Moral Dilemma
 

I had to share this with the lot. I never thought that this would EVER come up in my time as a graphic designer.

I was asked to make sigs for a new group of MOH:AA players that are going to call themselves The Terrorists. They wanted something funny and their big idea was that they were going to wreak terror on the aa.com message board. I'm sure their intentions were not malicious...just a bunch of goofs trying to have a little fun.

I declined to do their sigs. Here's why:

I don't want my name associated with anything related to terrorism. I don't find anything funny about it. I will not endorse or encourage anyone to pretend to be a terrorist. I think it's crass, inconsiderate and absolutely irresponsible.

Now, some of you will probably call me a hypocrite. I have done sigs displaying Nazi imagery. This certainly doesn't mean that I consider the horrific actions of the Nazis any less disgusting than the actions of Osama Bin Laden and his network of cretins. The Nazi imagery I use is in the context of the MOH:AA world. It is not exploitative, nor is it sensationalized.

There is no place for terrorist subject matter on this board, in my opinion, and I'll be damned if my name is ever going to be associated with that sort of thing.

Am I over-reacting? Am I right?

What do you guys think? What would you do in my shoes?

Thanx for letting me vent.


Zone

i say do what you want, you're offering a free service and you should be free to decline if you wish. if they don't like it they can go make their own.

I think you did the right thing, these guys may just have wanted to be funny, but there aint nothing funny about terrorists.....(except when there caught and killed) so you did good not doing the sigs for them.

As a novice freelanceer i would decline to do there sigs as well. You did the right thing. You should never do something you dont believe in or enjoy.

Hear Hear!! Pick something else to sensationalize. The people of the United States of America has worked too hard to overcome their loss to have it quipped about by some childish little nonconformist.

Thanks for the reassurance, lads.


Welcome to the board, nartriva.

Jeeze, It seems like I KNOW you from somewhere...

'maj


Zone

I have to be honest with you, I think that you are somewhat excersing a double-standard here. What makes it ok to do Nazi subject matter and not terrorist? You yourself admit that the Nazi's did awful things in their time. They killed men, women and children just like the terrorists only they did it on a magnificent scale.

Perhaps the only reason why so many of you feel that the situation is ok is because you yourself were not affected by their actions?

Just eek:


to this whole thread.

Wreak terror on these forums? Im sure after being bitchsmacked down by a few of us that have the gift of making people shut the fuck up in about 2 paragraphs or less they would haul their little asses outta here and not return.

Gerard,

I dunno what they had in mind (probably nothing).


Totenkopf,

I knew someone would pipe up with the hypocrite angle. That's cool...you're entitled to it. Please don't think I condone the Nazi atrocities; that'd be utterly stupid. I guess my repulsion to do anything related to terrorism is just sheer recency. The horror and senselessness of the Sept. 11th attacks is still fresh in my mind. I witnessed it on TV when it happened. I sort of lived it (as much as a Canadian living in Ottawa could live it) instead of reading about it in a book. I walked past the U.S. Embassy to see the hundreds of wreaths, cards, and posters. I saw and comforted people crying outside the gates of the embassy. I was afraid that it was going to happen again...in Ottawa.

I tried to express my reasoning in my original post, but I guess the sentiment was lost on you.


Zone

Your reasoning is somewhat faulted. I am not trying to beat on you here, but you asked the question of us, so you are going to probably get answers you don't like. In my opinion (and it's just that) it is no more right to make a sig that contains Nazi symbols, then it is to work on one that merely has the word terrorism in it. Of course you can relate to it, it was less than a year ago, it was near you, but does that mean that the Nazi's actions 50 years ago are any less despicable? I am pretty sure that there are millions of people out there that are still affected by what they did. To me, it's hypocritical, but remember you asked us the question. biggrin:

What is more important is that you are comfortable in your decision and can defend your choices. I can respect that.

Personally I think you should tell them to go fuck themselves angel:

GO BUCKEYES!!!!!

That's the spirit...just don't come crying to me when the world finds out they are OVERRATED

I agree that if you are not comfortable doing it, you shouldnt have to. I also dont think you should have to explain yourself, but you made that choice on your own.

Personally, I have always been borderline offended by the amount of Nazi imagery here. Well, maybe more surprised than offended. The swastika (sp?), in particular, has always been a symbol of hate to me. The German cross (forget the proper name) was the symbol of a country, and not really offensive.

This is just my opinion. I am not condemning anyone for their use of WWII symbols. I am only stating that I have been surprised by the casual use of these symbols.

imagine, if you will....

your college football team getting beaten in 2001 by an "underrated" team by a score of 26-20.

