Is the 9/11 Pokemon offensive?

[XShrike]

Is the 9/11 Pokemon offensive?

To me? No. I would actually be happy if there was more exploration of the event.

I hate it when something bad happens and everyone gets over sensitive about it. Know what doesn't help get over trauma? Ignoring it so that if there is any hint of it you overact.

Yes there is a period of "too soon" but, I was so happy when I started to hear 9/11 jokes.

 

[Willsor]

10 fucking years ago.

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.

Stop bringing it the fuck up. Please.

Yeah. that.
But then some Americans think 9/11 was the worst tragedy in the history of man. DURPPPP

 

[Brad Shepard]

Stop trying to start a flamewar, It happened 10 years ago. It was terrible yes, but get the fuck over it.

 

[Furioso]

Having beaten the game, I can say this is total bullshit, that pokemon is NOWHERE near that city, that supposed "ground zero" is the games desert region well behind the city, oh and when i say nowhere near, i mean on the complete other corner of the map as far as possible, they even talk about (the people in game) the creature from the meteor attacking a town near where the meteor hit, and its a small rural town near where the pokemon is, once again, far as hell away from the city

 

[SketchyFK]

I really dont find it offensive because I really didn't KNOW about it. There are 4hundred and so pokemon and dex these days and its only looking MASSIVELY into the game does this show up. I have the game, I know there was alot of american influence IN the game, but there was never anything about a pokemon smashing into a city being referenced as far as i am aware.

To be honest, it seems as though the artical's author is reading things faaaaaaaar too much. Would he rather have they not mentioned it AT ALL?

** on a side note, does this mean in the next game they will reference some sort of earthquake torn country the likes that has destroyed Japan?

 

[Protomega]

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

I wouldn't say that 9/11 wasn't a big deal. In fact it was a big deal.. It killed quite a bit of people. The fact that people are finding every excuse to be offended though is beyond the point of stupidity. I personally find it offensive that you say 9/11 is not a big deal, when I personally think it is, but I find it equally offensive to try and find every single thing that could possibly connect with the numbers 9 and 11 in the same structure. Should we get mad at a song artist because his song just so happens to be 9:11 long? No.

 

[The Rockerfly]

10 fucking years ago.

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.

Stop bringing it the fuck up. Please.

This all the way this. Statistically 9/11 was a failure with only 90% of people who could have been killed actually dying so by the terrorist standards it was a failure. 3000 people a year is less than heart failures, death rates of any cancer patient and less than the number of people a year who get killed in car crashes.

Yet the American government uses is as a blanket statement to justify almost anything. Think about the security in airports after 9/11 because of terrorists, the killswitch in the US because it could be "cyber 9/11", the war you guys have been in for 8 years if memory serves me correctly, how much money, time and effort has been put into fighting an enemy who could literally be anyone at any time in any place. The utter insanity and paranoia created is the most shocking part, not the actual attack. You let the terrorist do what they planned to do, inflict terror

All stats from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/aug/18/usa.terrorism

It was 10 years ago, it was a failure, your country is worse off as a governments reaction and not the actual attack. I am not offended in the slightest

 

[soam108]

This Pokemon stuff is BS but 9/11 was a big deal...just because it happened a decade ago it's all forgotten?

 

[Caligulove]

I think people are reading too much into this. Plus, I didn't really get why Cracked thought the map was offensive other than it appeared to vaguely connect to 9/11- what's so offensive about that?

So many people seem to be so offended by 9/11 and caught up in 'never forgetting' it that they're actually forgetting to move on in the areas where they should move on. Namely, rebuilding the WTC (exactly as it was, in my opinion) and not using it to infringe upon people's civil rights and start new waves of McCarthyism, you know, that would be nice.

 

[ramboondiea]

read the stroy thinking it would atleast be worth a chuckle to look at over reactions then i noticed something.
isnt the height 9'10"? (at least according to the wiki>

 

[Byere]

honestly, despite knowing it's based on America, I totally didn't even notice who whole thing with ground zero till I read this...

 

[Neverhoodian]

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

Yep, all those human beings who died in the attacks sure did deserve it, didn't they? I mean, those heartless accountants and firefighters were *gasp* working to keep their families fed and happy. Those bastards!

While we're on the subject, what about all those evil relatives and friends of those who died? Yep, they certainly deserved all the emotional and psychological suffering of losing a loved one, didn't they?
/sarcasm

Human lives aren't bargaining chips. Trying to justify civilian deaths with more civilian deaths is just cold-hearted.

Back on topic, I would take anything Cracked says with a grain of salt. Its meant to be satire first and foremost. I haven't played the game in question, but based on what I know it just sounds like a coincidence to me.

 

[Overlord SoS]

Also remember that Unova in only influenced by New York, I don't see Victory Road or the Pokemon League anywhere in New York, nor do I see why referring to the impact sight of a meteor as "Ground Zero" has any connotations to 9/11 other than the general term used to describe the sight of a disaster.

