Mafia Wars dons deprived of pit bulls Aficionados of Facebook punch-up Mafia Wars will no longer be able to deploy pit bulls as part of their arsenal, following intervention by whale-hugging animal rights outfit PETA. PETA expressed "concerns" to Zynga Game Network regarding "the portrayal of a chained, snarling pit bull as a 'weapon'" in the popular online game …
So the game promotes pitbulls as weapons, mirroring the idea that these dogs are status symbols and have indeed been trained and used as weapons by some aspects of society and PETA is up in arms and gets it yanked....
But it's apparently still okay that the game promotes the mindset that criminal acts are a good thing and killing people and stealing things is just day to day business?
PETA: Totally missing the point since 1980!
Its a GAME.. The supposed notion that "people who play violent games go on to be violent" has been discredited in every proper paper written on the subject. Just like cannabis user end up on smack/crack/meth etc etc.
PETA would have more credibility if they just shut the fuck up and concentrated on real animal welfare issues. Whaling, bear baiting are just a few that spring to mind.
So in conclusion my learned friends PETA are a Pile of Extremist Total Arses.
Does wishing for your *fictional* Mob boss to have a *fictional* vicious dog for defence against / attacking other *fictional* Mob bosses cause a real life market for real life mob bosses to have real life vicious dogs for defence against / attacking real life Mob bosses?
Or is this just more "Out of sight, out of mind"-style sweeping-under-the-carpet of a serious issue by people who have no idea of how to properly protect the vulnerable (in this case, animals) from abusers?
(You're thinking of another issue which has a corollary. That is intentional, and just as absurd.)
As described online, apart from the dog thing, it seems to be mainly about gang versus gang. Less or not at all about protection racket, drug dealing, prostitution, dog fighting indeed, and donating to politicians' campaign funds? So, relatively clean fun?
What about the horse's head in the bed?
That is just brilliant! I wonder how and who came up with this over at PETA? Did they find some staff playing Mafia Wars during work time?
PETA Boss: "What is this they are playing? Mafia Wars? And they have attack pitbulls?! This is a disgrace, they should be working! I mean, they shouldn't use animals like that in a game! Yes, this has nothing to do with our workers/volunteers slacking off during working hours."
Let's hope their computers won't be able to run Read Dead Redemption when it comes out on PC.
Zynga should just use virtual robot-dogs. Job done. Plus it would be well cool if a couple of Goodfella types unleashed a pack of those Doctor Who K9 jobs with Tommy Gun muzzles. Thye could have the smg mags hanging under their chins and their sides could fold open to reveal a violin... or something..
I propose a social game whose main point of existence should be to enrage idiots like PETA. The idea should be to kill as many virtual animals as possible with rewards for doing so in needlessly painful and inventive ways. What to name it though? Factory Farmville has a nice ring about it.
So you got me curious enough to do a little search on Mafia wars and Zynga will have a bit of explaining once they get any serious Peta players. It seems that you can buy businesses like fish and cock fighting arenas as well as traffic in "undocumented workers". I'm certain Peta will be on them like soy sauce on sushi and the feathers will fly over the fish and fowl fighting. The human cargo? meh, not so much.
love or hate PETA (doesn't seem to be a middle ground there) as a Pit Bull owner I'm very glad to see that Zygna has done this.
Sure, it's just a game and any right-minded soul isn't going to assume that just because there is a terrier in the game that all Bully breeds behave in that way - but for a breed that has been as unfairly maligned as this over the years that sort of representation doesn't help.
If the game featured iPads being used to beat people to death I'm sure Apple would complain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pit_Bull_Terrier
you paint throwing arse holes. It infuriates me so much that i share an even remotely similar mindset to these hopeless twats. Anyone ever see what the they did to cooking mama? I MEAN FUCKING COOKING MAMA?! El Reg, you must have some contacts somewhere, can we get them taken out? like all swiftly and quietly?
Feel smug about all the virtual animals you are saving as you withhold virtual insulin from a virtual diabetic 5 year old.
Rack up massive Hypocrisy Points as you harras Kelis for wearing fur while illegally ditching the animals you yourself have killed in local dumpsters.
to freedom of speech is speech denying that freedom to others. PETA is a prime example of this in my book. To paraphrase Voltaire: I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend with my life your right to say it. Unless what you say takes away my right to speak. Then I will oppose you to the death.
These fucking fools need to be silenced, by any means necessary. They have abrogated their right of free speech by constantly taking it away from others.
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