According to an MSNBC article, Tho board game 'Ghettopoly' has been receiving loads of criticism from various organizations and groups, most particularly in the Philadelphia area (the game's creator is from PA) and has called for a boycott of Urban Outfitters. The store sells the game and has not made any public comment on the issue.

Some blurbs from the article:







What do you think? Is this racism-for-a-profit? Is this just a simple joke playing up stereotypes?

As soon as I saw the image that appears on your link, I was shocked. The drawing on the game board looks like something out of KKK propaganda.

I've never been fond of the excuse that "it's just a joke." I love clever, witty, creative comedy, even if it pushes the limits of good taste. But I don't like at all jokes that depict women as bubble-headed shopping addicts, men as beer-guzzling sports fanatics, and so on. Humor that exposes the moral bankruptcy of stereotyping? Great! Humor that uses stereotyping? Forget it.

Mister Chang has the right to try to sell his vile little product. Stores have the right to purchase it from him and try to sell it to consumers (although this seems like an extremely foolish decision.) Decent people have the right to peacefully protest against it.

How is this not racism? It is furthering the idea that everyone from the ghetto is the same. It makes fun of there hardships, and laughs at there problems.

This is a racist game. And people who play this game and think it is funny, are racist people.

Monty

Without taking a stand on the game, thank you for saying this, Silverwolf.

All too often I see liberal people say things that indicate that they want to ban or forcefully change things that they do not like. You are exactly right. This man can sell it. The store can buy it. And people can PEACEFULLY protest. (If it gets to a point where protestors block patrons from entering the store it has gone to far.)

Thank you for instilling some glimmer of hope in me for the liberal wing of American politics.


(As an example of what I was beginning to believe about American politics, take PETA. Some members of that organization would say I am evil for eating meat. It is fine to advocate so-called animal rights, but not ok to condemn other people. I find that many very liberal organizations have a tendency to condemn people who do not think the way they do. Silverwolf's comment has given me hope that this might not be the case all the time.)

The game is in poor taste. As for racist, I don’t know.

You know, this is a free country and you can market all kinds of crap now a days and I think they have a right too. BUT, it doesn't mean people are going to buy it and the ones that do, well, some people are easily amused. I personally don't like it, but some moron, who also plays Grand Theft Auto 3, might. The game will end up as one of those countless board games tossed into a closet and forgotten about in a year.

How is it racist unless one assumes that all the people who live in a ghetto are of one ethnicity?

Having siad that though, I think the game is insensitive, its sort of like kicking a man without legs who asks you for money in the street.

What is going on today?? After being convinced that all Democrats (and liberals) were liars or people fooled into believing half-truths by the debate last night, the left on this forum is changing my mind.

I agree with this idea. How is it racists unless you assume that 'ghetto' implies one race? (I bet all the drawings in the game are of black people though.)

Thank you moif, for making an excelent point.

I agree, moif. I did a small search and was unable to find a close up image of the playing board or any of the cards, so I'm not sure if any specific minority was targeted. Here is the homepage for the game, however: ghettopoly. I will say the the intentional misspellings of black leaders like MLK was definitely playing on stereotypes, but in no way racist.

I would probably charge that this game appears to be more classist if anything. But heck, regular old Monopoly is classist, isn't it? Ghettopoly targets what some consider to be the seedier side of capitalism. I say, "So what?" Doesn't regular Monopoly offer up a number of negative lessons about capitalism itself? (greed is good; all for me, none for you; being the richest is the ultimate goal, etc.)

Like so much junk on the marketplace today - if you don't like it, don't buy it (I mean, really. $29.95 for that? C'mon... )

I would put it on the same plane as a 'Redneck-opoly'. It's crass, and in poor taste, but I don't think it meets the definition of racist by any stretch.

I think the game looks gross but, to be honest, I'd like to see redneckopoly. That sounds pretty funny to me...so I suppose ghettopoly isn't so racist if redneckopoly wouldn't be.

At any rate, I can't imagine anyone wasting their money on either. If someone pulled ghettopoly out as a 'fun' after-dinner party game, I'd probably avoid that person thereafter.

There are two types a racists, The intentional and unintentional.

Intentional are very strong in there belief that they are their race is the superior race. And express that hate strongly.

Unintentional racists are the people who don't understand how other people feel and think that games like this are harmless because it doesn't "strictly target blacks."

Think about it.

