Haitian Community Sues Grand Theft Auto Creators (The Ave Magazine)
Saturday, May 1st, 2004Sitting in his Brooklyn office, Dr. Henry Frank, Executive Director of the Haitian Centers Council, is obviously upset. His accent, as he explains the Grand Theft Auto boycott, becomes thick and fast. “We (Haitians) have been vilified by Rockstar [Games],†he says. “We have been portrayed as drug dealers. And the game says ‘Kill the Haitians! Those drug dealers, we hate them!â€Â
Two New York-based organizations, Haitian Centers Council and Haitian-Americans for Human Rights, learned about the game content in October 2003 and, within two months, staged two boycotts in Brooklyn and had Rockstar Games issuing an apology to the Haitian community.
In a statement issued in early December, the company promised to modify future copies of the game. It also defended itself. “We believe that recent media coverage has taken certain statements made in the game out of context, and has blown it out of proportion by mischaracterizing the nature of the game play, as well as the actual portrayal of person and groups in the game.â€Â
Dr. Frank says that the statement was a step in the right direction, but that Rockstar Games had ulterior motives. First, the statement makes no mention of the company recalling the millions of offending Grand Theft Auto copies already distributed, essentially making a promise to edit a game that has likely run its course. Secondly, Rockstar Games issued the statement days before the planned December protest. “They are trying to pacify the press,†he says. “This statement coming out now is just to defuse the power of the demonstration.â€Â
The groups continued with the December protest in Brooklyn and a national one in January. And even with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other major officials giving support to their cause, Dr. Frank says that they still must fight. A lawsuit may even be in the works. “If they said, ‘We hate the Jews! Kill the Jews!’ everyone would be involved. We have to defend ourselves. We need to attack their pockets, because that’s what they know.â€Â
- Damon Brown
