To Play or Not To Play? Video Games in Contemporary Society

The issue of racial profiling as well as racists that have snuck their way into police uniforms are a very serious issue, and a heavy topic. It’s one I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting over the things I’ve seen in the news, stories from friends, and many other factors that play into the issue. It’s a unique issue to discuss, for very few offensives have such deep ties to serious social-implications, the likes of which our generation has never fully seen. This is not to say that we have been kept in the dark entirely. Incidents involving the killing of unarmed individuals of any race needs to be investigated, as well as the situations that surround them. Not only simply whether or not the killing was justifiable, and if it wasn’t, what psychological factors led to the decision making.

One of the hardest parts of the discussion, for me at least, is breaking down the notion that there are bad cops out there. I grew up in a town with fairly high crime rates, at least in comparison to other mid-sized towns in the area. I grew up with cops being friends of the family, members of my church, and were often seen around the community. In-short, I grew up in a fairly good community, with respected cops. Unfortunately, this means the majority of my views are based off observations and lifetimes worth of experience that I have never had. This being said, one of the first things I begin ponder is what makes fixing the issue of a broken system such as ours so difficult?

I feel one of the greatest factors contributing to the issue is representation of minority groups in all levels of government, whether it be city courts, police forces, state senates and governors, and even those in congress. This begs the question as to why this is. Though I realize some of this is due to a corrupt system, but at least from the people with which I associate, that is becoming a well known fact, and the panels that Beloit is hosting is evidence that other people are starting to take notice. This is the first step to solving the problem. The next is encouraging minority groups to run for executive city positions. Many towns, like Ferguson, are a mostly ethnic town, with mostly caucasian officials. Without representation, the problem may continue to deteriorate without being able to hear to voice of every part of the community.

Lastly, I feel it is important to remember that cops are people too. Their group isn’t inherently evil, and many of the members, regardless of race or gender are good everyday people just like me or you. Much as it is hard to discuss volatile social issues and what they really are without having lived or experienced the events, I feel the same is true for police officers. Make no mistake, I am not trying to take away from the severity of the issue, but I am suggesting that there is more evidence that needs to be gathered to gain a full view of the problem, for only then can we begin to look towards fixing the issue, and making a nation sate for all.

Inspired by a Black Lives Matter panel, “Institutional Racism and the Black Body” (…or something to that effect; to be quite honest I didn’t think to write down the title).

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Level One: Anarchy

When I was thirteen years old, a neighbor who lived down the street introduced me to the world of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.We would spend hour after hour stealing cars, going on armed rampages, on causing havoc wherever and whenever possible. We would do this almost everyday after school, without even so much as beating the first mission. The idea of being able to commit crime, get arrested, or even killed with no consequence other than losing a little bit of in game money or weapons which are never in short supply to begin with was enticing to us. The idea of being able to do anything with no serious consequence was exciting. Though neither of us have yet to turn out to be ruthless criminals who beat up hookers and kill cops, it is interesting to analyze the potential side-effects games like GTA may have, how drastic these effects are, or if they are there at all.

Before we start dissecting the brains of children across the world who’ve played GTA, lets take a look at the game itself, and what makes the game so enticing. A large part is due to the amount of freedom a player has, making it as immersive and similar to the real world as possible. Theres virtually no limit to what a player can do. GTA V was jam packed with fifteen radio stations with over 200 licensed songs, as well as two talk radio stations, emotionally packed missions, three playable characters, side missions, cars, planes, helicopters, tanks, boats, weapons, drugs, alcohol, strippers, and customizations for just about everything, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.2 But the versatility doesn’t end with weapons, cars, and player controlled characters, there are a wide variety of NPC’s with varying gender, race, and socioeconomic backgrounds. And no one is off limits, everyone is a potential target. You have the option to beat up, shoot, stab, bludgeon, explode, or run over anyone you choose, and the options on how to do that are only limited by your creativity. It would be interesting if Rockstar installed a counter in every game that sent back data in reference to how many NPC’s are killed, as well as the traits listed above used to describe them, and see what trends arise. Through my own personal experience, most killings tend to occur based on the density of population, and in-game features such as access to certain vehicles, and landscape. Many times, when my friends and I would choose to go on a rampage, they would often occur in the affluent parts of the city, not because we held a grudge against the 1% but because the buildings tend to be larger and have more things to hide behind, and there are usually faster and cooler cars that can be stolen and used as getaway cars. Other places where lots of damage was done, at least with my own experiences both observed and done first hand begin outside of your safehouse, hospitals, and police stations, because those are where you end up after a rampage, after either being defeated, apprehended, or if you simply decided to save and quit the game after your cravings for mayhem had been met.

