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STATEMENT BY BISHOP NICHOLAS
DIMARZIO
DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN
ON 'VICE CITY' VIDEO GAME
A new video game called "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," made by Rockstar
Games, Inc., whose parent company is Take 2 Interactive Software, Inc.,
has become one of the leading "best sellers" in the video game
market.
Unfortunately, it is a game that promotes violence, particularly against
Haitian people, and protrays them as an object of derision and
persecution. It is in very poor taste and capitalizes on the
dehumanization of a whole group of people.
It is a terrible comment on our society when such racist and violent
themes can capture the imagination of many young minds.
Technology and entertainment can often be combined to produce healthy and
uplifting enjoyment for all pepole. However, games that provoke
violence and hatred against any group must be condemned outright.
I urge the makers of the video game to withdraw it from the public domain,
and I caution parents to be alert to what their children are being exposed
to on the Internet and by the entertainment industry in general.
All of us must exercise careful vigilance and denounce racism in all its
forms, so that future generations of children do not grow up accepting
hatred and violence as a common form of entertainment.
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