Seriously, ANY connotation between Kyurem and 9/11 is either a coincidence or you're looking into it too much.

 

[megaraccoon]

i thought of something really relevant too say to this but i wont my level of apathy toward the issue overrides my will to contribute.

 

[BanthaFodder]

Masuda confirmed that this was not their intent... pretty nutty coincidence, but it's only that, a coincidence... it seems sorta like what I like to call the Swastika Effect. before the Nazis, the swastika was a symbol of peace. but since WWII, everyone has associated the swastika with the Nazi party. just like how after 9/11, everyone associated the term "Ground Zero" with that one event. the way I see it, it's not so much people looking too deep into it as it is people putting the picture together the wrong way. it's based off of New York City and there's a big barren wasteland roughly where the Twin Towers were. this area is then hit by an object from the sky. this obviously isn't what Masuda was going for, but it just kinda popped up of it's own accord.


Off Topic: and to all the people going "9/11 wasn't THAT big a deal, stop WHINING.", please, fuck off and go troll somewhere else. yes, it was ten years ago. no, that does not mean that it's "no big deal". jokes are harmless, but to insinuate that the deaths of innocent men, women, and children magically un-tragic themselves after ten years is just flat-out horrible.
(alright, rant over)

 

[Tsaba]

Seriously though, I don't see how that's offensive. A meteor hit a part of the city, and it's quarantined, from something.... sounds more like the pickle they are in.

 

[emeraldrafael]

http://www.cracked.com/article_19087_the-9-most-offensive-911-references-in-pop-culture.html

When I saw the title, I was 99.7% sure I would see that cracked article.

OT: As an American, I'm not really bothered. In fact, I dont think anyone would really have put that all together (or even noticed its height is 9'11"). Yes, its tragic event in history, but it is history, and We cant just keep using it as our modern day alamo war cry.

I honestly think people are reading too much into it.

 

[Randomorific]

Wow, so its come to a point where the numbers 9 and 11 instantly spark offence to SOME (not all) Americans to be honest you should just get over it really, it was 10 years ago.

Although America as a country (not all the individuals) does seem to take everything personally.
Pokemon just needed variety in what would otherwise have been a pretty generic map, grass area, mountain area, city area etc. Desert area is a good addition and near the city seems as good a place as any to put it.
Also the whole fact that the map is divided into 3 parts which supposedly makes it like New York because the map has 3 main bridges as New York does is complete crap since I assume the areas increase in difficulty as you progress - the first easy, the second medium difficulty, the third relatively hard and seriously why do brides now make this New York, how else does an entire region quickly cross a reasonably small body of water without an entire fleet of boats?

 

[ZeroHero3D]

I don`t get it, honestly....

First, like many of us that started up the game im sure, didnt even consider the city in question to be a reference to New York. Castelia City (the culprit in question), is the biggest metropolis ever placed into a Pokemon game, with tall skyscrapers, rush our traffic, and prominent seaside views from its hourbors.

The accused "ground zero" area is OUTSIDE the city, and its a dessert. Route 4 and the Dessert Resort are the first steps to the north of the city, and are therefore not a part of the city. So how excatly are they a reference to the 9/11 attacks? My conclusion, they dont.

These were made to appear like a 9/11 refernce by people (mostly Americans) who are stuck in the past. They still cant move on. And people will look for anything that offends them, just so they can feel like they accomplish somthing.

And as for the supposed "9/11 Pokemon", it's name is Kyurem. Its origins about its decent to our world like a meteor are referencing the fact that most comets are made of stone and ice crystals. Not much else is said abouts its place of landing, but one thing is interesting...

According the ingame Pokedex, Bulbapedia, and the Official Collectors Edition: Pokemon Black & White Strategy Guide and Unova Region Pokedex (which i am currently holding), describes the Pokemons official height as.......wait......9 feet 10 inches.....

Yup.

I dont know where the 9`11 height came from, but its not true people. Get over it. This isnt a terrorist attack, these are not 9/11 references, Sadam Hussein is dead, the towers are gone, it happened 10 years ago, nothing more can be done about it.

Lets all just grow up, stop acting like immature self-absorbed children, and stop blaming a fucking cartoon for causing 9/11.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Stop taking these things too personally, how is it even offensive in the first place? It's merely a reference at the most. GameFreak aren't laughing at anyone by putting it in their game, they're merely saying 'oh, yeah, we thought it might be a little insensitive to copy the actual story into our game so we came up with another story and added a little bit of a reference to get the idea across.'

How come no one, and I mean no one, can even mention it without offending these sort of people?

NOTE: I know most US citizens are willing to accept, mourn and allow people to make their references, but I get the feeling that there will be many who actually take offence in this.