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Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

ultimategeneral.com

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Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#21

Post by Steko »

beamatronic wrote: post #3

"Spielberg’s "Schindler's List" did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable. The historical "Gettysburg" movie (1993) is still on iTunes." It seems Apple has started down a slippery slope. Will they now remove any movie from iTunes that contains the image of a Confederate flag anywhere in the movie? It begs the question, is there any "fair use" of a Confederate flag, anywhere? Or is it now fully taboo? If…

"It seems Apple has started down a slippery slope."

A more reasonable interpretation is that there was a vaguely defined rule that was applied in a silly way and it will all be straightened out as we might expect and has happened in the past.

Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#23

Post by moskie »

PaulHoule wrote: post #2

This seems stupid to me. It is one thing for a state government to fly that flag, it is a different thing for a private individual. (i.e. it is different when the police kill people and held unaccountable then when it is some nutjob.) I think games, documentaries and such are not showing the flag to be racist.

But in this case, Apple is (the equivalent of) the "private individual." They're free to do what they want with their app store.

Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#24

Post by zxcvcxz »

knodi123 wrote: post #13
zxcvcxz wrote: post #8

Hopefully they'll ban all songs that contain blatantly racist lyrics.

Including any songs that contain nigger or nigga or niggaz? Well, it's a sad violation of the first amendment, but I don't think there's any other way to stop racists from killing people.

Isn't it nice that we live in a society where we can trust companies to restrict the first amendment when the government won't step in to protect us?

Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#26

Post by higherpurpose »

Not surprised that Apple is one of the first companies to censor something. If it appeases a large part of the population, even better.

Now games can't show historically accurate events even if they want to. I'm in no way "supporting" the Confederate flag, just like if I support someone's free speech right even if he says something stupid or "offensive" doesn't mean I support that speech. But it's one thing to take down the clearly obsolete Confederate flag from the government's buildings, and it's quite another to start censoring it on websites, apps, etc...

Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#27

Post by markbnj »

ryanobjc wrote: post #4
beamatronic wrote: post #3

"Spielberg’s "Schindler's List" did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable. The historical "Gettysburg" movie (1993) is still on iTunes." It seems Apple has started down a slippery slope. Will they now remove any movie from iTunes that contains the image of a Confederate flag anywhere in the movie? It begs the question, is there any "fair use" of a Confederate flag, anywhere? Or is it now fully taboo? If…

This is really not unlike banning the nazi flag post WWII germany. The parallels are apt. Perhaps in time, the flag will lose its emotional charge but that isn't the case now.

This analogy fails, imo. From the Strafgesetzbuch sec. 86a:

>> Subsection (1) shall not be applicable if the means of propaganda or the act serves to further civil enlightenment, to avert unconstitutional aims, to promote art or science, research or teaching, reporting about current historical events or similar purposes.

I'm no lawyer, and know almost nothing about German law, but this wording would appear to preserve an exception for cases exactly like this one, i.e. artistic or historical portrayal.

Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#29

Post by mhurron »

beamatronic wrote: post #3

"Spielberg’s "Schindler's List" did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable. The historical "Gettysburg" movie (1993) is still on iTunes." It seems Apple has started down a slippery slope. Will they now remove any movie from iTunes that contains the image of a Confederate flag anywhere in the movie? It begs the question, is there any "fair use" of a Confederate flag, anywhere? Or is it now fully taboo? If…

> It seems Apple has started down a slippery slope.

Is it really a slippery slope when they are simply exercising their existing rights as a private entity?

> is there any "fair use" of a Confederate flag, anywhere?

Anywhere individuals/private organizations want.

Re: Apple removes Civil War game from App Store until it removes Confederate flag

#30

Post by zxcvcxz »

fixermark wrote: post #18
kdamken wrote: post #7

This is rather silly. What's next? Are we going to change the uniforms of Nazis in World War 2 games? Start putting "CENSORED" watermarks over the confederate flag in civil war themed movies? The flag shouldn't be flying on state buildings, but leave historically themed art and media out of this.

You might not be familiar with the German videogame marketplace. http://www.destructoid.com/see-how-wolfenstein-the-new-order...

Is there any evidence that censorship in Germany has really prevented racism?
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