"Bigtopian Lives Matter"

[Hyakkimaru]

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.

[Merconitonitopia]

Agreed. This issue really irked me when I got it and suffers greatly from pushing the idea of an objectively right and objectively wrong approach to the situation. If they made the issue a little more complex and made it so the options weren't on either extreme it would be much better.

[Greater Hunnia]

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.

[Alexzonya]

I agree with the OP's general criticism on this one. The issue is a blatant allusion to the Michael Brown shooting, but changes facts to mirror since-debunked talking points ("despite video footage showing him with his hands up") to support the point of view of the protestors. Additionally, the options that are provided clearly push towards one particular viewpoint, by providing one legitimate argument and two strawmen / parodies. I dismissed the issue. I appreciate when issues draw from recent events, but the uneven handling of this one should really be rethought IMO.

[Swiss Austria-Hungary]

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.

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.

[Swiss Austria-Hungary]

Sorry for posting a long post.

[Alexzonya]

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.

It came about a bit before that. According to ever-accurate Wikipedia, it started as a hashtag campaign after George Zimmerman's acquittal in 2013, and then picked up more national attention in the US in 2014 during the Ferguson protests and the 2015 protests/riots in Baltimore following Freddie Gray's death there.

[Omigodtheykilledkenny]

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

> 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.

[Austria and Bavaria]

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.

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]

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.

*ahem!*

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

> 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.

[Undivulged Principles]

The very title of the issue indicates a strong bias so having the issue itself be biased would be apropos Imo.

[New Intermarium]

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]

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

[Luna Amore]

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

Max didn't have anything to do with that issue.

[Protestant England and Germany]

The dilemma "Bigtopian Lives Matter" is eerily similar to the various shootings of African American men and I feel it makes an attempt to ridicule the police and paint them as nothing more than brutish, racist thugs. And I feel that this issue is forcing people to take a stand on a subject where they will be criticized no matter what stance they choose. I am not racist against anyone as I spent seven years of my life living overseas and I am all for equal rights no matter your race, but I think that this one should be removed due to blatant parallels to cases such as Trayvon Martin, Micheal Brown and other cases I cannot remember off the top of my head.

[Chan Island]

I would actually advocate it ought to stay for the exact reasons that you state it ought to be removed.

Most issues do mirror reality; otherwise there would be no immersion for players who are pretending to be the leaders of sovereign nations. The "Bigtopian Lives Matter" issue mirrors a big debate happening in America right now, and gives people an opportunity to mull over the options and come to a decision.

If you don't like the issue, or simply don't want to take a stance, you can just dismiss the issue. There are several issues I've confronted with my utopia nation (this one is my dystopia) that I ended up having to dismiss as the choice was too difficult for me. And I don't like dismissing issues.

[Bears Armed]

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

"Ahem!"

[Phydios]

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

*clears throat and points to Phydios' breathtaking environmental beauty, booming economy at the peak of health, and sweeping free market policies*

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.

[We Couldnt Agree On A Name]

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.

It does take a ridiculously long time compared to other systems, and not in a way that's justifiable if you look at the real world.

Speaking of the real world(and getting back on topic) I'm not sure it's appropriate to have an issue where the appropriate action would be entirely based on knowledge of a real world case. Bias or not it's not the same as a general political issue and not fair to people who aren't familiar with the details of that specific shooting.

[Ancient Pluto]

They weren't going to get it right no matter what they wrote down. It could've said "police officer shoots someone. riots ensue." and people still would've complained.

It's called...

being TOPICAL.