Online Game Raising Concerns

Thursday, November 15th 2007, 6:00 am

By: News On 6

Oklahoma's new immigration law has thrust many Hispanics into a state of panic. They say, legal or not, theyâ€™ve become targets for harassment and hateful remarks. A new game circulating online takes things to a different level. The News On 6 anchor Jennifer Loren reports the game targets illegal Hispanics with violence.

The game is called Border Patrol. The characters are named the Mexican Nationalist, the Drug Smuggler and the Breeder. The game's objective is clearly stated, â€œkeep them out at any cost.â€

When you click play, the player becomes a crosshair and when you shoot you kill the characters as they run across the Rio Grande. The more you kill, the higher your score.

"This is a hate crime. It teaches people to hate,â€ said Rev. Leslie Penrose, an opponent of Oklahomaâ€™s House Bill 1804.

Rev. Leslie Penrose has been outspoken against House Bill 1804, taking part in anti-immigration law rallies. She says the fact that this game is circulating in Oklahoman's e-mails makes things even worse.

"And now what this video does is to further dehumanize them. So now, they're just wetbacks and target practice. There's no longer a face or a human being behind how we talk about undocumented persons in this state anymore," said Rev. Penrose.

But the fact that people think it's funny, makes her think this is a bigger problem.

"That we have become so callous as a culture that we can laugh at killing people, killing women and children,â€ said Rev. Leslie Penrose.

But perhaps if people knew where the e-mail originated, they wouldn't think it's so funny.

It comes from a White Aryan Resistance website. They're a neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded by the Ku Klux Klan. Border Patrol is one of many of their racist games they hope circulates their message of hate.

That's just one reason Rev. Penrose says people need to think about the message they're sending before they click send.

"We're learning that itâ€™s okay and in fact that it's funny to kill one another. There's something deeply, deeply, spiritually wrong with that,â€ said Rev. Penrose.

Unfortunately, there are several other games circulating on the internet, many of them are racist, sexist and promoting violence. All you can do is delete them from your e-mail and tell the sender you don't want to receive any more.

For complete coverage of Oklahoma's new immigration reform law, click here.

Watch the video: Online Game Targets Illegals