The video: A new free video game lets players club, shoot, or otherwise destroy post-apocalyptic zombie versions of conservatives and Fox News personalities like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly. Not all the target zombies are celebrities — you can also decimate undead creatures with generic right-wing names like "Pissed Off Stupid White Trash Redneck Birther Zombie." (Watch a clip below.) The "gruesome" online game — called "Tea Party Zombies Must Die" — was created as a "personal project" by Jason Oda of video game ad firm StarvingEyes Advergaming.
The reaction: This product of violent liberal hatred goes further than an exercise in "over-the-top stupidity," says Bryan Preston at Pajamas Media. Like "the propaganda hate films used to smear the Jews back in 1930s Europe," this game clearly incites violence against real people. Yes, this video game is "dumb and tasteless," says Joe Coscarelli at New York. But the "manufactured outrage" on the Right equals it for lameness. The difference between this "surprisingly slick" zombie first-person shooter game and, say, Palin's crosshairs map or Rick Perry's threats against Fed Chairman Bernanke is that "the game was not signed off on by a professional politician." Sample the game for yourself:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
