“If you’ve been watching the news recently, you’ll know of the huge debate in the U.S over the role of the Confederate flag in contemporary America,” Tasos Lazarides reports for TouchArcade. “Many see it as a reminder of the many pre-Civil War injustices while others see it simply as a way to honor the soldiers who died for the Confederacy.”
“Many large US companies, like Walmart and Amazon, have already banned the sale of any Confederate flag merchandise as a reaction to the recent events,” Lazarides reports. “Now, it appears that Apple has decided to join them by pulling many Civil War wargames from the App Store.”
“Apple’s Tim Cook has recently spoke against displaying the Confederate flag, so I suppose this development was to be expected. However, censoring historical games (if that is indeed the reason why the game’s have been pulled) is always very tricky because those games don’t glorify or promote a cause but, rather, represent historical events using the symbols and insignia of the period,” Lazarides reports. “It’s looking like Apple has pulled everything from the App Store that features a Confederate flag, regardless of context. The reasoning Apple is sending developers is ‘…because it includes images of the confederate flag used in offensive and mean-spirited ways.'”
MacDailyNews Take: If true, this is reactionary stupidity; political correctness run amuck. If anything can kill Apple, it’d be this sort of unthinking knee-jerk censorship.
However, we do question whether Apple is removing all confederate flags since a quick check of the App Store shows “Ripped Apart: A Civil War Mystery”, a game by the Smithsonian Institution whose icon even features the Confederate Flag is still available as we write this.
Also, in what might highlight Apple’s hypocritical stance if these games are actually being pulled over depiction of a flag, every single season of The Dukes of Hazzard TV show, plus the 2005 feature film, The Dukes of Hazzard which collectively feature thousands of shots of “The General Lee,” a 1969 orange Dodge Charger with a 6-foot x 6-foot confederate flag painted on its roof remain available in iTunes Store:
The Dukes of Hazzard’s “General Lee” Dodge Charger’s roof
We agree wholeheartedly with the statement give to TouchArcade by Maxim Zasov of Game Labs, the developers of Ultimate General: Gettysburg:
We accept Apple’s decision and understand that this is a sensitive issue for the American Nation. We wanted our game to be the most accurate, historical, playable reference of the Battle of Gettysburg. All historical commanders, unit composition and weaponry, key geographical locations to the smallest streams or farms are recreated in our game’s battlefield.
We receive a lot of letters of gratitude from American teachers who use our game in history curriculum to let kids experience one of the most important battles in American history from the Commander’s perspective.
Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable. The historical “Gettysburg” movie (1993) is still on iTunes. We believe that all historical art forms: books, movies, or games such as ours, help to learn and understand history, depicting events as they were. True stories are more important to us than money.
Therefore we are not going to amend the game’s content and “Ultimate General: Gettysburg” will no longer be available on AppStore. We really hope that Apple’s decision will achieve the desired results. We can’t change history, but we can change the future.
We suggest concerned Apple customers correspond directly with Apple’s CEO Tim Cook: tcook@apple.com.
UPDATE: 3:35pm EDT:Apple’s official statement: We have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines. We are not removing apps that display the Confederate flag for educational or historical uses.
The southern cross flag, which is under discussion, was never a flag of the confederacy; it has only been used to express racism and to intimidate people. Using it for the confederacy in a game is revisionist history and it is rightly banned. The authors of the games could use one of the official flags of the confederacy instead. That would be historically more accurate, plus those flags don’t carry a divisive, racist connotation.
The problem is not a flag and it will not be the end of problem that is being hijacked by distractors.
The focus should be on the person, medications, mental, or other family orientation(s). The people that died, because they deserve better than a bunch of morons making a political connection to anything other than the person that that pulled the trigger. Show the history of why it happened.
Maybe the focus should be on the educators, themselves, in the education systems. They teach evolution and yet in the same breath show where each “race” started. How about showing the migration out of “Africa” and the journey to where we are now. I say it is not the Confederate Flag, rather the educational system and the political leaders whom have taught separation and continue to see “color” as a basis for gain in votes, money, and power.
Focus on the cause of the problem; we are the same as our origin is common. We are geographically all “African” and by genetics- as the origin of our current dominate species. The current population(s) have so little problem resolution skills that they knee jerk before ever looking at the situation. Maybe that is the point, they are taught to follow and not lead in independent thought or action. How will they ever solve problems if they are never taught is think independently and taught follow group(s) thought with subservience to political correctness.
