"Smuggle Truck" Game Draws Fire from Immigration Activists



We read:

"A new online game is drawing criticism from immigration rights advocates, who say it's insensitive and offensive.

The game, called "Smuggle Truck," lets players drive a truck across what resembles the U.S.-Mexico border. Players encounter obstacles like mountains, cliffs and even dead babies.

If the truck hits those obstacles, "immigrants" fall off the truck's bed. Players succeed by getting the most "immigrants" across the border. Drivers can also earn rewards like a "Green Card." That goes to players who save passengers' lives.

The creator of the game, Alex Schwartz, says on the game's website that it is "interactive satire." He says it was inspired by friends' struggles to immigrate to the United States legally.

But immigration rights advocates say the game is offensive, and pokes fun at human suffering. They also maintain that the game propagates stereotypes, with its depictions of cartoon babies bouncing off truck beds, among other things.

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).