It's gotta be a coincidence because Pokemon, obviously, is a Japanese game, and they use the metric system in Japan. So when the pokemon in the game have their height translated, it gets changed from meters to feet and inches.
So yeah, they're definitely looking too much into it.
And btw, I read the article, and while I'm American, I laughed at the #10 on the list. I'm sorry, but I thought that was pretty funny.
Thank you! America is one of the last fucking countries to not use the metric system. The fact that even in the metric system the Pokemon in question is 9/10 (which I am sure is their plot to make you think they're not making the reference), is not related to the area in any way, the fact that the area is a fucking DESERT with sandstorms and sand Pokemon, much like the deserts in the last 3 generations of Pokemon games. I have not seen it called Ground Zero in any word. I also think it's worth mentioning that last time I checked (2002) there was no desert where Ground Zero is, and even though I am not an American it was sad to be there, but that was almost exactly one year after it happened, so that's normal.
RJ Dalton said:
Um, has anybody mentioned that the Japanese use the metrics system, so the size of the pokemon has to be either an American decision, or it is likely a coincidence.
Honestly, the reference completely passed my mind until you brought up just now. I still don't really care, however. Seriously, I can understand the emotions around 9/11, but you American's seem to treat it as though Al Qaeda nuked half your country away when the Twin Towers fell, and seem to want everyone else to care just as excessively about it when we have no reason or care to.
since 9/11 is not a big deal (unless you are an American with your head stuck up your own ass) then it is impossible to get offended by it
America kills triple the amount that died in the towers every year and while it is sad for the people who died then USA as a nation did deserve it
So you get offended every year when where forced to remember it? So we can justify war and all the soldiers who have been killed because of it. Well anyway it actually doesn't mention 9/11 at all, it?s a reference that arguable wasn't really needed but is not offensive, it would be offensive if people in the game where praising the pokemon for doing it but they don't so people need to get over it.
I remember reading that article and thinking what a completely stupid piece of crap it was, and I'm usually a fan of Cracked.
It seems like the writer was clutching at straws with that, trying to find something to be offended about... it's no wonder America can get bad press sometimes with idiots like that.
Japan is picked on to THIS day about being the only country that got nuked TWICE in recent history. The minute someone mentions anything related to the attack ,which might have been prevented if I may add, people start babying out.
...The actual Pokedex entry in my game says it is 9'10", so yeah...
Also, I don't honestly think that the Pokemon developers meant any harm by including an area that may be based off of Ground Zero. It really doesn't offend me much at all, And I'm the kind of person who can't even watch videos from 9/11 without getting really upset.
1. There is no connection and people are just making stuff up or connecting dots when they shouldn't. This sounds like it's the most likely as people have been pointing out that Cracked didn't just spin the information, they made stuff up (or at least used a faulty source for their info).
2. It's just a total accident. People seem to make connections between things all the times, despite the fact there was never meant to be a connection. People are just seeing things.
3. Maybe it isn't an accident at all. Maybe it's meant to make you think of 9/11. But even then, how is it offensive? It doesn't seem like the makers of the game were trying to make a joke out of the whole event. I mean, why is it offensive to mention something that happened? It's part of history, a dark part of history, but a part of history nonetheless. It's more dishonorable to the people who were killed on 9/11 to forget the whole even then to mention it or reference it.
So no, I don't find it offensive at all, as I believe either the connection is (a)non-existent, (b)accidental, or (c)just not offensive.
Kyurem's Height is actually: 9'10" (not 9'11")
Kyurem is a comet, not a plane;
There was no tower or building of any specific description in the area it crash-landed.
The simularities with the "not-really-all-that-terrible-compared-to-worse-disasters-happening-right-now-around-the-world-not-to-mention-previous-ones 9/11 event" are fleeting at best.
since 9/11 is not a big deal (unless you are an American with your head stuck up your own ass) then it is impossible to get offended by it
America kills triple the amount that died in the towers every year and while it is sad for the people who died then USA as a nation did deserve it
9/11 was a very big deal. This is obviously a stupid conspiracy theory, but referencing an event where hundreds of people died and shrugging it off as not a big deal?
