Is it getting increasingly harder to voice your opinion in the U.S. without someone labeling you a terrorist or a subversive? The latest outrage comes from the Tom Clancy-inspired “Rainbow Six” videogame series, in which Occupy Wall Street protesters are the new domestic terrorists. The latest incarnation of the series, “The Patriots,” won’t hit stores until 2013, but here’s a sample of the plot: “Terrorism has evolved and America is under attack. Capitalizing on the sense of frustration in a nation seemingly corrupted by greedy politicians and corporate special interests, a group of US citizens-turned-radicals, the True Patriots, will stop at nothing to overthrow the government and financial institutions. As a leader of the elite Rainbow counter-terrorism unit, players will be the last line of defense tasked with saving the nation no matter the cost.” If that’s not enough to shock you, the first official trailer for the game is introduced along a similar theme: “This is the day we’ve been waiting for. This is for the jobs you’ve streamlined, the debts you’ve collected, this is for the homes you foreclosed on, the bailouts you took. We are the true patriots. It’s time for a new balance of power. You may not answer to the government, but you will answer to us.” There may be a few factions within the OWS movement calling for direct action against the government, but they are fair game for law enforcement. But generalizing all OWS-type protesters as terrorists that have gone over the edge and are acting in the extreme is, well, extreme. For the record, the First Amendment specifically protects speech and even civil disobedience, so long as such behavior doesn’t violate the law or the rights of other citizens. Or, at least, it used to. Granted, the video game isn’t calling the “terrorist” group Occupy Wall Street, but I think you’ll get the picture, based on the set-up plot of the game. And that, to ME, is the real problem here.
Sources:
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2011/12/09/confirmed-rainbow-patriots-making-its-debut-at-the-vgas/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rainbow-Six-Patriots-Gets-Disturbing-Terrorist-Trailer-239860.shtml
Defiance
T-Banks aka M$R
Urban Intelligence Blog 
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