Monty

Just putting an idea out there, but I don't think that this is meant to be racist at all. I am in the thick of black culture at my school, so I can pretty accurately say that "ghetto" has become an adjective to describe people, things, or actions. It is used lightly, as in "That girl is so ghetto" or "Your clothes are ghetto". I have seen shirts that say "ghetto" on the front, inferring that the wearer is "ghetto". It is my opinion that this game was made in the same fashion, appealing to the lighter use of the word and the comical side of the stereotype that, in my experience, many black people use on a regular basis.

This whole thing is getting blown out of proportion. It really is no worse than the stereotypical (yet comical) banter of Jeff Foxworthy, where "You might be a redneck if..."

The surest way to guarantee sales is to protest this game. There is no longer any such thing as bad publicity.

No doubt about it. And I agree that the racism in this game is all in they eye of the beholder. I personally do not think it is racist, but I would have to see the game to really form an opinion as to whether it carries a message that all black people are ghetto. I doubt it does, but I dont know for sure.

Wow, I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Look at how much "ghetto" is publicized in rap, its the same thing except that it is a board game. I think its one of those things that you need to submerged into understand it. The only argument I have with your post is that it wasn't so much as just the Black people embracing this lifestyle but hispanics/ latinos, Orientals & asians, white, and one time I even found a homosexual gang. It just mocks a lifestyle that is prevalent in the lower class society.

No when you categorize it like that its racist. Like I said it's more about a lifestyle then it is about a specific race.

Racist? I have to see more of the games content to give my full opinion on it but I will bet the majority of black people will not find it funny. Crude? Very. (I will say I don't like the depiction of historic figures that way.)

This is probably just a marketing scheme, because at the end of the day it is all about money. He has received more "free pub" because he pushed some buttons with it and there is a market that will purchase this game from people that think it is funny to racists. But, that is his right to market a product like this...it just reflects negatively on stores that carry it.

I suppose it all depends on how one defines "racism" (or, for that matter, "fun"). The game definitely seems to be reinforcing negative racial stereotypes. As a ghetto is defined by ethnicity - and as the logo, the additional graphics, the slanguage of the instructions, cards and advertising, and the game pieces are all drawn for African-American stereotypes, I think it is fairly safe to assume that the target of the "humor" here is black - even if one has some new-fangled definition for "ghetto" which contradicts the meaning of the word "ghetto".

To me, anyone who promotes negative racial stereotypes, for whatever purpose (including fun and profit), is a racist of some description. Mr. Chang has every right to produce and promote his game. The public at large has every right to boycott the product and the outlets which sell it - or to ignore it altogether. I expect this will be a nine-day wonder (at best) and ignoring it is probably the best idea - especially if one finds it offensive. Were it not for the protests, Ghettopoly would no doubt have sunk without a ripple.

I found an interesting article this morning written by a columnist who is a black woman, it adds a diiferent insight to the debate.



Chicago Sun-Times

Just something to add: If you do a search on Ebay for ghettopoly you will see it is bringing upwards of $100.

Object of Game: Buying stolen properties, pimpin hoes, building crack houses and projects, paying protection fees and getting car jacked are some of the elements of the game. Not dope enough?...If you don't have the money that you owe to the loan shark you might just land yourself in da Emergency Room.

What You Need to Play the Game: Game Board, Loan Shark Tray, 40 Crack Houses, 17 Projects, Pink Slip Cards, Ghetto Stash and Hustle Cards, 7 Game pieces (Pimp, Hoe, 40 oz, Machine Gun, Marijuana Leaf, Basket Ball and Crack), Counterfeit Money, and 2 Dice

I've spent the better part of the last few days researching a story that required me to drag the sewers of the Internet and visit hate websites, so maybe I'm a little hyper-sensitized, but if Ghettopoly isn't racist, nothing is.

Celebrating ignorance, perpetuating stereotypes and exploiting black people for fun and profit is good business. You can always get paid by "cooning it up" and playing blacks cheap in some revolting way or another. Chang is just a greedy pimp getting paid as other have before him and others will after him.

There are those who only consider racism to be in play when it involves affirmative action. It comes as no surprise they don't see Ghettopoly as racist. It doesn't directly affect white males so they don't care.

For those of you claiming this game is racist, I have some questions.

1) How is this game different from the content/lyrics of same rap and hip-hop music/videos?
2) Is it different?
3)Are the lyrics of some rap/hip-hop artists also racist for glorifying gang-banging, drug dealing and all the other stereotypes associated with the "ghetto"?

