Did Apple remove ALL civil war games which display the battle flag or just those that are "displaying the Confederate Flag in "offensive and mean-spirited ways...?" I have not played the games but I could certainly see different ways of handling the symbols of the Confederacy - used as used historically in that period is one thing. Used as it came to be used in the Civil Rights era is another.
Apple has removed seemingly all Civil War games from the App Store for displaying the Confederate Flag in "offensive and mean-spirited ways," our sister website TouchArcade has learned. Apple has sent a removal letter to affected developers to inform them that their app does not comply with Section 19.1 of the App Store Review Guidelines.MacRumors did a spot check of the App Store and can confirm that Apple has removed dozens of Civil War games depicting the Confederate Flag, which has been at the center of a racial controversy ignited by a Charleston, South Carolina church shooting last week. Most educational or generic Civil War apps remain available on the App Store.
A sampling of the Civil War games removed from the App Store:
Ultimate General: Gettysburg
AAA American Civil War Cannon Shooter
Civil War: Hidden Mysteries
Civil War The Battle Game
Civil War Defense
Civil War Battle Defense
1861 A Civil War Rebellion
Civil War: 1862
Civil War: 1863
Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Article Link: Apple Removes Civil War Games From App Store Over Confederate Flag Usage
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Apple Removes Civil War Games From App Store Over Confederate Flag Usage [Updated]
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But they are not accurately depicting historical events so we are good with games and culture misapplying the confederate flag as the standard bearer of the south during the civil war. This has been complete revisionist history driven by the exploitation of the confederate flag and then erroneously reproduced through media and culture to the point almost nobody actually understands what the real history is.
If the confederate flag were actually the flag of the confederacy I do think the discussion would be different, but since it is not it seems like as good as time as any to correct all these misunderstandings.
As many others have stated: removing games that display the Confederate flag is a really stupid move on the part of Apple. The Confederate flag stands for southern pride, not for slavery. If people feel like it stands for slavery then they really need a reality check, and understand that public perception isn't always fact. If the devs use it in such a manner as to harm others then I can understand; but this is not that.
Bible.is is next. It contains hate speech direct from the mouth of God.
It was not the flag of the confederacy. It was the flag of racism and segregation 100 years after the civil war though.
That was the flag of the confederacy.
So are they going to remove all Civil War movies from iTunes? What about movies like American History X? Are they going to remove those as well. They should also remove Roots and 12 Years a Slave as it actually depicts slavery. They should just remove all movies from iTunes.
Plus there's the fact that it's difficult to repurpose a symbol when it's previous meaning still exists within living memory. It's dishonest both to history, and those who suffered under its colors.
Excellent points, but even limited use as a battle flag makes it moot anyway. It would still show up in any detailed historical civil war game that depicted such units; in which case even if the game used historically accurate confederate flag the game would still be removed anyway. Either way you would end up with same problem.
I see little reason to remove games that depict it, when it's a portraying an historical battle no matter how 'prevalent' or not the symbol is.
Learn the American history then we discuss who is rewriting what. That people think the confederate flag was the flag of the confederacy and then want to scream about people rewriting history is pretty absurd.
This is exactly what I was talking about.
Oh isn't it? So you're now the true God that can say which culture is better than other? That's amazing. Every culture harm, every culture oppress, it's the human nature. The only difference is that some cultures are more powerful than others, so can attack others and try to modify them. Because it's in the human nature to fear what you don't understand and hate what you fear.
You're saying me their culture is wrong because of that but your culture is not wrong obviously, since you can judge them so it must be perfect. Your culture in which one person can die of famine while others are obese, because of a very important reason: he does not have green printed papers. Or are you saying me that women should be protected more than men, because that's your culture?
Really...
I suspect it's something like that, I would be surprised if Apple are being as silly as it's being made to sound.
Excuse you, symbols change. I am not ignorant, however you are to what people think about the flag. You are obviously some yankee who thinks he knows it all. Just cuz you think in racism and color does not mean the rest of use do or people who have southern pride. You are the kind of person who finds racism in everything.
More like typical American ignorance. It is disheartening to see not a single person so far knows that the confederate flag was not the flag of the confederacy in the civil war.
It is very upsetting to be honest. Especially given all the coverage this issue has gotten in the last week.
And if the app pulling is happening wherever it appears for any legitimate historic context, the decision is wrong. If the pulling is happening because of an incorrect usage and thus only an aggravating use of a terrible symbol, it is appropriate.
Sounds like you live in the bad part of town. You display a gay rainbow your car will be destroyed by someone too. Haters will hate.
So when can I expect the 'gay pride' flag to be completely removed from the app store.
Someone saw a commercial on the History Channel. Adding in a phrase is not the same as literally change facts when teaching children about history.
There are still plenty of people living in the south that remember exactly what the flag represented back in the 60's. Do you think their opinion of it has changed over the years?
You cannot control everyone or what they say or do. I can only tell you what it meant to the people who were around me. Also, I was in Texas, which may also be different then SC or whatever.
It was not the flag of the confederacy. It was the flag of racism and segregation 100 years after the civil war though.
That was the flag of the confederacy.
Only partially correct. The flag of Army of Northern Virgina is the "Rebel Flag", and also some battle flags of the Confederate Navy. So in the context of a Civil War GAME, it would be accurate to have the "other" flag representing the south.
I've never owed a confederate flag and see it as a non-issue BUT!
This is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. The Apple way died when Steve did and it's becoming almost comical. I will NEVER buy another Apple product again, EVER!
This is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. The Apple way died when Steve did and it's becoming almost comical. I will NEVER buy another Apple product again, EVER!
Everyone's on a witch hunt...while we're at it let's delete "White Men Can't Jump" and "The Great White Hype" as they are racist movies.
The "Confederate flag"
"Rebel flag" redirects here. For the red and black flag commonly used in video games and symbology for unnamed or generic rebel movements, see bisected flag.
The rectangular battle flag of the Army of Tennessee
Designed by William Porcher Miles, the chairman of the Flag and Seal committee, a now-popular variant of the Confederate flag was rejected as the national flag in 1861. It was instead adopted as a battle flag by the Army of Northern Virginia under General Lee.[30]Despite never having historically represented the CSA as a country nor officially recognized as one of the national flags, it is commonly referred to as "the Confederate Flag" and has become a widely recognized symbol of the American south.[31] It is also known as the rebel flag, Dixie flag, and Southern cross and is often incorrectly referred to as the "Stars and Bars" (the actual "Stars and Bars" is the first national flag, which used an entirely different design).[32] The self-declared Confederate enclave of Town Line, New York, lacking a genuine Confederate flag, flew a version of this flag prior to its 1946 vote to ceremonially rejoin the Union.