I sent this to Target through their contact form, but feel that it would do well as an open letter after it was suggested I make it so:

I am contacting you due to the recent GTAV incident. I am certain you know what I am talking about as it revolves around your Australian stores.

I would like to point out that the original petition is filled with falsehoods to vilify a game to further a cause of censorship due to perceived slights on the part of the people that started the petition. As an avid gamer, and one that has played through GTAV in it’s entirety, I would like to break down the falsehoods so you understand what I mean.

1. “It’s a game that encourages players to murder women for entertainment. The incentive is to commit sexual violence against women, then abuse or kill them to proceed or get ‘health’ points — and now Target are stocking it and promoting it for your Xmas stocking.”

This first paragraph opens on a false premise as it stands. In fact, I can not recall a single mission in the game where you are encouraged as a player to harm women openly. This is not to say there isn’t one or two incidents where harming a female character is needed, but to point out that it is far removed from being a core game play element if it is at all present.

To further this falsehood, the term “sexual violence” is used, as no one wants to be perceived as supporting sexual violence of any kind. I can guarantee that this language was used as a “primer” to get the reader geared to view the game in an overall negative light before they have read any further, especially if they haven’t themselves played the game.

At no point in the game is a player encouraged to commit an act of sexual violence. While there exists a diversion in the game where a character can hire a prostitute or get a lapdance, neither of these events are violent in nature nor do they come across as the player’s character being sexually violent. The player requests the “service”, the NPC then acknowledges the request, there is an exchange, and then the characters part ways. While yes, the player could then choose to kill the NPC they have interacted with, this is not encouraged, and in fact faces negative consequences in to form of police pursuit.

2. “This is Grand Theft Auto 5. This game means that after various sex acts, players are given options to kill women by punching her unconscious, killing with a machete, bat or guns to get their money returned. “

Again, the opening to the second paragraph is a falsehood, although not as severe. There are three options when interacting with a prostitute, two are almost identical as it is not a primary focus of the game. Beyond that, it still uses language that acts as if the player is encouraged to kill the woman in question, but they are not. Again, while the player can choose to attack and kill the NPC, there are ramifications of that action as described above.

3. “One of many fan clips on YouTube shows the woman being run down, run over, set alight and, still screaming, repeatedly shot. This misogynistic GTA 5 literally makes a game of bashing, killing and horrific violence against women. It also links sexual arousal and violence.” (the clip in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7__X3B3Vkk )

The above clip is linking the falsified issue the people who started the petition have with the choice of a player. It does show that the PLAYER made a choice to do that, and at no point in the clip is the player encouraged to do so. It also shows the negative consequences of doing so in the form of the wanted level star appearing in the upper right hand corner of the game play screen. After the description of the clip (which on the petition site is a link to the video clip), it is again stated as fact that the game encourages these acts. There is a playable character that does indeed kill a female character during a cinematic. This event is not controlled by the player, and is in fact not shown on screen. Leading to this event this character is threatened by the woman and held at gunpoint. (relevant clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k91sJqxV1c )

The above linked clip is the scene in question. The character, if you are unaware, is named Trevor. He is insane and also extremely disliked by the other playable characters for many actions he takes in the game, and for actions he took prior to the game’s timeline. This is the one event where violence is directed at a female character as a part of the story, and at no point was it directly shown nor was it sexual in nature.

4. “We have firsthand experience of this kind of sexual violence. It haunts us, and we’ve been trying to rebuild our lives ever since. Just knowing that women are being portrayed as deserving to be sexually used by men and potentially murdered for sport and pleasure — to see this violence that we lived through turned into a form of entertainments is sickening and causes us great pain and harm.”

Another falsehood, while not minimizing what these people may or may not have experienced, is that women in the game are portrayed as being deserving of sexual abuse and or violence. In fact there is an entire mission where one of the main characters saves his daughter from being manipulated by pornography producers. (mission in question: http://youtu.be/JT7D6TG1Ums?t=12m ). Which shows quite the opposite of the claim.

5. “This game spreads the idea that certain women exist as scapegoats for male violence. It shows hatred and contempt for women in the sex industry and puts them at greater risk. Women in the industry are 40 times more likely to be murdered by a man than any other group of women.”

The reiteration of the previously existing falsehood in this paragraph has been shown to be incorrect already. The truth of it is that while players have the freedom to act these ways, they are by no means encouraged (in fact quite the opposite), and are very, very distant from the main drive of the game.

6. “Games like this are grooming yet another generation of boys to tolerate violence against women. It is fuelling the epidemic of violence experienced by so many girls and women in Australia — and globally.”

The falsehood at the beginning of this paragraph, the statement that the game is grooming boys to be violent and to tolerate violence against women, is two-fold. It requires that the game actually encourages these behaviors, which it does not, and it requires that the game be marketed to children, which it shouldn’t. Here in the states it is an M rated game. It is advertised as something meant for an older crowd, and while your company made a mistake and advertised it under the “toys for kids” section of it’s holiday advertisement it doesn’t make it factual that it is targeted at children.

7. “Target, you pride yourself on being a family company, caring for local communities, and have a strong ethical sourcing policy. How can you do this while contributing to hostile and callous attitudes toward victims of violence and, more broadly, to all women?”

This paragraph is not so much a falsehood, but a setup for your corporate offices to doubt where they stand. The truth of this situation is that it is not your corporation’s fault if a parent buys the game for their child. By censoring this game and removing it from your shelves you have opened the door to have your corporate policy dictated by those that would silence and destroy things they don’t like. Things like this start cascades, and your higher ups know this.

8. “This would also set an example to other stockists of GTA V.”

This is the final paragraph from the petition that I will address and it plays directly into my previous statements. These people, a very loud minority, have manipulated the situation and misrepresented a game that is in no way what they claim it to be. This statement also directly implies that their attempts to silence the things they disagree with will not stop with GTAV.

I understand why your corporation might view some of my statements as being attempts at manipulation. I assure you they are not, but they are attempts to get you to look back at previous examples of these kinds of small actions in history against books and movies, and the cascades they have caused in those areas. It is not good, and I urge you to not give in to pressure from a fringe group.