Trump's video games are no laughing matter

If you’re looking for a laugh, the official White House video game portal is definitely not the place to find it.

While the Trump administration managed to lose its headline "Build the Wall" game to a swift copyright slap from The Tetris Company, the digital platform is still up and running. And for civil rights advocates, the remaining lineup isn't just bad policy—it’s a deeply disturbing look at how this administration views vulnerable human beings.

The Tetris Company made it clear that the gaming corporation it was not involved in the creation of and was opposed to the politics behind the White House game.

“At Tetris, we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them,” the company wrote in a social media statement on Friday.

“P.P.S. We take copyright infringement very seriously,” it added for good measure.

If you thought "Build the Wall" was out of line, the most toxic piece of digital media, "Rio Run," remains on Arcade.gov. This one takes the dehumanization of immigrants to an entirely new level.

Gamifying human misery

For communities of color who are tired of being used as political punchlines, "Rio Run" is a slap in the face. It’s a cynical rip-off of the classic game Snake, but instead of eating apples, the player controls a pixelated character meant to look like Donald Trump patrolling the Rio Grande.

The goal? Chase down black and brown 8-bit sprites representing migrants. Every time you catch one, they are transformed into orange prison jumpsuits to rack up your "deportation high score."

The rest of the site isn't much better, serving up a bizarre cocktail of policy trolling and vanity projects:

• "Supply Line:" A knockoff of the 1980s classic arcade game Tapper, where players aggressively trash school lunch food that doesn't meet "Make America Healthy Again" rules.

• "Trump Savings Tycoon:":  A basic cash-grab simulator where players literally catch falling diamonds and money bags to fill up a "Trump Account."

• "Flappy Bill:" A Flappy Bird clone featuring an eagle trying to dodge obstacles to fly legislation down the National Mall.

"Stop playing games with Llves"

Civil rights leaders, immigration advocates, and community organizers aren't letting this digital theater slide. They are calling out the portal for what it really is: a psychological tool designed to strip away empathy and desensitize the public to state-sanctioned violence.

Border defense activists have been quick to point out the dark irony. Leaders from groups like the Frontera Federation released scathing statements, noting that the administration has been playing games with real human lives for years, and now they’ve quite literally turned that cruelty into a smartphone app.

The gamification of immigration enforcement erases the complex, painful realities that AAPI immigrants navigate every day:

• Thousands of Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Laotian Americans originally arrived in the US as refugees escaping war and violence. Decades later, many face mandatory deportation due to old legal convictions, returning them to trauma they spent lifetimes trying to survive.

• Being deported often means exiled flight to countries individuals left as infants or young children—places where they may not speak the language, have zero family connections, and lack basic support structures.

View from the edge: Tech giants need to find a spine

The big question now is whether other massive gaming companies will follow the lead of Tetris.

Because Arcade.gov openly steals the visual aesthetics, logos, and mechanics of legendary gaming systems, activists are turning up the heat on corporate giants like Microsoft, Sega, Sony, and Nintendo. The message from the community is clear: if Tetris can stand up for its intellectual property and refuse to let its brand be weaponized for hate, these multi-billion-dollar conglomerates can do the exact same thing.

Meanwhile, community leaders and lawmakers are reminding the public not to lose sight of the bigger picture. While the White House wastes taxpayer time and digital real estate building arcades to troll its critics, real families are still dealing with the crushing weight of inflation and real-world global crises.

Turning enforcement into points-based entertainment dangerousely desensitizes the public—especially younger audiences—to human suffering, further stoking hostility against immigrant communities.

Turning mass deportation into an 8-bit playground might win applause at a rally and give some chuckles to white supremacists, but out here in the real world, the human cost is no game.

To the CEOs of Microsoft, Sega, Sony, and Nintendo: We're watching.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.

Breaking the Silence: Business leaders pledge millions to the fight against anti-Asian bigotry

A coalition of Asian American business leaders have made it clear that they will no longer be silent against the racism facing AAPI communities.

Almost 1,000 AAPI business executives from across the country added their voices and their pocketbooks against the attacks targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, March 31, by pledging to donate $10 million to organizations fighting against the anti-Asian violence.

Part of the "open letter" published in the WSJ states:

"We, the Asian American business leaders of America, are tired, angry and afraid — and not for the first time. We are tired of being treated as less than American, subject to harassment and now, every day, we read about another member of our community being physically attacked — simply for being Asian. We are afraid for the safety of our loved ones. We are angry that our families can no longer go outside in their own neighborhoods where they have lived for decades because it may not be safe. 

"We have given a lot to this country where we were born or to which we immigrated. Our community includes your cashiers, your teachers, your cooks, your doctors, your dry cleaners, your colleagues, your neighbors, your friends. We cut your nails. We write your code. We, together, have launched rovers to Mars and back. Many of us have created jobs for hundreds of thousands of Americans. We choose to make America our home and we strive every day to make America better — just like you.

"We don’t deserve to live in fear in our own country."  

The violence against AAPI communities has been growing for over a year since the Trump administration began blaming the coronavirus to China, calling it the China Virus, the Wuhan Virus and the Kung Flu.

By insisting on associated the virus to China, Trump has successfully playing to the country's centuries-old fear of Asians by blaming Asians for the pandemic that has disrupted the economy.

The mass shooting in Georgia that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women, sparked nationwide demonstrations condemning the anti-Asian attacks and prompted statements and actions by the business community.

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, YouTube cofounder Steve Chen,  DoorDash founder Tony Xu, OpenTable CEO Debby Soo and Care.com founder Sheila Marcelo are among the business leaders who have signed onto the open letter.

