Apple Blocks New iPhone App Satirizes Immigrants to Death
This week, after pressure from immigrant rights activists and hundreds of Change.org members, Apple officially rejectedSmuggle Truck, the offensive iPad game, from sale in the iTunes store.In the proposed game developed by Owlchemy Labs, players load up cartoon trucks with immigrant caricatures and try to make it through the desert with as few immigrant launchings and run-overs as possible. And all this to the tune of cheery gamer music!
Owlchemy contends that they made the game to satirize the U.S.'s faulty immigration process. Coulda fooled me. But even assuming good intentions, the game gets it all wrong — dead wrong. I'm all for satire (Jon Stewart for President!) but the thing about satire is that it's smart — while this game is reductive, bigoted, and dumb. Worst of all is that it's dangerous, championing the notion that immigrants lives are disposable and making light of the often fatal hazards involved in crossing the border to safety.
Way to go, Apple, for doing the right thing.
Though one can still buy Smuggle Truck directly from the source, it wont be available for downloading on the iPad platform.
In other news, Owlchemy Labs has issued a new iteration of the game called Snuggle Truck, in which players load up cuddly stuffed animals into their truck and fight to get to the safety of the zoo. And no, I'm not being satirical. See for yourself. Methinks Owlchemy's got its tail between its legs ...
Photo Credit: 4x4 Magazine
Lauren Markham lives in her native Bay Area where she is a writer, educator and immigrant rights advocate, working for Refugee Transitions and the Oakland Unified School district.
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