There’s a new dog fighting Android app that is causing quite a stir and even Michael Vick is calling it out. Of course, it’s actually a trickier issue than it’s made out to be.
“I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street,” Vick said in a statement. “Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.”
Vick, of course, has served jail time for some disgusting dog fighting rings but he is back in the National Football League and doing well. As a dog lover, it’s tough for me to stand this guy but he has actually been punished and served his time. That’s more than I can say about a lot of football players and Vick’s crimes didn’t hurt other people (*cough*Big Ben*cough*).
I’m also similarly conflicted with the dog fighting app, which is made by a company called Kage Games. I don’t want to download the game, so I don’t know how realistic this is but the company says that some of the proceeds are going to rescue service animals in Japan.
The bigger point is one about free speech and the openness of the Android Market. Kage Games is promoting this as a “game that will never be in the iPhone app store” and that’s very true. Apple would snuff that out faster than a WikiLeak app.
But the Android Market is supposed to let the user decide if this content is acceptable or not. Dog fighting is deplorable but we also download games where you’re killing people and there doesn’t seem to be an uproar. Perhaps it’s the way this is portrayed that key – LA Times, photo]
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