Brad J. Bushman, professor of communications and psychology at Ohio State University conducted a comprehensive review of more than 130 studies containing 130,000 participants, and found that playing violent videogames increased blood pressure, led to more aggressive behavior in competition, and even ate more unhealthy food when in comparison to those who played non-violent video games. Participants were also noted as displaying less compassion and empathy.1 Though the study was not done directly with GTA, and if it was, wasn’t mentioned, but the overall concept ties in with it due to the fact the GTA is indisputably a violent videogame, and these side effects could be incurred. Though I personally believe that statement should come with an asterisk. For I feel the side-effects are limited to how well you can distance yourself from the avatar, and yourself in the real world.  With all these negative side-effects, surely the game, or any game so heinous wouldn’t do to well on the shelfs. This as many people know, is not the case, in fact far from it, with $1.98 billion dollars in sales, according to the Forbes website in May of 2014.3 Perhaps this is because the game allows for a healthy outlet of aggression, or a fun way to live out the scenes in big time action movies.

Level Two: The Fuzz

In the world of GTA, crime is involved in almost every aspect of the game. Some form of crime is involved in almost every single mission, ranging from armed robbery, stealing cars, killing people, and even the occasional drug deal. Rewards come in the form of fast cars, money, street rep, and sometimes, nothing more than the satisfaction of doing it. With all these factors seen as negative things to be doing, and even more taboo to enjoy, why are people playing this game in the first place, and why aren’t they out toting guns, killing cops and smoking pot?

Chris Plante, writer for polygon.com4 suggests that it is a mix of things ranging from the mundane to the grotesque that make committing crime and causing mayhem among the masses so appealing to audiences. Fireworks wouldn’t be as interesting if the grand finale was the entirety of the show, and lasted for half an hour. Viewers would lose interest, and potentially induce a seizure or two. Similarly, many would probably quickly lose interest watching a single firework fired off every couple of seconds. And no great novel has ever been a 300 page long journey of nothing but high intensity, jam packed action. The game is a story, and like all great stories, it has it’s ups and downs, making sure to not under or over stimulate the player.

Though at base GTA is a story, one must question if there is a line that needs to be drawn, and what effects it could have in the real world. While it is unlikely that anyone with their wits about them is going to play GTA and then go out into the real world and attempt to emulate the events, one must wonder what about games that involve actively torturing someone or killing cops is so appealing to people. Anne Bartsch of the University of Augsburg conducted a study  of 482 people in the US from ages 18-82 and showed them films with varying levels of violence, gore, and meaningfulness.5 In reference to her findings, Bartsch is quoted as saying, “Perhaps depictions of violence that are perceived as meaningful, moving and thought-provoking can foster empathy with victims, admiration for acts of courage and moral beauty in the face of violence, or self-reflection with regard to violent impulses.” Though the study is about movies and not video games, there are still some parallels that can be drawn between the two types of media. Both are types of audio/visual media used for the purpose of entertaining, and both display violent scenes that often involve killing, stealing, use or trade of drugs, and a wide variety of other actions that are unlawful. What may add to side effects, if any, are how attached and relatable the viewer feels to the one portraying the violence.Perhaps players are perceiving the violent acts they commit as having meaning.

It is important to keep in mind that the companies do not do this with malicious intent. I’m not arguing that there shouldn’t be boundaries, the line needs to be drawn somewhere, but all they’re doing is looking to make profit. Though the methods used may become more morbid and bordering on the line of taboo, for it is up to the viewers to notice when something is so inappropriate that it shouldn’t be purchased. Again, this isn’t to say that everything any movie company or video game company has done is justifiable, but they also aren’t doing it with intents of corrupting today’s youth, turning them into a bunch of gun-toting, drug dealing, cop killers. The games are made intended for a mature audience, and shouldn’t be in the hands of children that aren’t able to handle the content, though I also believe that some games can be handled by children slightly below the age limit, but this is also left up the the players parent to decide if they’re ready for the violent content.