I am truly without opinion on this and am willing to hear any of you out who are willing to answer. Thanks.

nighttimer, please consider what Dontreadonme posted earlier from the Sun-Times. Maybe you feel it's an issue of prerogative or something, but Ghettopoly is just a comical representation of the same ideas that are presented all too frequently in rap music, undeniably a black enterprise. The ideas are presented all too readily, and now that they are compiled into one area with a comic twist (also not uncommon; see Comic View on BET, Chris Rock, etc.), it comes as a racist surprise? I fail to see how this is a new thing and why, only now, it is being called out.

Oh, and if you're also surprised that it sometimes seems that people like myself are only concerned with the interests of white males, you need only look at the concerns of everybody else. Can't we look after our own rear ends too? Race consciousness is running wild, so can you blame us?

People should be racially conscious, CTE. Enlightenment is always preferable to ignorance.

I'm familiar with this argument of "everybody else is doing it so why can't we." My reply is the same one I give to my nine-year-old when she says why can't she say "nigger" like the kids in her school do. That is, I don't believe you get rid of an ignorant word by using it in a ignorant way. Most black kids don't have any grasp of how vile the N-word is or how sordid it's history is.

I do and I won't be complicit in extending the shelf life of a poisonous word. Not for one more day. Not for one more minute.

I am not saying that every copy of Ghettopoly should be tossed on a bonfire and burnt. I am not saying that David Chang can't make money off his clever contribution to reinforcing racial stereotypes and black self-hatred. But I reserve the right to consider what he's doing to be trash and have no reluctance in saying so. If I still harbored my black militant mindset of the Seventies, I'd be inclined to say Mr. Chang needs to be shown the errors of his ways and how he has transgressed against the people by a couple of hardcore brothers in a back alley with some baseball bats and a pair of pliers.

Jaime, as to your questions I'll answer in this way:

Questions One & Two: Hell yeah, it's different. There is a huge difference between my best black friend calling up and saying, "What's up, nigga?" and my best white friend calling up and saying, "What's up, nigga?" I'm going to correct BOTH of them.

The black friend should know me well enough to know I don't play that. The white friend should know me well enough to know that no matter how much of a friend you are white people have never used the N-word as a term of endearment. Double standard? Maybe so, but there are places I don't go with friends or family. Everybody that knows me knows this and I'm not changing just because the N-word is suddenly in vogue.

If Clarence Thomas walks by Antonin Scalia in the Supreme Court, and Scalia should say, "Whassup, nigga?" then Thomas should beat his butt down, quick, fast and in a hurry and clear that up. Gotta nip these things in the bud.

If Mike were to call you his "rhymes-with-witch" you might find it funny or it could be an odd little term of endearment you use between the two of you. If I were to call you a "rhymes-with-witch" because you closed a thread I started or something as unlikely as that, I'd get bounced from the board so fast it would make my head spin, right?

We may all be villagers in the same global village, but our life experiences are varied and different. What rolls off one person's back may rile another into cross-eyed anger. "Games" like Ghettopoly make money by portraying black people in the worst light possible.

Question Three: Short answer to your question is YES. There is beginning to flourish a backlash against the negative images coming from black rappers and hip-hop artists and gradually they are being scrutinized for what they are doing and what they are saying.

Case in point: The rapper Nelly announced he will endorsing a new energy drink called, "Pimp Juice." That hasn't gone over real well with certain forces in African-American political, cultural and religious circles.

If you ever get a chance I'd highly recommend watching Hip-Hop Babylon on VH-1 which dealt very well with the excesses of today's rap music. One thing that it explored is how gangsta rap eventually supplanted other rap music that was more party-oriented or politicial in it's message. It didn't happen by accident. Record companies as well as rappers embraced the "hard" style of gangsta rap over the political consciousness of a Public Enemy.

I don't think rappers who glorify drugs, disrespecting women, violence, ignorance and violence are racist so much as they are willing to say or do anything to get paid. Show a kid who's never had much of anything a suitcase full of money and a chance to get hooked up with the cars, girls and the fancy jewlery and houses, how are they going to turn it down. Most of them won't and they'll do whatever they have to get the hook-up.

This really could be an entirely separate topic, Jaime. To the extent that rappers are complicit in the overall degradation and stereotyping of their own race is an issue being wrestled with.

In my city, a new group has formed calling themselves The Black Anti-Defamation Council. Their first initiative was to announce a "Stop 10" list of negative words. That list includes the rhymes-with-witch word, ghetto, ho, thug, uncle tom, dog, nigga and MF to name a few. Now maybe that's just being politically correct or maybe it's the first step for black people to stop disrespecting themselves so others can begin to.

