[Note: I originally wrote this for my GameCritics blog back in July 2007 when it was news. Also, be warned: some of the language is extremely graphic and offensive.]
“Anybody that gets offended because of one little word is a retard anyways.” —An anonymous commenter on “Ubisoft pulls MindQuiz for offensive language” at Joystiq
I’ve never liked political correctness. It’s clunky and vapid, and robs me of the freedom to call myself whatever I want. For instance, being disabled is as much a part of who I am as being female or Nebraskan or a gamer. Thinking of myself exclusively as a person with it is really awkward; my disability sounds like something I should distance myself from, be ashamed of. Watching everything you say because it could offend someone completely misunderstands what civil- and human rights activists are fighting for. In short, political correctness tells us, “Shh! Don’t offend the people-with-minoritiness!” without effecting real change.
That said, I do believe that people should think about the words they’re using, and why they’re using them. People use words like “retarded” or “gay” or “girly” as insults all the time, often without thinking about it. Indeed, when the localization department at Ubisoft put the phrase “Super Spastic” into the Nintendo DS game MindQuiz, I don’t think they meant any harm at all. Still, when MindQuiz was released in the UK—where the word “spastic” has historically referred to cerebral palsy—somebody complained about it, and the publisher pulled the game. What Ubisoft did isn’t particularly shocking. They made a mistake—one especially easy to make when you’re a French publisher releasing a game to an English-speaking market—and they fixed it. But I’m amazed at how angry some gamers are about it:
“I can’t stand stupid people. Apparently, not even the game could save [the woman who complained about the word 'spastic'] from her stupid. I hate you lady.” [Source]
“Defective-pants-crapper is [sic] may be hyphenated, but it really isn’t one word.” [Source]
Some people are worried that this incident opens the floodgates for censorship in games, and stifles provocativeness in the industry. However, Ubisoft decided to pull the game of their own accord: there was no lawsuit involved, and nobody forced them to do anything. If “spastic” is such a little word, why are some people so hell-bent on defending it? As autistic advocate Joel Smith writes about “little” prejudices and people’s sometimes-vehement defense of them:
“If I ask someone to do something and they consider it trivial, I expect them to do it. It’s no big deal after all…When I complain about discrimination, even ’small’ things, this isn’t trivial. It’s very important. And, often, underlying prejudice comes out—does the other person see me as a person worthy of respect, worthy of tiny modifications in their routine? Or is it important to maintain power–to be able to make the racist joke, to be able to call the waitress ‘dear’ or ‘honey’, or to make every employee do things exactly the same?” [Source]
Someone complained (informally) about the use of a word in a video game. The game’s publisher responded to the complaint. What’s the big deal? It’s just a little word.
Addendum: Shortly after I wrote this piece, the UK version of Mario Party 8 for the Nintendo Wii was recalled for using the same word.
I’d like to take a shufti at the Dictionary they use for their Scrabble game.
Good post
It’s not all gamers, it’s the moronic teenagers who think they’re it and nobody else counts. It’s not specifically aimed at anyone, abled or disabled, it’s aimed at everyone who disagrees with them or causes them some inconvenience.
In the world of web development we come across them all the time.
I don’t play games but i have to say i’d be looking a bit strange at the publishers if i read the word “spastic” used in an inappropriate way (and i can’t think of many appropriate ways to be honest). i’m glad someone complained. Thanks for a thought provoking post
keth
xx
Shh! Don’t offend the people-with-minoritiness!
*chuckle* You’ve just hit on my big problem with people-first language: for all that it claims to focus on the person first and the disability second, the construction is so awkward that it ends up highlighting the disability simply because you sound like you’re making so much of an effort not to say it. And after all, we don’t go around talking about “people with Frenchness,” or even “people with queerness,” do we? What do we accomplish by making “people with disabilities” stand out from the pattern? Thanks for the thought-food.
Also more general thanks for bringing this to light – those of us who aren’t gamers, but who like to keep up-to-date on language and disability, might have missed it otherwise!
I was actually heartened by learning that these game companies responded by changing. I’ve made similar complaints about words like ‘retard’ to other media and been seen as an oversensitive wingnut. So good on them for getting it and then doing something about it.
Yes, it IS the vehement defense of the offensive behavior that always gets me, too. I like the point that such anger reveals deeper prejudice. Also, of course, people hate their paradigms to be challenged in tiny ways, because these tiny challenges do open big doors, doors to more labor on their part. “What? A word I’ve used offends you? And now I have to decide whether I care, and if I do care, I might have to rethink my whole world view to avoid offending you further? Well! How blasted inconvenient for me! I think I’d rather just get really mad for five seconds, call you names, and then forget about the whole thing.”