Maybe you'd prefer to talk about Terrorism?

After I apologize for leaping off topic, I'll add another $0.02 Canadian (about $0.0001 USD)...

I agree that the Swastika is used without due reverence for the victims of those it who waved it around like madmen. I think that MOHAA is a game where you fight these abominations...it just turns out that people who play the Axis side are playing a necessary part in this GAME...the antagonist.

However, those who start using Terrorists as their model are missing the point of the loose re-enactment that is MOHAA. Just stay in the spirit of WWII, and realize that the Nazis were part of the actual context, and we're not playing the Axis because it's cool to be a Nazi.

I figure some fun should be had once in a while during gameplay...but stay in the spirit of the game.

What's next, The Child Molestors? The Rapists?

This is getting way too heavy.

(go bucks)

Thanks for the feedback. I feel good about my decision.

Now, if someone wanted to make a Porn Star clan, I'd GLADLY make sigs for them! The nudity would be tasteful...heh heh. ed:

By the way, nartriva, that's the KEWLEST sig...haw! Mint.


Zone

Haha you are Canadian but you watch college football? What's next??

UH-HYUCK!

What's next you ask? How about something that tops the Miracle on Ice? Does February 24th in Salt Lake City ring a bell?

And now back to the thread topic...I don't like Terrorism.

CANADIAN HOCKEY GOLD, BABY!

Are you even from Ohio?? If not what are you doing cheering for such a crappy team

Please explain to me what michigans helmet is supposed to mean.

Ahhhh....fond memories of the big house in 93.

Go noles!

biggrin:

Hey, I'd be the first in line for that clan! biggrin:

http://www.umich.edu/~bhl/helmet/mhelmet.htm

There ya go for most detail on the helmet..Noles almost lost to Iowa State hahaha!

heh heh...cue the cheesy bass music.

*bow-chicka bow-bow*


Zone

ok, you got me.
Don't tell anyone, but when I moved to Columbus 2 years ago, the police stopped me at city limits and handed me a cheesy Buckeyes jacket, a Buckeyes Jeep spare tire cover, and told me to be at the Horseshoe this fall.

cool:

[quote="Old Reliable":82cfb]http://www.umich.edu/~bhl/helmet/mhelmet.htm

There ya go for most detail on the helmet..Noles almost lost to Iowa State hahaha![/quote:82cfb]

Almost, but we are now 1-0. biggrin: Only 13 more to go.

Seriously, that game will mean nothing by the end of the season, as long as we have the W. We still need to beat Miami, Florida, the ACC and Notre Dame. Those games mean a little more.

[quote="Old Reliable":88702]That's the spirit...just don't come crying to me when the world finds out they are OVERRATED[/quote:88702]

If you want to talk about who's overrated, let's talk about Texas. They're always ranked high and every year they end up dropping.

I don't see the problem with making a terrorist sig... but that's just me.

Do it for the art and fuck people that assume you associate with them
simply because you helped make their signature image.

That's all you'll hear from me for now...

Point taken.

I still won't do it, though. hake:


Zone

I too have been suprised by the number of people that used to put swastikas in their sigs. I knew (or hoped) that those people didn't agree with the Nazis' actions during the war, but the swastika is a symbol of hate and evil. For instance, if I decided to walk up to the board in school and draw a big swastika up there, I would probably be written up and sent to the office. Why? Because the swastika was and still is a message of racism and hate.

I have a hitler youth knife hanging up in my room with a swastica on it. Am I a neo-nazi?

I wouldn't have done the terrorists sigs either. I don;t know what makes them different. I guess their not. Thats a good one to ponder... eek:

I would like to know what source you got this information from.

Either you have zero communication skills, or I'm going to assume you're implying it is indeed cool to be a Nazi.

Sure, whoever is playing the Axis because it's cool to be a Nazi can continue enjoying themselves, playing away without a mouse, wearing a bra on their head, eating Lego Blocks and not bothering to get up to go to the bathroom.

Enjoy, fruitcake.

Did I say it is cool to be a nazi? What did you assume this from? What happened to your communication skills, sir? Although communiation skills have nothing to do with anything here.

Enjoy, gaping anus.

Sorry, I was grasping at straws, since your post was vague to say the least.

What WERE you trying to say, anyway?

He was merely pointing out how lovely your mom is... that's all. Sheesh...
freak:

Lol, I love you Spooge and Solidussey.
angel:

cool man it's like 3d or somehting hehe