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ADC Press Release:
Protest "Wack the Iraq" Game in New Jersey
Washington DC, August 25- On Saturday August 28, the New Jersey and Philadelphia chapters of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) plan to hold a peaceful rally to protest a live target game entitled "Wack the Iraq" (to learn more about the rally contact Aref Assaf at: adc@adcnj.us). In the game, contestants fire paint balls at live targets dressed as Iraqis.
ADC New Jersey President Aref Assaf raised concerns earlier this week saying, "We can only imagine the uproar if the name of the game was another country or people." ADC NJ noted that despite the concerns of the ADC, the Arab-American community, and multiple letters of complaints, the owner of the arcade, located in Morey's Pier in Woodland, NJ, has refused to remove the game, citing his right to free speech. Assaf responded, "While we are strong advocates of free speech, we believe that the game is nothing short of hate speech and promotes anti Arab sentiments, and therefore must be removed."
Today, ADC President Mary Rose Oakar sent a letter to New Jersey Mayor Ernie Troiana Jr., voicing concerns about the game and asking that the city of Wildwood revoke the license it provided to permit the game to operate. The letter says, "This game, which operates under a mercantile license issued by the City of Wildwood, presents a racist and offensive image of Iraqis, fosters an atmosphere of violence and ridicule, and creates an association between terrorists and the Iraqi people in particular and Arabs in general.
Although seemingly intended for amusement and family-fun, the game achieves nothing short of hatred and blatant discrimination." The letter continues, "In such an atmosphere, the targeting of Iraqis, albeit for play, is
entirely inappropriate, insensitive, and importantly, unlawful as it instigates incidents of hate targeting the Arab-American community. Such a game only deepens a cultural divide that reverses the gains that have been made for human and civil rights."
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ACTION REQUESTED
To voice your concerns, contact the Mayors Office (609-522-2444) and ask that the game be removed. You can also send a letter to the Mayor via the City of Wildwood's home page: http://www.wildwoodnj.org/contact.asp
To take part in the protest rally on Saturday, August 28, contact ADC New Jersey at: adc@adcnj.us.
______________________________________________
ADC LETTER TO NEW JERSEY MAYOR ERNIE TRIOANA JR .
August 25, 2004
Mayor Ernie Troiano
4400 New Jersey Avenue
Wildwood, NJ 08260
VIA FACIMILE: 609-523-2444
Re: Offensive and Racist Wildwood "Wack the Iraq" Game
Dear Mayor Troiano:
We are writing on behalf of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee(ADC). ADC, which is non-partisan and non-sectarian, is the largest grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Arab-Americans. Former United States Senator James Abourezk founded ADC in 1980 in order to combat racism, discrimination, and stereotyping of Americans of Arab descent. ADC supports the civil and political rights of all people and opposes racism and bigotry in all forms.
The purpose of this letter is to express ADC's strong concern regarding the City of Wildwood's licensing, and therefore implicit endorsement, of the game "Wack the Iraq" located at Morey's Pier in Wildwood, NJ. In the game, tourists, children, and other amusement seekers shoot paint-ball guns at live human individuals dressed as Iraqis from a distance of roughly fifty feet away. Instead of posturing specific characters as the intended targets, players indiscriminately shoot at individuals who are intended to represent Iraqi, or more generally Arab, men. This game, which operates under a mercantile license issued by the City of Wildwood, presents a racist and offensive image of Iraqis, fosters an atmosphere of violence and ridicule, and creates an association between terrorists and the Iraqi people in particular and Arabs in general. Although seemingly intended for amusement and family-fun, the game achieves nothing short of hatred and blatant discrimination.
The "Wack the Iraq" game, which is located on a touristy and family-oriented seaside pier, has been the recipient of multiple complaints and the instigator of inflamed emotions among community members, local government representatives, and civil rights organizations. Indeed, a Commissioner for the City of Wildwood, Kathy Breuss, noted her disapproval of the "inappropriateness of such a game on the boardwalk," an inappropriateness which has led to multiple complaints being filed with the Commissioner's office. Moreover, President of ADC's New Jersey Chapter, Aref Assaf, condemned the game as fostering "hateful tendencies and actions toward minorities and certain ethnic groups," which "no one should tolerate." All ADC chapters around the nation, including our Philadelphia and New York chapters, share Mr. Assaf's sentiments.
Although ADC strongly supports the right to free speech, the argument asserted by the game's owner to defend the game's legality, ADC believes the "Wack the Iraq" game to be nothing short of hate speech. Because hate speech is unlawful and thus, unprotected by the Constitution, it cannot and should not be tolerated, particularly by local government representatives from the City of Wildwood. One need only imagine a similar game, which instead of targeting Iraqi individuals, presents Japanese, Irish, Italian African American or British individuals as the intended targets to be fought, shot, and apparently killed. The uproar and outrage that such hypothetical games would evoke exceeds speculation; such a result is unequivocally certain.
In the political climate in which we currently live, it is crucial to consider the profound implications of generalizing and stereotyping individuals of any ethnic minority group, particularly those from a country in which we are at war. As the largest civil rights organization serving the Arab-American community, ADC can testify to the damaging and extremely pervasive incidents of discrimination that continue to inflict the Arab-American community in the wake of September 11th and more recently the Iraq War. In such an atmosphere, the targeting of Iraqis, albeit for play, is entirely inappropriate, insensitive, and importantly, unlawful as it instigates incidents of hate targeting the Arab-American community. Such a game only deepens a cultural divide that reverses the gains that have been made for human and civil rights.
ADC strongly urges the city to revoke the mercantile license that allows the "Wack the Iraq" game to continue functioning. ADC, along with many in the community, believe that this offensive game should be removed as soon as possible and that a public apology should be issued by both the game's owner and the City. We look forward to hearing from you soon on this very important matter.
Sincerely,
Hon. Mary Rose Oakar
President
Cc. Legal department
ADC-NJ Chapter
ADC-NY Chapter
ADC-Philadelphia Chapter
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