Lastly, how does a game jam packed with crime affect players in their adventures in the real world? Youtuber “swoozie” said in one of his videos that extend playing of GTA made him feel more nervous around cops even if he was doing nothing that would warrant police attention, as well as even having slight thoughts of hitting people with his car.6 Even though he wouldn’t have actually hit someone with his car, he saw the game to be a negative influence and ceased to play it. I believe that GTA and games like GTA will have effects in people in the outside world, but these effects vary from person to person based on a wide variety of factors.(“Swoozie” Featured on Left)

Level Three: Gender Representation

GTA’s intended audience isn’t exactly a mystery, and there’s some pretty clear controversy that can be seen within the game, and could be seen after playing so much as ten minutes of the game. Anyone analyzing the game looking from a standpoint based on the portrayals  of Women and Men would immediately see a vast range of problems, it plays into just about every stereotype you can think of. Men are thought to be powerful and dominant, with access to lots of money, influence, and power, whereas the women tend to be perceived as needing saving, and are in many places of the game portrayed as being tramps, or dehumanized in other way. Though there are some women throughout the game that do play a role of power in the story of some of the games, they are still often sexualized in some aspect.

A large portion of the controversy behind the game is the fact that there are no in-game playable female characters, as well as an oversexualized and objectified vision of women in most of the GTA games, as well as no male prostitutes or strippers in any game, with the exception of the White Stallionz, a gang of white supremacist homosexual bikers in GTA Vice City Stories8, and the homosexual nightclub in the add-on to GTA IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony. There also needs to be an asterisk next to the part about there being no playable female characters, because it’s not entirely true. In GTA San Andreas, if you enter two-player mode, you have the option to play as a number of either male or female characters, with varying race and implied socioeconomic class to play along side with CJ, the main character, and can even have the two kiss, regardless of gender. Though in my personal opinion, I feel that to some degree, the overdramatization of these common male and female roles may be partially a marketing strategy to stir up controversy. If the controversy gets enough attention, it’ll make headlines somewhere, and very likely drives people to want to play it more, if nothing more to see what all the buzz is about.

In one online article, there was a quote from Sam Houser, one of the Co-founders of Rockstar, who was being interviewed by the New York times. The quote is as follows, “When I asked Mr. Houser if he had thought about the portrayal of women in Rockstar’s games, he said, “Seemingly not as much as I should have.” He added: “These three guys fit with the story we wanted to tell. It would be hard to take one of them and replace him — I mean, I suppose we could have done it, early enough on — with a Female character.7” The author of the article, PJ Vogt, clearly does not agree with Mr. Houser’s short-sided view, as he is quoted as saying, “If you look at other entertainment industries, like film or television, you can see plenty of entertainment that shares cultural values with the big blockbuster game franchises. Hell, cable TV, everyone’s favorite cultural star pupil, leans hard on male protagonists in their mid-40s. But in most forms that aren’t video games, you see a diversity of perspectives and representation, even in the blockbuster realm. Why can’t video games have an Orange is the New Black?” Vogt raises a good point. There isn’t really any reason why there can’t be a game with a Female protagonist, capable of all the same sin and debauchery associated with the male protagonists in any of the GTA game, or at least be a playable and influential character in one of the games as a foot in the door so to speak.Though it is somewhat plausible to consider why the reality of oversexualized women in videogames is considered less of a risk than having playable characters in games like GTA at least from the standpoint of a company. Part of this is due to how the issue of oversexualized women in video games is handled.

Of all articles I have read for this project, each highlighted a certain aspect of the game that was unacceptable by today’s standards for a number of reasons, but all drew one thing in common. “This game is not acceptable by today’s standards, and you shouldn’t play it.” And it’s safe to assume that this view is held by many people, including myself to some degree, but the fact of the matter is, Rockstar has created a series of highly addicting games, with great story-lines, along with establishing themselves as a multi-billion dollar company with the GTA series alone, not to mention many of their other popular games. So clearly, a bunch of articles putting the game under scrutiny for it’s portrayal of women, should instead be bringing it under scrutiny for it’s lack of women representation. It is clear that people want to play this game, and clear that people are going to continue buying these games, so instead of trying to rid the world of games with mature content, encourage game companies to create a world of mature content that everyone can enjoy. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. There will never be a supply unless the demand is loud and clear to game companies. Lastly, for a point of clarity, I’m not saying that this demand doesn’t yet exist, but am instead suggesting that the number of people vocalizing their discontent with the game is far greater than the number of people vocalizing their desire for a gaming community that is accessible and relatable to all age-appropriate audiences.

