NationStates

Hyakkimaru wrote:I just got an issue called "Bigtopian Lives Matter." The issue is obviously based on the recent killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, USA. The issue states that an eighteen year old Bigtopian "boy" is killed by one of your police officers "despite video footage showing him with his hands up," which thus leads to racial division in your country. From what I understand of the real life case, however, Brown was high on drugs at the time and attacked the police officer, which is why the officer shot and killed him. This issue thus portrays an extremely biased take on what happened in real life. Furthermore, the three options you have to choose from are basically to either "do the right thing" by punishing the officer and regulating the police more, justify whatever police do on the job, or attack the protesters akin to the attacks on civil rights protesters in 1960s America.

From what I've garnered about NS, issues are supposed to be zany and lead to unexpected results, but they're not supposed to support anyone's political agenda, i.e. make communism look great as opposed to capitalism, or vice versa; if anything, most issues make everyone in the situation look bad, which I guess is sort of fair. This issue seems unfair, though, as it seems to support the Black Lives Matter movement's version of an event, while not considering the data and facts that oppose their claims.

I think that the issue should be edited so that it is unclear if the "boy" was innocent, or acted violently against the police officer, which would make the the issue more realistic and complicated as opposed to "this side obviously good, this side obviously bad." Also I think that the second response should be something like arming your cops with head cameras as a sort of compromise between giving in to protester demands and flat out attacking them. What do you think, NSG? Is the issue fair? Should it be changed the way I pointed out, another way, or not at all?

P.S. I apologize if I didn't post this in the right forum; this is my first forum post since I started NS.

Swiss Austria-Hungary wrote:Do you mean Black Lives Matter? I thought the group started a few weeks ago with the killing of Jamar or James something was killed by police in north Minneapolis.

Game FAQ wrote:> Isn't this "simulation" biased towards your politics?

Very possibly. Not intentionally, though. And since there's no ultimate measure of success or failure in NationStates, any bias shouldn't affect much. For example, you don't win the game by having the strongest economy. It just means your nation has a strong economy.

Greater Hunnia wrote:Nationstates has an extreme liberal and in general leftist bias, both in game mechanics (100% tax rate AKA communism has absolutely no negative effects), in issues (be capitalist --> your country is a corrupt, toxic wasteland), and on the forums.

So what OP pointed out is hardly surprising. I just dismissed the issue.

Austria and Bavaria wrote:Yep. It's a complete pain to try to be a Capitalist Country with a decent economy and not be a toxic wasteland.

On the subject of the issue; I agree that it is blatantly biased and should be changed. The issue needs to have at least some degree of neutrality.

Omigodtheykilledkenny wrote:Would you believe political bias is a common complaint when it comes to daily issues?

Game FAQ wrote:> Isn't this "simulation" biased towards your politics?

Very possibly. Not intentionally, though. And since there's no ultimate measure of success or failure in NationStates, any bias shouldn't affect much. For example, you don't win the game by having the strongest economy. It just means your nation has a strong economy.

It's supposed to be a case similar to Michael Brown's, not the same case. And it's not supposed to be about debunking the claims of the RL #BLM movement, or criticizing the Ferguson police, for that matter. It's supposed to be about addressing race relations and policing in your country. If you don't like the issue, dismiss it. You always have that option.

Hyakkimaru wrote:I just got an issue called "Bigtopian Lives Matter." The issue is obviously based on the recent killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, USA. The issue states that an eighteen year old Bigtopian "boy" is killed by one of your police officers "despite video footage showing him with his hands up," which thus leads to racial division in your country. From what I understand of the real life case, however, Brown was high on drugs at the time and attacked the police officer, which is why the officer shot and killed him. This issue thus portrays an extremely biased take on what happened in real life. Furthermore, the three options you have to choose from are basically to either "do the right thing" by punishing the officer and regulating the police more, justify whatever police do on the job, or attack the protesters akin to the attacks on civil rights protesters in 1960s America.

From what I've garnered about NS, issues are supposed to be zany and lead to unexpected results, but they're not supposed to support anyone's political agenda, i.e. make communism look great as opposed to capitalism, or vice versa; if anything, most issues make everyone in the situation look bad, which I guess is sort of fair. This issue seems unfair, though, as it seems to support the Black Lives Matter movement's version of an event, while not considering the data and facts that oppose their claims.

I think that the issue should be edited so that it is unclear if the "boy" was innocent, or acted violently against the police officer, which would make the the issue more realistic and complicated as opposed to "this side obviously good, this side obviously bad." Also I think that the second response should be something like arming your cops with head cameras as a sort of compromise between giving in to protester demands and flat out attacking them. What do you think, NSG? Is the issue fair? Should it be changed the way I pointed out, another way, or not at all?

P.S. I apologize if I didn't post this in the right forum; this is my first forum post since I started NS.

Imperium Helvetica wrote:NS does have a left-wing bias. Max Barry is an extreme critic of libertarianism and has a website called ''Tales of Corporate Oppression'' It's just the natural result of his bias and of the general left-wing bias of the internet

Austria and Bavaria wrote:Yep. It's a complete pain to try to be a Capitalist Country with a decent economy and not be a toxic wasteland.

Austria and Bavaria wrote:Yep. It's a complete pain to try to be a Capitalist Country with a decent economy and not be a toxic wasteland.

Phydios wrote:Phydios pales in comparison to Bears Armed, but you can see that a beautiful country with a booming economy and a free market is very much possible.