Monday 9 November 2009

Games: Let my gamers be free

Today a number of blogs are trying to raise money for charity. This initiative, MBACD, has been organised by Ferrel of Epic Slant and Brian "Psychochild" Green of Psychochild's blog has hosted our mailing list. Thanks a lot to them both.

The charity I have chosen is Amnesty International.

To donate money follow this link:
Amnesty International Donate Now page

This charity fights for human rights. Whether it is civil liberties in a more progressed nation or a campaign to stop torture and political executions in repressive regimes.

They have fought campaigns in just about every nation in the world because the struggle for liberty needs to be constantly fought in every country.

It was with immense sadness that I read of the fight for freedom to play video games in Venezuela. Raph Koster reported this news and the original piece, written for Boing Boing is heart-rending.

Here are some excerpts from this shocking and appalling piece but please do follow the link and read the whole of Guido Núñez-Mujica's article.

This law makes selling video games to anybody actually worse than giving real guns or cigarettes to a minor, or even forcing him or her to work, as you get less jail time and lower fines if you do any of those things. 

These games are a cherished part of my life, they helped to shape my young mind, they gave me challenges and vastly improved my English, opening the door to a whole new world of literature, music and people from all around the world. What I have achieved, all my research, how I have been able to travel even though I'm always broke, the hard work I've done to convince people to fund a start up for cheap biotech for developing countries and regular folks, none of that would have been possible hadn't I learned English through video games.

Now, thanks to the tiny horizons of the cast of morons who govern me, thanks to the stupidity and ham-fisted authoritarianism of the local authorities, so beloved of so many liberals, my 7 year old brother's chances to do the same could be greatly impacted.

But I won't obey, I will be an outlaw gamer, and I vow to teach him as much as I can and as much as he is willing to learn, as early as possible. I refuse to give up my rights to a government that is commanded by Vuitton clad jerks asking sacrifices from us, I refuse to stop gaming because a bunch of control freaks tell me that I will become a killer and that the wonderful games that enriched my childhood are psycho factories.

If I get fined for writing this (Article 13, promoting the use of violent videogames), so be it. If I go to jail because I carry rooms in my hard drive or in an R4 card for my brother, next time I return to the country, so be it. But I'd rather go to jail than betray the gamer culture, partially responsible for making me the person I am today

Again the link to donate money to Amnesty International is

Amnesty International Donate Now page

It breaks my heart that we gamers need them now simply to play our games.

Do have a look at the other bloggers participating in the charity drive:

Ysharros - Stylish Corpse - http://stylishcorpse.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/mabcd-2009-its-good-to-give
Spinks - Spinksville - http://spinksville.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/mmo-blog-alliance-charity-drive
Psychochild - Psychochild's Blog - http://www.psychochild.org/?p=828
Slurms - Multiplaying - http://www.multiplaying.net/2009/11/08/mbacd/
Ferrel - Epic Slant - http://www.epicslant.com/2009/11/mbacd-2009/

1 comment:

  1. When [item] is criminalized, only criminals will get very rich and violent from [item]. The socialists there, the capitalists here, none of them seem to understand that if demand exists, it will be filled. Outlawing products only creates black markets and responsible leadership must balance the damage caused by the product against the resulting black market. I have never seen this cost-benefit analysis done.

    I must thank Mr. Chavez for having the kindness to show me direction. He is a beacon which we can all see and know: "Don't go this way."

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