play historical recreations of warfare? Where were these columnists when Quake came out with the "special forces" enhancement? Why don't they complain about table top Napoleonic wargames?
If the company really wanted to reinvigorate the passion for history, it should have donated funds to any public school district in the country or sponsored fellowships for the study of history or become a financial backer for our historic parks.
So that a small select few get access to information, and only to information that is carefully filtered. Thanks, but not everyone sees that as desirable.
We are becoming a society that accepts the unacceptable,
Like the invasion of Iraq in revenge for something done by mostly Saudi born extemists who had no relation to Iraq at the time while just coincidently taking control of a major oilfield and ensuring that the Iraqi people don't get the choice of selling their oil at market value? Is that the sort of unacceptable thing our society accepts? Hmmm, someone who actually took an interest in history would know that every society has found ways to accept the unacceptable.
that looks the other way when our neighbors are in need or if a wrong is being committed.
The USA seems content to look the other way in the face of international opinion, what is unusual about this?
We continue to watch the videotape of professional basketball players jumping into the seats to attack unruly fans.
Now, this IS unacceptable! Sheesh, you would think that a major league basketball team would have trained, professional security contractors attacking unruly fans. These smart-arse basketballers will be doing my job next. What is my job anyhow?
Of course it's in bad taste, that's why it's up for debate. War games involve faceless people, this does not. Just another reflection of a society with fading moral values.
Neil Mellor, London
Now this is a really interesting piece of BBC reader opinion and it sums up so much in so few words. Neil's ideal "moral values" declares that killing a multitude of faceless people is so much better than killing a single well known celebrity. This reminds me of a famous quote:
A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.
If you can't remember who gave us that wisdom then check here don't get him confused with Johnny "Deputy Sherif" Stalin who is someone different alltogether.
I thought the marketplace was supposed to replace social values... it is considered acceptable for China to pull the forests from Tibet to fuel their industry, it is equally acceptable for the old growth forests of Tasmania to be turned into woodchips, for the atmosphere to be pumped with carbon dioxide until the sea level rises and the weather destabilises, Australia is hit with drought and Europe is smashed by regular storms. It is OK to withold supply of AIDS drugs from Africa and TB treatment from India in order to keep prices high. If the market demands it then the market must be correct -- don't go telling me that JFK somehow gets some sort of special treatment.
If you don't believe that the free market can replace social values then you are really saying that the free market can be wrong and might make mistakes. You might as well just demand government intervention right now.
Any hey guys, we all know you are out there to sell newspapers... we know that you love the controversy because the way to really kill the game would be NOT to publish any articles. Don't hand me your moral crap because I know that the dollar is your god too.
The context is the assassination of the president. The player is not killing someone randomly as you do in any of these mindless games. This is a reaffirmation of the idea that if you don't like my political views, here is a solution.
Isn't that what the Vietnam War was all about? Isn't that what Iraq and Afghanistan are all about? Come to think of it, the general gist of most wars is exactly that, "you don't like my political views, here is a solution". Maybe the details and the technique changes but the mindset remains fixed throughout the violent history of humanity. What are we supposed to teach our kids about history? Only the nice bits actually happened?
Can propagating ignorance really be the way forward? It never worked for the church...
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