Who remembers the good ol’ days when you and your family would sit around during the holidays, tell funny stories and maybe play a boardgame.
Maybe it was Trivial Pursuit or Candy Land. Chances are it was the classic Monopoly. Only this time your dad is screaming out, “You landed on my liquor store. Give me some money, biotch!”
Doesn’t sound like the family get-togethers at my house. But, this may be the fate of the famed boardgame if David Chang has his way.
Chang conceptualized and is now marketing a new version of the old classic – affectionately named “Ghettopoly.”
His version replaces the traditional aspects of the game with newer, more stereotypical ones.
Okay. There a few things to talk about here.
First, as a journalist and free-speech champion, I immediately defended this alternative game as a satirical opinion and therefore completely protected by the First Amendment.
But, then I researched the game further. I began to notice more disturbing features of the game such as the misspelled names of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X.
This is where I begin to see a problem. Satire and opinion – at least good satire and opinion – usually are still tactful and insightful. I think Mr. Chang’s intentional misspellings are neither.
“Ghettopoly” may have many true-to-life aspects in its contents, but the fact that whorehouses, liquor stores and gospel churches are prevalent in urban areas is irrelevant to the actions and thoughts of people like King and Malcom X.
I would argue that those men gave their lives in an attempt to raise their constituents out of the very atmosphere described in the game.
To use a caricature of King on a boardgame that is visually dominated by what appears to be a gun-slinging thug is utterly disrespectful. King was a champion of peace and non-violence – with or without moral scandal in his personal life.
Urban Outfitters, the clothier who decided to sell the game in its stores, should definitely recognize the implications this game brings with it.
Many churches and African-American rights groups have called for boycotts on the store and are looking for answers as to why they would market a product like this.
I don’t blame them. This game is borderline hate speech and while it is protected by the First Amendment, it doesn’t mean people can’t be upset about it.
Think about it. Christians would explode if they made “Heavenopoly” with caricatures of Jesus and other religious figures.
The fact is Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X mean a lot to the black community. Who is David Chang or anyone else to make fun of that?
But, Chang has high hopes for his new game. He plans to design and market “Hoodopoly,” “Thugopoly” and “Redneckopoly.”
What’s next? – “Gayopoly” and “Handicapopoly?”
I certainly hope not.