A friend and I were discussing my last post regarding the Google app for Dog Fighting. She asked whether the app was a "real" dog or a cartoon. I said that I was not sure, but why? She said that Angry Birds was a game where you fling cartoon birds at inanimate objects as well as other birds, how is that different. hmmm.
So I have thought about that question for a bit. It is different because dog fighting is pervasive in our culture. Dogs are bred, trained, drugged and killed all in the name of sport. Dogs are even stolen off the street to be used to "bait" and train other dogs on how to kill.
A game which promotes Dog Fighting is similar, in my opinion, to Grand Theft Auto. Something which is so prevelant in our society, which is a crime, which is detrimental to the youngest members of our society should not be conisdered entertainment. What will this teach our children?
Does Angry Birds, the most popular game on the market cross that line? I don't think so. Maybe it is the giant slingshot, which probably comes from ACME. Maybe it is the silly noise the birds make as they fly accross the screen. Most likely it is the piggies who snicker when you miss. Nothing about Angry Birds seems realistic.
Unfortunately for someone who worked in the humane industry for 8 years, Dog Fighting is a real issue, a current issue, a vile issue. I have memories of dogs being seized from backyard rings, puppies who were saved from a future in that ring.
The Birds may still be Angry, but to me they are just a game.
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