Yes, 9/11 was a big deal, in America, 10 years ago. If you're not American the event didn't really have that much to say. Oh, the plane security checks have been getting worse, but it hasn't ever been the tragedy that it seems to be for you. What I think is a tragedy is that every year 3 millions die of HIV, 2 milions of tuberculosis, 1 milion from malaria. Malaria can be prevented by mosquito nets that cost basically nothing from our point of view. How many died when World Trade Center was destroyed? If it's hundreds like you say it's less than the ammounts of those who die from malaria every day. Is 9/11 more important than that simply because it happened to Americans?
As big as it may seem (I myself can't begin to imagine having no ties to it) it's not an international tragedy, sorry to burst your bubble.
Cracked.com is offensive. It insults my intelligence. Seriously, what a load of rubbish. It spouts obvious or dubious "facts" at people in a smug, shit eating kinda way, then has the temerity to mock conspiracy theorists in this very article. The fact that they whip it all up with an air of casual vanilla racism, while citing Wikipedia articles as sources should really finish off the picture for anyone unacquainted with the most overrated website on the planet.
Do I think that the Pokemon thing is offensive? No, although people may feel the desire to discard my opinion as I'm not American. I am in fact from a country which has had worse attacks on it in the past, although we've never quite milked them in the same way. What IS insulting is this permanent attitude that September 11th needs to be placed on some kind of pedestal. It's embarrassing because it reinforces many of the negative stereotypes of you as a culture.
Running through the things on that list:
9)Shrinking towers ad: That's pretty funny, ok? Sure it's not very respectful, but then neither is a lot of practices that people engage in daily. Is it insulting? No.
8)WWF ad: That's kinda stupid. If it had been explained better though, maybe it would have been a great way to reinforce the idea that shit happens.
7)Coin:Commemorative coins exist about everything. Is it insensitive to collect WW2 memorabilia, or visit famous WW2 sites? No it isn't, and that war killed so many more people than the terrorist attack and second Gulf War combined. I agree that the company behind were cunts, but had an official mint issued, or planned to issuie a coin, it would not have been disrespectful.
6)Pig Roast: I don't see the problem here? Oh, pig can be a slang for policeman. How droll. Talk about reading into things that don't exist.
5) The OT itself. Has this been done on purpose? Of course. Is it insulting? How can it be? Art imitates life; without getting into a discussion about computer games being art etc, it's obvious that games, as well as other media, make reference to life. Why is it ok for games to feature FPS action in Afghanistan, but not reference one specific attack.
4)The Anti-Smoking ad: Simple. Effective. In theory all ads are tasteless, trying to influence someone's decision. Let me throw it back at you, which is more tasteless, this or using the tragedy to influence potential voters in government elections? Because people did that too, yet they don't appear on this list..
3)Colouring book: This is the opposite of insensitive! Helping children come to terms with a tragedy, psychologically getting them used to the fact that stuff like this happens... not allowing children to come to terms with this in a way that's suitable for them is far worse than this. What a joke.
2)Film: Insensitive? No. Rubbish? Possibly. Are films about war, religion, sexuality etc insensitive? No. They claim this is, but it's not like the film was sold on the Sept 11th premise. It's just something that happened... like it did in real life.
1)Toy: That's just stupid. The photo isn't clear enough for me to make an honest comment. Again, if it is what they say it is, it's not like other tragedies haven't been made fun of before in a similarly ridiculous fashion.
Either way, these "insults" exist, because the September 11th attacks are fairly iconic. They are also massively iconic because of the reaction of Americans, and the exposure the whole thing was given. There are terrorist attacks all over the world, but they don't get the same hallowed ground that Sept 11th gets. If the American media hadn't whored out your own tragedy, maybe people wouldn't parody it so much.
To anyone who lost someone in these attacks, you have my greatest sympathies, and I honestly mean it. Similar for those who lost someone in the resulting wars. Now let's respect these people and give them some rest.
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