Maybe, it is again time to have a revolution in the USA. Bring about a change in thought and action in the educators, Politicians, and science. Teach our children the real history of humanity form origin and keep it current. Drop the skin color bias that so many hold. If you look at someone and judge them in thought or action by skin color- you practice racism regardless of the color of one’s skin.
Now, Focus on the person for why he murdered so many people without ever understanding why and, maybe the use of “color” is too often used to fuel their bank account(s), create a markets, and sustain it as an occupation; This should be addressed so much more.
Polemics, pitting this side against that, all you guys fall for it every single time. Remember, a house divided can not stand. Let’s try to build our house instead of tear it down. Sheesh!..
“Apple’s official statement: We have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines. We are not removing apps that display the Confederate flag for educational or historical uses.”
Except that you are doing exactly that Apple by removing apps that display it solely for historical uses such as Civil War games. If those apps are not brought back unaltered, then you are absolute hypocritical liars.
Of course, I’d expect nothing less from Tim Cook. It’s so very easy for him to take a stand against slavery by banning a flag, but yet when it comes to employing Chinese slave labor to build the products that he sells, he certainly has no issue with that. WTF Tim?!?
He’s taken a page out straight of the fascist playbook of hypocrisy and what he’s done today is no different than what the Nazis of the 1930s did by burning books. He’s quickly becoming a modern day fascist dictator himself by making himself the supreme arbiter of what is deemed offensive and what is not.
The southern cross flag, which is under discussion, was never a flag of the confederacy; it has only been used to express racism and to intimidate people. Using it for the confederacy in a game is revisionist history and it is rightly banned. The authors of the games could use one of the official flags of the confederacy instead. That would be historically more accurate, plus those flags don’t carry a divisive, racist connotation.
I have been waiting for someone to say this. Im glad someone finally knows what they are talking about and not just having a emotional reaction.
The problem is not a flag and it will not be the end of problem that is being hijacked by distractors.
The focus should be on the person, medications, mental, or other family orientation(s). The people that died, because they deserve better than a bunch of morons making a political connection to anything other than the person that that pulled the trigger. Show the history of why it happened.
Maybe the focus should be on the educators, themselves, in the education systems. They teach evolution and yet in the same breath show where each “race” started. How about showing the migration out of “Africa” and the journey to where we are now. I say it is not the Confederate Flag, rather the educational system and the political leaders whom have taught separation and continue to see “color” as a basis for gain in votes, money, and power.
Focus on the cause of the problem; we are the same as our origin is common. We are geographically all “African” and by genetics- as the origin of our current dominate species. The current population(s) have so little problem resolution skills that they knee jerk before ever looking at the situation. Maybe that is the point, they are taught to follow and not lead in independent thought or action. How will they ever solve problems if they are never taught is think independently and taught follow group(s) thought with subservience to political correctness.
Maybe, it is again time to have a revolution in the USA. Bring about a change in thought and action in the educators, Politicians, and science. Teach our children the real history of humanity form origin and keep it current. Drop the skin color bias that so many hold. If you look at someone and judge them in thought or action by skin color- you practice racism regardless of the color of one’s skin.
Now, Focus on the person for why he murdered so many people without ever understanding why and, maybe the use of “color” is too often used to fuel their bank account(s), create a markets, and sustain it as an occupation; This should be addressed so much more.
I equate Tim Cook’s action to the dancing around of Microsoft’s Steve ‘The Monkey Boy’ Ballmer!
Microsoft is fast becoming the non-offensive, not in your face, quiet company. I like quiet companies!
Funny how times have changed with changes in companies leadership.
The bear is on the California flag. The bear must go. He is a killer.
Polemics, pitting this side against that, all you guys fall for it every single time. Remember, a house divided can not stand. Let’s try to build our house instead of tear it down. Sheesh!..
Good job Apple!
“Apple’s official statement: We have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines. We are not removing apps that display the Confederate flag for educational or historical uses.”
Except that you are doing exactly that Apple by removing apps that display it solely for historical uses such as Civil War games. If those apps are not brought back unaltered, then you are absolute hypocritical liars.
Of course, I’d expect nothing less from Tim Cook. It’s so very easy for him to take a stand against slavery by banning a flag, but yet when it comes to employing Chinese slave labor to build the products that he sells, he certainly has no issue with that. WTF Tim?!?
He’s taken a page out straight of the fascist playbook of hypocrisy and what he’s done today is no different than what the Nazis of the 1930s did by burning books. He’s quickly becoming a modern day fascist dictator himself by making himself the supreme arbiter of what is deemed offensive and what is not.