There’s one last aspect of game analysis that needs to be explored, and that is how games are analyzed in research papers and studies. One thing to keep in mind is that in general, if you go out looking for something, theres a good chance you will find what you’re looking for, or at least something that resembles it. John Walker, author for rockpapershotgun.com9 ripped apart an academic paper published by researchers from Nottingham Trent University. The paper revealed that gamers get so immersed in the realm of fantasy that they begin to lose their ability to distinguish between the real world, and the fantasy world. Before we delve into the evidence of findings of the paper, we should first look at how the study was conducted. The study involved interviews with 42 Swedish gamers between the age of 15-21, and played a broad range of games regularly, for at least 60-85 minutes daily. An arguably small group of people to draw conclusive evidence from. Evidence in the paper mentioned that players would begin to have thoughts of using functions of game in real life. One teen reported considering using the command, “/who” from MMORPG World of Warcraft to find his brother in a crowd, while another reported wishing they could use the Gravity gun from Half Life to retrieve something from the fridge, but who wouldn’t? The paper from the researchers suggested that, “Today’s video games have evolved due to technological advance, resulting in high levels of realism and emotional design that include diversity, experimentation, and (perhaps in some cases) sensory overload.” This is a true statement. Due to technological advances in graphics and content that can be stored, combined with ever evolving and more complex story lines, it is reasonable to assume that players would become more immersed, but this doesn’t necessarily prove the point they wish to make and they even contradict themselves to some degree in saying, “Violent solutions to real life conflicts appeared to be used by a few of the players, at least in their imaginations.” Simply meaning, they have thoughts that correspond to something they have had repeated exposure to. Though it is also important to not fully buy into articles such as Walker’s, for many of them have their own bias which can skew the issue. Though his paper made many good points, it came off as more of a paper intended to slam the researcher, with solving the actual issue being a lower priority.

In many cases in my experience, most people I have encountered operate under the assumption that having negative thoughts will lead to negative actions, but the answer isn’t that black and white. Rodger Covin, PhD Ottawa Psychologist, and author for the Huffington post10, brought up a study from 1978, conducted by psychologists, to see whether or not healthy people have intrusive or negative thoughts. Not surprisingly, many people did, with the type of thoughts ranging from causing harm to others, feelings of low self-worth, and even thoughts about suicide or other self-destructive acts. Covin later went on to ask the reader how they handled these intrusive thoughts, asking whether or not they believed the thoughts had any meaning, or if they attempted to control these thoughts. His findings showed that if participants answered yes to both of those questions, they were more likely to suffer from their thoughts. The point I seek to make here is that there is an issue with the way women are portrayed in video games, and that playing violent games may in-fact lead to an increase in intrusive thoughts, but the answer is not to stop playing these games, the answer is making the gaming community one that accepts all genders, ethnicities, and sexual orientations, and games that contain more mature and destructive content should only be played by those who are capable of handling and understanding it.

Level Four: Bibliography

All numbers throughout the paper are in correspondent with each source listed below

 

Bushman, Brad. “Don’t Buy Your Kid Grand Theft Auto V for Christmas.” The Huffington Post. December 13, 2013. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-j-bushman/dont-buy-your-kid-grand-theft-auto-v-for-christmas_b_4440477.html.1

 

“Grand Theft Auto V Is the Most Addictive Yet.” Esquire. September 17, 2013. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a24778/gta-v-review/.2

 

“‘Grand Theft Auto 5’ Has Sold Nearly $2 Billion.” Forbes. May 3, 2014. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2014/05/13/grand-theft-auto-5-has-sold-nearly-2-billion-at-retail/.3

 

“Opinion: The Secret Reason so Many People Love Grand Theft Auto.” Polygon. September 18, 2013. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/18/4743978/why-people-love-gta-5-grand-theft-auto.4

