SteveTheGamer55 is live on YouTube. He’s streaming a session to his 4.6 million subscribers of GTA 5 RP, a Grand Theft Auto 5 mod that allows people to role-play with other players. “Really wanna show you guys some real-life scenarios,” he says, offering a little background on his character, a man headed to his job while on a work visa.
His character doesn’t get far before an SUV swings onto the sidewalk in front of him; masked ICE agents spill out of the vehicle. “Stop right there,” one of the uniformed players says. It isn’t long before SteveTheGamer55 is surrounded by agents. He hands over his ID while bystander players yell at the agents and demand his release. “Why are you harassing people?” one says, before the worker is finally let go. Later in SteveTheGamer55’s play session, he stands in front of a large iron gate reminiscent of those in ICE detention centers seen in cities like Chicago. More in-game ICE agents have gathered. He records from his phone. Just in front of him, a player in a red suit demands to see a warrant for his client.
The “special event” held on November 20, where players took on different roles that reflect real-life ICE raids, was the first initiative by New Save Collective, a baker’s dozen of gamers with backgrounds in activism and organizing, whose goal is to educate gamers and teach people about their rights when dealing with ICE in real-world situations. On November 21, at 7:30 pm ET, gamers will gather in Epic’s massively popular battle royale, Fortnite, to hold a closed scavenger hunt that will serve as a more casual educational opportunity. The group is working with several immigration advocacy groups, as well as collaborating with content creators, to spread their message online.
Games that serve as platforms are becoming popular places for kids and adults alike to gather in protest. On Roblox, players have held both pro-Palestine rallies and anti-ICE demonstrations. For New Save Collective, games like Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto offer a similarly useful place to carry out their events. “Some of the folks who play GTA roleplay are [police] officers in real life or are lawyers in real life,” says Anosh Polticoal, who also requested to only be referred to by screenname for safety.
“For a [gaming] stream that’s educating the public in a world where many people may not have seen an interaction with ICE yet, [it’s] a way to get folks to know or get used to what that might look like,” the organizer says. “What their rights are as bystanders, as citizens, as non-citizens, as folks who are documented, undocumented. It felt like a really great way to see all that play out for an audience.”
Deyis@beehaw.org 3 weeks ago
Maybe I’m old, maybe I’m just jaded… Has any kind of protest or activism in a video game lead to change outside of the game itself?
Battle_Masker@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I wouldn’t call this “protest” per se, more like “informing others about causes they should fight for.” And educating people is the first step in those journeys of 1000 miles. Also props for innovating to things people would already be watching anyways without it feeling too shoehorned in
whelk@retrolemmy.com 3 weeks ago
Mustering the will to get out of bed in the morning doesn’t in itself immediately achieve the things I need to do that day, but it’s a first step in the process of getting there. Awareness and convincing people problems are real issues is a step toward potential solutions, even though on their own they don’t immediately solve the problem.
Akasazh@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
Creating awareness through outreach is one of the most important bits about protests. There needs to be a critical mass of people that are fed up in order to create a smaller bunch of people that will move in action.
That’s how grass roots campainging works. People with such a huge amount of followers are critical to mobilize more people. For every one person to actively join a protest many more must be reached.
sneaky@r.nf 3 weeks ago
In this specific instance, it sounds like education on how to safely communicate and interact with ICE, or at least best available practices, was shared to people who may not have otherwise gotten any info at all. That seems like something to me.
Paradachshund@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
I say this respectfully, but has making negative comments about people trying to do good and educate others ever improved the situation?
I think it’s easy to be jaded right now, I struggle with it myself, but remember that this kind of knee jerk criticism is very deflating for some people to read. You might feel like it’s an outlet for you, but it can cause others to feel hopeless and depressed.
I don’t believe you want that, so I would encourage you to be more supportive of attempts at change, not just results. Changing hearts and minds is a long and imperfect process.
Deyis@beehaw.org 3 weeks ago
Speaking as an activist, nothing brings my piss to a boil quicker than people essentially doing nothing and hiding behind the excuse that they were “just trying to raise awareness”. Holding a pro-Palestine candlelight vigil in Roblox, for example, whilst there are still Palestinian civilians being murdered is a woefully inadequate use of time and effort if you actually want to help.
If people read this criticism and feel hopeless or depressed, there are direct actions they can take for any cause to help which should make them feel better. It’s more difficult than changing your social media banner but doing the right thing to help is rarely, if ever, easy.
Quexotic@beehaw.org 2 weeks ago
Interesting point.
Counterpoint: it’s good to get people used to doing it by practicing before they do the real thing. …also all the other reasons you see in the thread.