Video: Don't Taze Me, Bro! Outrage Over Airport Tragedy Parody With Mega Man
Commentary over tragedy is a delicate subject. Modern technology has made sensational, emotional news available to anyone and even more is getting caught on film with each passing day thanks to video recording on devices like cell phones. It is easy for someone to profess their outrage over a situation, everyone has their own form of personal expression. Some write, some paint, and some make satire.
Mike Greenway of Vancouver, Canada oped for satire. He created a parody video of Mega-Man ruthlessly tazering a distraught polish immigrant, recreating an awful incident resulting in the man's death. The video obviously shows that Mr. Greenway has strong feelings against the actions taken by police in this situation and many others, displayed in the additional choices Mega Man could have taken in-place of the use of electrical shock.
The video was really more of a statement on police Taser use than anything. The video that I made is a tongue-in-cheek parody about the incompetence of everyone involved, not police brutality.
As you might imagine, this did not go over well with the police station involved. Sargent John Ward stated:
Any right-thinking person who would look at the video would be offended by that. A gentlemen lost his life and it is in extremely poor taste.
Continued through the ranks to Aga Magdolen, Spokesman for the Canadian Police Congress:
This tragedy should not have been portrayed as a game. It is disrespectful to the victim, his family and the Polish community.
Not everyone was upset about the satire, Marta Grywalska spokeswoman for the polish ambassador continued:
The public was disturbed by the event. This is how the subculture reacted to it.
It is funny how the only people who responded negatively were the people directly associated with the man's death. While it is never smart or tasteful to make like of someone's death, in situations where a life could have been spared by using a little self-restraint, it is only to be expected that things like this are going to happen.
Video Game Parody of Polish Man’s Taser Death Causes Outrage [Game Politics]
Asterick
Posted to Video Games, Videos on 3 January 2008
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: mega man, polish immigrant, poor judgement, tazers
Absolutely ridiculous. Those people saying the video was "in poor taste" should perhaps realize that it was in very poor taste, and even worse judgment, to use such a level of force when other options existed. A person died because of their eagerness to use excessive force. May those responsible receive the same treatment as the deceased did.
That's great.
The police say:
Wow. They just *killed someone with a taser* and they're worried about backlash generated by the video game?
Just what planet do these people live on?
I'm not sure, but I had a fleeting thought that the reason Mega Man is in this clip is because someone made a Mega Man video with the 8bit remix of Tay Zonday's Chocolate Rain. Could be wrong. But really doesn't have much to do with this video.
This video is to get people aware, and mad. It's not making fun of the guy; if anything, it shows the very poor choices made by the PD.
They forgot the part when the RMCP knelt on his neck with their knees.
Uh, can someone please tell me when Canada became such a violent place? I didn't think that the RCMP could even carry tasers up there...
Since we got our own miniBush - Stephen Harper.
Actually tasers aren't new. We have them here in Newfoundland too (at least the RNC). After this happened our police cancelled any orders for new tazers, and stopped using the ones they have until they've investigated more.
The news said the Rcmp officers in this incident are now doing different jobs (ie desk jobs).