 

“Why Do People Like Violent Movies?” Psych Central News. March 30, 2013. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/03/30/why-do-people-like-violent-movies/53211.html.5

 

Accessed May 5, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/user/swoozie06https://www.youtube.com/user/swoozie06.6

 

“Grand Theft Auto 5’s Gender Problem.” Onthemedia. September 17, 2013. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.onthemedia.org/story/grand-theft-auto-5s-gender-problem/.7

 

“White Stallionz.” GTA Wiki. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://gta.wikia.com/White_Stallionz.8

 

“Fantasy And Reality: Can Gamers Tell? | Rock, Paper, Shotgun.” Rock Paper Shotgun PC Game Reviews Previews Subjectivity. September 21, 2011. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/09/21/fantasy-and-reality-can-gamers-tell/.9

“Unwanted Thoughts: Are They Really Dangerous?” The Huffington Post. March 2, 2012. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/roger-covin/intrusive-thoughts-of-violence_b_1310749.html.10

This is one of my all-time favorite games. I’ve played every part of it at least three times and some at least seven, so… you could say I know a thing or two about it.
The Japanese title, which is read “HOSPITAL.: Roku-nin no Ishi”, translates to “HOSPITAL.: The Six Doctors”. (Pretty anti-climactic sounding, I know.)
Note that this post will contain major spoilers for the entire game, as well as some minor spoilers for Trauma Center: Second Opinion/Caduceus Z, but assumes no prior knowledge of the series.

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Note: From this point forward, I will be using English letters for the Japanese title so as not to confuse those who would not be able to recognize the Japanese. In English letters, the title is written Bokujou Monogatari: Shiawase no Uta for World. For short, I will be referring to the two as Magical Melody and Shiawase no Uta respectively, as they are both games in the Harvest Moon/Bokujou Monogatari series.

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Note: For the sake of brevity, throughout this analysis I will be using “DS Cute” and “For Girl” as abbreviations. The Japanese title can be written in English letters as Bokujou Monogatari: Korobokkuru Station for Girl, and I will henceforth use English letters so as not to confuse those who wouldn’t be able to recognize the Japanese. Also, Harvest Moon/Bokujou Monogatari is the title of the series, of which this is one of many games.

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Atlus. HOSPITAL.: ６人の医師. Japan: Atlas, 2010.

Atlus. Trauma Team. USA: Atlas, 2010.

Dill, Karen and Thill, Kathryn. “Video Game Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People’s Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions. Sex Roles 57, no. 11 (2007): 851-864.

Egan, Susan and Perry, David. “Gender Identity: A multidimensional analysis with implications for psychosocial adjustment. Developmental Psychology 37, no. 4 (2001): 451-463.

Fierro, Elizabeth. “Media Representation: What It Means & Why It’s Important.” The Harry Potter Alliance. August 31, 2013. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://thehpalliance.org/2013/08/media-representation-what-it-means-why-its-important/

Lee, Marissa. “Study examines television, diversity, and self-esteem.” Racebending. June 6, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://www.racebending.com/v4/blog/study-examines-television-diversity-self-esteem/

Marvelous Interactive. 牧場物語コロボックルステーションforガール. Japan: Marvelous Interactive, 2005.

Marvelous Interactive. 牧場物語しあわせの詩forワールド. Japan: Marvelous Interactive, 2005.

Marvelous Interactive. Harvest Moon: DS. USA: Natsume, 2005.

Marvelous Interactive. Harvest Moon: Magical Melody. USA: Natsume, 2006.

Marvelous Interactive. Harvest Moon: DS Cute. USA: Natsume, 2008.

McIsaac, Colin. “Nintendo Did Not Remove Same-Sex Marriage from Tomodachi Life.” Gamnesia. April 25, 2014 Retrieved April 7, 2015. http://www.gamnesia.com/news/nintendo-did-not-remove-same-sex-marriage-from-tomodachi-life

Miller, Monica and Summers, Alicia. “Gender Differences in Video Game Characters’ Roles, Appearances, and Attire as Portrayed in Video Game Magazines.” Sex Roles 57, no. 9 (2007): 733-742.

