Jezebel 
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New York, 9:33 AM
Wed Dec 2
68 posts in the last 24 hours
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05/30/09
This video game sounds deplorable, though, having not played it for myself, I cannot say for certain how terrible it is. Regardless, I really am not sad to see that it has been removed from Amazon. If that means that less people will be exposed to material that in any way encourages or normalizes rape/violence/etc. against women, great.
That being said, there is a huge amount of contradictory bullshit being thrown about on Jezebel right now.
First of all, a number of site members have sent angry emails threatening Amazon boycotts if the video game is not removed from the listings. Many have left negative feedback on the video game. How many of these people have actually seen the game or played it themselves? How can you be so vehemently against something that you know so little about? It angers me greatly whenever I hear about books being banned by people who have never read them, whether its a Harry Potter book, a lesbian woman's memoir, or a gay romance novel. To boycott, complain, and leave negative feedback on something that you have never seen is simply ignorant. I am shocked that so many Jezebelles seem to have no problem with doing so in this scenario.
Secondly, this exact situation played out several weeks ago during the entire AmazonFail mess. Conservatives who were offended by homosexuality were believed to have been the reason for Amazon removing GLBT material from their listings. Supposedly, those conservatives' complaints (on things that they had never read, viewed, etc.) were responsible for the removal of numerous items. Jezebel, as a whole, lashed back, decrying the entire practice. Now, Jezebelle members are offended by something, and so they begin complaining, boycotting, and leaving negative feedback in an effort to have it removed. Hypocrisy, much?
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05/31/09
Psht.
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This game was different in that it encouraged the user to beat, rape, gas, etc. a simulated woman, in order to get her to "love you". The message it sent was disturbing, particularly when you consider the target demographic of video games. Participating in vile acts is not the same as reading about them.
05/30/09
What would your opinion on the matter be if we were discussing a book that was written in the same manner as the video game?
I understand and agree with your point that the premise of the video game is quite disturbing, however, so are video games about war, fighting, killing, and so on. Would you want those to be pulled as well? And if *you* get to decide that these video games are too offensive, well, why can't someone else deem a book on homophobia too offensive?
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05/30/09
And again, a DVD simulation is not the same as a video game, marketing-wise. As in, it wouldn't be marketed to children.
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05/30/09
I had the same thought. This game sounds offensive and disgusting, and I would personally boycott anything this game's producers are involved with, BUT...
...this is also censorship. Demanding that a product be made unavailable to someone else because you are offended is censorship. Part of free speech is protecting it even when it is offensive to you, as well as when it's offensive to the general public... when I talk about banned books in the library we ALWAYS make a point to mention that it works both ways.
Having not seen this game, I can't speak to what it's portraying, but it's not illegal to create a work of fiction/art/entertainment that depicts sexual violence, we don't have hate-speech laws in the US (not that this would necessarily qualify) and rape fantasy games, porn, books, comics, what have you, are very, very common. So, um, on one level I'm personally thrilled to see the makers of this game loose money, but as a person who is making a career out of protecting freedom of expression it's hard for me to celebrate this as an total victory.
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It was a *boycott*-- most of us who wrote in demanded that Amazon stop selling the item or we would take our dollars elsewhere. I buy lots of books from Amazon, as well as all kinds of other stuff. I don't want my hard-earned dollars lining the pockets of a retailer who also profits from the glorification of rape and torture. If they valued our dollars less, they were perfectly free to tell us to fuck off.
Besides, Amazon is not an "adult" bookstore or a shop that sells sex paraphernalia where you might not be shocked to stumble on such a product. It's the cyber-equivalent of, say, Target. Wouldn't you be disgusted to walk into Target looking to buy, say, socks or sunscreen or soda-- and discover a rape simulation game on a neighboring shelf? Wouldn't you then be tempted to take your business to, say, Walmart to avoid running into those items in the future? It's good business on Amazon's part to cater to its loyal customers. I happen to be among them. And I happen to believe there is nothing fun or entertaining about raping and abusing women.
05/30/09
No it isn't. It's called a consumer boycott, and it's quite a valid tactic. They (Amazon) are under no obligation to respond whatsoever. We're not the government.
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05/30/09
I'll cut and paste:
Hello,
Thanks for contacting Amazon.com with your concern.
I understand that you feel very strongly about this issue.
The video game "Stockholm: an exploration of true love" you referenced is no longer for sale on our site.
Customer feedback like yours really helps us continue to improve our store and provide better service to our customers.
Thank you again for your feedback.
One of our aims at Amazon.com is to provide a convenient and efficient service; in this case, we haven't met that standard. I'm truly sorry, and I hope you'll give us another chance in the future.
We hope you'll allow us to continue to serve you.
Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:
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05/30/09
So can we get free stuff yet?
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You rock!
05/30/09
I mean, it's obviously not as extreme as in this game, but I still think it's a really disturbing message to send.
I'm probably over thinking this. I apologize if it is a threadjack.
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Philly girls rock!
05/29/09
to me
show details 7:34 PM (6 minutes ago)
Reply
Follow up message
Hello,
Thanks for contacting Amazon.com with your concern.
The item you referenced is no longer for sale on our site.
Thank you again for your feedback.
Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:
If yes, click here:
[www.amazon.com]
If not, click here:
[www.amazon.com]
Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.
To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.
Best regards,
Vinay G
Amazon.com
We're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company
[www.amazon.com]
FYI. Great job, ladies!
05/29/09
05/30/09