Imagine that your son was murdered and that the man who shot him is now on trial. Now imagine that a software developer used your son’s name in a video game. But not just any video game. No, in this one, the player is Trayvon. He is wearing a gray hoodie and he is killing people and stealing wallets. That is the set up for a game called Angry Trayvon.

The company which created the game, Trade Digital, Inc. had a message on its Facebook page Monday night that stated they had pulled the game from the market. The message on the page (now deleted) read:

“Sorry for the inconvenience as this was just an action game for entertainment,” the statement read. “This was by no means a racist game. Nonetheless, it was removed as will this page and anything associated with the game will be removed.”

But the Google Play page is back and the app is still available as of 8:00am Pacific time Tuesday morning. Google Play either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that Trade Digital has made this app available through them again. The game was released December of 2012 and the last update to the game was on June first, according to the “About This App” bar. The thing they updated? Weapons are now cheaper to buy in the game. Here is the description from the Google Play page:

Trayvon is angry and nobody can stop him from completing his world tour of revenge on the bad guys who terrorize cities everyday.Use a variety of weapons to demolish Trayvon’s attackers in various cities around the world.As you complete a level, you will notice more bad guys coming at Trayvon at a faster pace and a deadlier attack.If you like to attack from far, then purchase the ‘dagger’ as you will be able to throw it at your enemies for the kill.If you want to dominate the leaderboards across the world, then make sure you collect the money that the bad guys will drop once you kill them to increase your score.

I don’t know about you but my first reaction when I saw this posted by the Facebook page All For Equality and Equality For All mine was drop-jawed amazement. WTF? I have been following the story of Trayvon Martin since days after the shooting and the level of immaturity displayed by this company, coupled with the utter disrespect they are showing is enough to make me want to scream. Who thinks this is okay? Oh, right – some of the people who play it. The comments from people who gave it five stars are stomach turning:

Racist…check. Make black people upset…check. another nigga dead….check.. crime down…check Haven’t even played yet.. just laughing at the butthurt people Excellent, just excellent. Finally, Trayvon is getting what he deserves. Skittles anyone?

I know. I’m right there with you. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised at comments like this, after all, there are still so many racists in the world. But there are so many more of us. Just look at the comments from people who rated it one star:

I havent looked at the game. But its out of hand. Idk what made google approve, but clearly if it comes to making a good dollar, then murder and racism is okay… Thanks android This game is very disrespectful, rude, beyond childish, and trifling. Why would you make a game of a child’s death. This doesn’t even deserve to be on the market… If I was Trayvon’s parents’ I would sue the whole Android market & the maker of this game. This is crazyWrong! Please remove, it’s offensive and not worth anyones time playing. I’ll pray for you It’s outrageous that this was created and marketed. I will be certain to remove any other apps from your company.

All of these comments are now gone because, apparently, Trade Digital took the page down for a while and then put a new one back up. With 337 one-star ratings and similar comments as these, you’d think that Goggle Play and Android would catch a clue. But apparently not. Unless they get an earful from consumers. I don’t have an Android phone but if those of you who do made your displeasure known, they might pull the game from their platform. That would be a step in the right direction.

The insensitivity of some people never seems to reach the bottom: just when you think people can’t sink any lower, they surprise you. I hope that Trayvon’s family never sees this and, if they do, I hope they sue the crap out of Trade Digital, Android and Google. This sort of thing may be free speech but free speech brings with it consequences and the responsibility for what you say and do. These companies need to understand that.

This is the “trailer” for the game:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeSLQ4BN_I0?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360]