Munson, Benjamin. “The Acoustic Correlates of Perceived Masculinity, Perceived Femininity, and Perceived Sexual Orientation.” Language and Speech 50 (2007): 125-142.

Nintendo. “We are committed to fun and entertainment for everyone.” Nintendo. May 9, 2014. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/c4FWbi-Uave2T9R1h7SFzX0aoa-d4pgx

Nintendo SPD. トモダチコレクション新生活. Japan: Nintendo, 2013.

Nintendo SPD. Tomodachi Life. USA: Nintendo, 2014.

Nutt, Christian. “Understanding Nintendo’s Tomodachi Life problem.” Gamasutra. May 8, 2014. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChristianNutt/20140508/217351/Understanding_Nintendos_Tomodachi_Life_problem.php

Producer Mizuno. “ステキなカップル.” HOSPITAL. Staff Blog. June 30, 2010. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://hosp.atlusnet.jp/blog/2010/06/000125.html

Riggle, Ellen, Rostosky, Sharon, and Horne, Sharon. “Psychological distress, well-being, and legal recognition in same-sex couple relationships.” Journal of Family Psychology 24, no. 1 (2010): 82-86.

Subramian, Erin. “Women-Loving Women in Modern Japan.” Yuricon. Accessed May 2, 2015. http://www.yuricon.com/essays/women-loving-women-in-modern-japan/

Testa, Rylan, Habarth, Janice, Peta, Jayme, Balsam, Kimberly, and Bockting, Walter. “Deelopment of the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure.” Psychology of Gender Orientation and Gender Diversity 2, no. 1 (2015): 65-77.

Yunger, Jennifer, Carver, Priscilla, and Perry, David. “Does Gender Identity Influence Children’s Psychological Well-Being?” Developmental Psychology 40, no. 4 (2004): 572-582.

Back in March, I attended the Black Lives Matter panel entitled “Institutional Racism and the Black Body”, and I found many of the ideas discussed in the panel to be intriguing and relevant. While the concept of institutional racism was one I had encountered before this talk, the depth to which it was explored and the many perspectives surrounding it offered by both the panelists and the audience was greatly informative to me. By not spending time debating whether or not institutional racism actually exists, and instead focusing on how to amend this controversial concept to better treat non-white races, the panel was able to fully and properly explore just how institutional racism deeply affects our society on a regular basis.

Such institutional racism can also clearly be found in the video game industry, as many development and production studios are predominantly filled with white males. This vast majority has a large influence on which games are made, what characters may be featured within them, and what messages may be promoted via the game’s story. While there may very well be other factors in play as to how this majority came to be, one could clearly establish how institutional racism plays a large role in this result. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, there are subtle but noticeable elements in any industry which push away potential workers of non-white races, and the video game industry is no exception.

So, how do we fix this ever-expanding problem of institutional racism? According to the panel, it all starts on an individual level. By choosing carefully which messages we want to promote and which messages we want to push back against, the panel argues that we can slowly but surely shift the way that institutions address the hiring of potential workers of any race. By making these changes, our society can positively change and influence the ideals and products created not just by the video game industry, but by numerous other industries whose decisions affect us on a regular basis.

The guests for this panel were the absolute best part of it. Among them Beloit’s own chief of police, and an absolutely wonderful police captain named French, who comes from a once very dangerous district now in the process of reform.

As for the topic in question, the largest issue with which I take interest is the over-militarized police force, and their response to situations where violence on their part is the wrong answer, but enacted anyway. I personally believe that things like SWAT teams are necessary in some situations, but the current policy on their use is completely inappropriate. Some districts that are granted such teams have a “use ’em or lose ’em” policy, making it more appealing to send the team out. Others (such as captain French’s) have completely abolished quotas for anything and everything from traffic stops to SWAT team deployments, and that seems to be working out very well.

The long and short of the issue is fear. Fear of criminals, inherent bias towards certain kinds of people, all that sort of thing. Again I cite French, who’s district has specific training programs to counteract inherent bias, a wonderful idea that I think ALL police districts need.

I’d like to close with a little thought of mine about (what else) a video game. SWAT 4.

Shot unarmed black man in the back because he was running away from me, mission failed for unauthorized use of deadly force. 0/10, would not play again, least realistic police game ever.