Dopes are suing to ban "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City"

[Japher]

The crudeness/violence thing seems more of a boy thing.

I agree.

Still, girls develop and mature quicker than boys which can owe to some of this.

[Jac de Molay]

Originally posted by lord of the mark Yet someone else who thinks parents should be around 24/7 to monitor their kids habits - womem should give up their careers so you dont have to see the media blamed, etc. Parenting isnt simple, you may find out someday.

I never said they needed to be around their kids all the time. You can go from one end of the spectrum, completely isolating your kids to just asking questions about what their into/watching/listening to.

Most parents can't even be bothered with doing the latter. I grew up in a liberal two-income family with VERY little supervision, and yet my parents were cognizant enough of the cultural landscape to set limits on what I could watch on TV or movies.

Saying that the media is some amorphous, all-penetrating, omniscient force to mold children's minds is an absolute cop-out. I think the article makes points but acts as if the issue is "somebody else's problem", and that attitude alone is the real root of the problem.

[DanS]

My problem with that is when it effects decent developers, like Sid Meiers.

Oh puleeze. I expect to murder, lie, and steal my way to fame and fortune on the Spanish Main pretty soon, courtesty of 'ol Sid.

[Space05us]

I watched Godfather when i was old enough to watch it - over 16. It was still there. So i got to see it, and also got to have my childhood. Adulthood lasts long enough, sorry its the fashion (dare I say herd mentality?) these days to treat children as little adults. Also when i was older i was able to tell a masterpiece like Godfather (the movie, not the book) from the mass of violent trash. In fact if you cant understand that the characters in the Godfather were fighting over things of great importance, than you undoubtedly missed Coppollas point. Further proof that these movies arent suited to youngsters.

you missed my point, or perhaps you think that The Godfather isn't a violent movie?

[Caligastia]

Amazing. I was playing this game just the other day and thought about the possibility of someone getting offended by that bit.

[Patroklos]

I stole three cars and killed a cop, and I sure as hell didn't stop with the Haitians....

Perhaps I should return the video game to Blockbuster?

[Sikander]

Ha! Ban the AK? I got ten of them stashed, and a case of hand grenades!

Gen X

[Dr Strangelove]

I never gave a rat's a** about the ratings system when I was a kid! We didn't have a rating system when I was a kid! We had censorship, because it was good for us! You will too if you know what's good for you!

I wonder what context the offensive statement: "Kill the Haitians" was used in. Was it used to refer to a specific group of characters, who just happened to be Haitians and hence their name, that the speaker wanted eliminated for a specific reason, or was it used in refference to Haitians in general. If the latter is the case then the phrase should be removed, as such outrageous bigotry offers a bad example for young minds. If the former is the case, then I vote for the phrase to stay in the game, since the nationality of the intended victim is obviously purely accidental, but the pursuit of the persons reffered to demonstrates sound business principles and the good old fashioned American wortk ethic to the young game player.

[Spiffor]

The context:
In Vice City, you play as a maffia guy who dreams of becoming a maffia boss. As you climb your way up, you work with the Cuban gang at some point (the gang structurated in the impoverished Cuban quarter), and they're enemies of the Haitian gang (the gang structurated in the very impoverished Haitian quarter).
In the game "Kill the Haitians" implies "Kill the members of the Haitians gang for the sake of the Cuban gang". However, the only people that are distinctly Haitians (i.e. blacks) in the game are members of the haitian gang. This means, everytime you recognize a character as being a Haitian, he is a gang member and your enemy.

[Skanky Burns]

It was used to refer to a specific gang of Haitians, who also happened to have arrows above their heads for easy identification.

Personally, I found GTA3 to be a better game than Vice City.

[Space05us]

Personally, I found GTA3 to be a better game than Vice City.

me too, I just dont like the feel of VC. Being too bright and pink might have something to do with it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yet someone else who thinks parents should be around 24/7 to monitor their kids habits

So society should monitor kids 24/7? What was it Hillary said? It takes a village?

--

Oh, and also about 'Kill the Haitians' it's a mission given by the Cubans. That's the name of the mission (which is why it flashes on the screen). It is meant to kill Haitian gang members... and of course the mission name has to be descriptive (can't be 'Kill Them', because that's the whole game ).

[Kuciwalker]

random violence = wholesome fun

[Ben Kenobi]

In this country, people possessed solely by the desire to sell have become far more powerful than parents tortuously working out the contradictions of authority, freedom, education, and soul-making.

Note, that he uses the word parent, and not society, or government. He assumes that it is the responsibilty of the parent to raise their child. The parent may not be able to monitor the child 24/7 but they ought to know what games their child plays in their own house.

What about elsewhere, when the child plays with a friend? This is why it is much more effective to tell the child to wait. Rather than telling them they can't play this game, tell them that they will enjoy the game better when they are older. This is the approach of my parents to this situation, and I think it worked pretty well.

There is no need to censor the game, by the intervention of the government, let the parents do their job by staying involved in their children's life.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Spiffor
The context:
However, the only people that are distinctly Haitians (i.e. blacks) in the game are members of the haitian gang. This means, everytime you recognize a character as being a Haitian, he is a gang member and your enemy.

Now this I see as problematic. Anyone who's spent any time in Miami knows that most Cubans are Black. Race shouldn't be used as an identifier. Plus, there are a whole of a lot of African-American black folks in Miami also. In fact, between Little Havana and Little Haiti lies the Black slum of Overtown (and also the Design District).