You are absolutely right. Here we go: Gangsta Rap

This is awful. Just because they are doing the same thing to "redkecks" doesn't make it right. If you are racist to both whites and blacks, does that make it right all of the sudden, call me crazy, but shouldn't it be doubly [is that even a real word?] wrong.

CP

Is it racism? Yes, but the real question lies beneath. Truly, can one see the comedy in racism? It is a touchy subject, but it is an exploited realm in comedy that makes for some of the most humorous jokes. Racism has been and is a terrible thing, but some good can come of it if it is used right and in the proper light.

~ripghotihook~

This is another "the glass is half full" or "the glass is half empty. Some people go out of their way to find an "issue" with everything. I think the game is damn funny and cudo's of making money on it. We live in an incredible country where even as something as stupid as a board game can make you rich. BTW there is a Redneck game out on the computer..I can't recall what it was but it was a first person shooter and I laughed my *** NOTICE: THIS WORD IS AGAINST THE RULES. FAILURE TO REMOVE IT WILL RESULT IN A STRIKE. *** off after about 5 minutes of play. Once again we see people with absolutely no sense of humor. What is the world coming too?

cusbilla

I think joking about racism and stereotpyes trivilises the real racists....but this is good.

If black and white brothers and sisters can joke to each other about racism it makes racists seem ignorant, unecessarily agressive, intolerant and completely umpimprtant. We need to make racists (as in proper racists) seem to be basically mentally retarded, and making fun out of them is a step in that direction.

Ghettopoly is not racist, it consists merely of stereotypes. And these are necessary in society. Businesses make steroeptyes when they market products, the presume things about a group an appeal to the majority - however as a whole they are not racist. Insurance companies sterotype that you by making you pay more when yu are young(for cars) this is sterotyping, but it is based on fact.

Ghettopoly is based on fact, ghettos exists as do crack houses etc etc, why on earth is this racist. I do not believe a black person who advocates this lifestlye can call it racist, it is the same that rappers talk about. Some parts of the ghetto and some people in it are like this board game, for that reason like car insurance, it is based on fact- and anyhting based on fact cannot be racist, since it is entirely rational.
I especially liked the martin Luther King Blvd at the end How satirical

Racism or good-natured fun?

Trash for bucks, Mr. Chang! Garbage in-garbage out, Mr. Chang! I honestly don't know whether it can be classified as racism, but it surely isn't what I would classify as "good-natured fun." I play Monopoly and Scrabble, but wouldn't buy or play Mr. Chang's Ghetto Monopoly or any of his other copycat Monopoly games. Thirteen-year-olds can and are buying Ghetto Monopoly. Would you want your children buying this game? Would you buy this game for your young children?

Below is an article about Hasbro's reaction to Mr. Chang's Ghetto Monopoly:



Below is a link to a NY Daily News article that gives more insight to Ghettopoly:

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/125531p-112449c.html

I have to agree with some of what Paul Doran posted..


As a society we have let this matter get completely out of hand. We need to learn to let certain things roll off our backs. The more that we fight, and scream and argue about who is and who is not racist, the more we fuel the fire.

I do not believe that Mr. Chang was directly targeting African Americans, nor do I believe that he was being racist. After all, Mr Chang also intends on coming out with "Redneckopoly" should all white people be offended and think that this targets them and their race? No, I think not. But do you see anybody throwing a fit and asking if that game is racist? hmmmmm??

What Mr. Chang was doing here in my opinion is simply creating a game surrounding certain perceptions based on socioeconomics. Not all African Americans live in the "Ghetto" nor do ONLY African Americans live in the "Ghetto"
There are caucasians, hispanics, asians and so forth that also live in the "Ghetto". The word racist itself simply means "Discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion." What race or religion is he discriminating against with this game?

And for a final note...



I am led to believe from reading your entire post you assume that all rappers are African Americans. And that all rappers degrade and stereotype their OWN race??

I certainly hope that is not what you are implying...
Maybe you have heard of a little known man named Marshal Mathers aka Slim Shady aka Eminem. He is a Caucasian male. His style is based on his life and his upbringing, not mine, nor any friends of mine. However am I to feel that he is degrading me and my race and causing a stereotype of some sort solely based on what he presents in his lyrics? He raps about hoes, and popping pills chased with Vodka, and many other appalling topics. Does that mean he's representing the typical caucasian male? Once again....I THINK NOT!