Saturday, March 21, 2009

Should the United States ban a Japanese "rape simulator" game?

This headline is from Slate Magazine posted on March 9. The well-written story comes to us courtesy of Leigh Alexander.

I have been a friend of the ACLU for many years, but every now and again, I find myself penned into a corner, such as at the subject matter of this story. I am a passionate advocate of free speech and would never presume to tell anyone what to do or think, with the exception of my 4 amazing sons, and even now, as they are older, trust that I have laid a foundation for them to make wise choices for themselves in their post adolescent and now college years.

A rape simulator game defies all comprehension. Here is an excerpt from the story: "The last couple of years haven't been as fruitful for video game scolds. Jack Thompson, the longtime face of the anti-game-violence movement, was recently banned from practicing law in Florida. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled that a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors was unconstitutional. There is a Wii in the White House. With America's pro-gaming forces gathering strength, crusading politicians must now journey beyond our shores to find games to rail against. Enter New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has joined with the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault in calling for a stateside ban of a Japanese "rape simulator" game called RapeLay."

Here is the link to the entire post: http://www.slate.com/id/2213073/pagenum/all/#p2. I must confess, I ordinarily read an entire story before posting, but in this instance, became quite disgusted at the level that ordinary Japanese men are going to commit rape, even suggesting appropriate trains and timetables for the best case scenarios.

Granted, anything is available online, including this smut, but what message are we trying to send? Is it really ok to glorify violence against women?

I am behind Christine Quinn and will send a strongly worded email to Mayor Bloomberg indicating that we should go to any lengths legally possible to keep such a scourge from our wonderful city of New York.

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