Other high-profile signatories include Facebook vice president of product George Lee, Boxed CEO Chieh Huang, Peloton Interactive co-founders Yony Feng and Hisao Kushi, and Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital.

“As a proud Asian American, it is disheartening to see the hatred and violence against our community,” Zoom’s Yuan told CNBC in a statement. “Racism in any form is unacceptable, and I feel strongly it is important to lend my voice and stand up with my fellow colleagues, friends and family who are suffering during this time.”

Since the ad appeared two days ago, over 2,800 AAPI business leaders and their allies have joined the pledge.

Part of the commitment the coalitions is asking includes "creating and funding AAPI employee resource groups to ensure Asian employees, especially women who bear the brunt of the harassment, have a safe space to tell their stories, receive support and report discrimination without fear of retaliation" and a commitment "to reporting out on diversity of all groups and to redefine Asian Americans as a group worth representation at all levels of the organization."

$1.25 BILLION INITIATIVE FROM BANK OF AMERICA

Prompted by the attacks against the AAPI communities, has caused an awakening of the business community to the scourge of racial discrimination has prompted other big corporations to create their own initiatives.  The giant banking behemoth, Bank of America, committed $1-billion over a four-year period to fight racial inequities. Since the rise in anti-Asian violence, the bank has extended the initial initiative to a fifth year and added $250 million.

“The urgency we feel to address long-standing issues of inclusion and racial inequality has only increased following the attacks and hate speech directed at Asian people over the last year,” said Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan. “Across the public and private sectors, it is clear that we must do more – to take action, help others convene, and serve as a catalyst for a broad-based, collective response to the critical issues affecting our nation.”

“The urgency we feel to address long-standing issues of inclusion and racial inequality has only increased following the attacks and hate speech directed at Asian people over the last year,” added Brian Moynihan.

Immediate actions taken to help accelerate and expand pre-existing work include:

• A grant to the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) organization to advance the nonprofit’s work to promote civil rights, bystander intervention, in-language advocacy, social services assistance and legal support. This funding supports five Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliates based in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.
• The addition of Connie Chung Joe, chief executive officer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, to serve as a member of Bank of America’s National Community Advisory Council (NCAC), in support of ongoing dialogue and stakeholder engagement with the Asian community in the U.S., and on broad issues of gender and racial equality. Members of the NCAC engage with leaders on Bank of America’s business policies, practices and products in support of employees, clients and local communities.
• Additional support for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) and The Leadership Conference Education Fund as the two organizations work to advance local community advocacy, training, and resources through community-based efforts.
• Increased philanthropic support through Bank of America’s employee matching gift program. Bank of America employees can double their charitable donations to these three nonprofits and select others; the company’s matching gift minimum has been lowered to $1 for the next 90 days, to expand the impact of their support to the Asian community in the U.S.

“The rising number of attacks against Asian people, including the tragic shootings in Atlanta recently, have served as a stark reminder that we must stand united against discrimination, hate speech and violence,” said Thong Nguyen, vice chairman at Bank of America. “We will not tolerate acts of racism in any form. Today’s commitment builds upon Bank of America’s many years of work in support of inclusion and racial equality.”

SONY'S $100 MILLION RACIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE

In June 2020, Sony Music Group led to the establishment of a $100 millionGlobal Social Justice Fund with the full support of all Sony Group companies. This fund is used to support initiatives that promote social justice, anti-racism initiatives and to foster diversity, equity and inclusion both inside and outside of the company around the world.

This past week, Sony announced it has made donations to Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and Asian American Legal and Education Fund (AALDEF).

"Racial injustice is a global issue that affects us all," said Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Corporation. "Today I join together with the leaders of Sony's businesses in the U.S. to denounce the appalling violence against the Asian American community. 

"As a company that cherishes diversity as one of our core values, we are committed to the human rights of all people. Sony places great importance on treating everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religious beliefs or physical ability," said Yoshida. "I stand shoulder to shoulder with our group leaders to condemn this ongoing violence and discrimination."

Three upcoming movies will feature all-Asian casts

DISNEY

Who can fill these iconic roles? Jasmine, right, looking for Mr. Right - Aladdin.

THREE HOLLYWOOD MOVIES in various stages of production are looking for all-Asian casts.

It took 25 years since the Joy Luck Club before Hollywood had the guts to again cast an all-Asian cast for the movie version of Crazy Rich Asians. The extensive casting hunt was a long-drawn out effort because the producers were unable to find the right actors in the historic all-Asian cast. 

Flash forward to 2017: The Disney live-action productions of Aladdin and Mulan are also seeking all-Asian casts. Sony is also doing the story of woman warrior Mulan with an all-Chinese cast. You would think that we're entering a golden period for Asian actors but all three productions are facing the same problem as Crazy Rich Asians. 

Disney is reportedly trying very hard to avoid the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag or be accused of whitewashing or yellow face, or in the case of Aladdin, brown face. Mulan is set in ancient China and Aladdin in a mythical kingdom in the Middle-east or Southern Asia.

Exacerbating the search, Aladdin is a musical and Mulan, still in pre-productioin planning, might very well become a musical. The box-office success of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast have prompted the studio to look on the live-action projects as musicals. The animated versions of both films had catchy and romantic songs and music associated with them. 

So the actors must not only look the part, but they have to be able to sing or at least carry a tune. Dancing would be a plus.

Aladdiin, further along in production than Mulan, has reportedly had over 2000 actor audition for the two leads of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. Will Smith has already signed on for the pivotal role of the Ginie. Guy Ritchie is the director.

Some well-known names - Dev Patel and Riz Ahmed - have auditioned but apparently, haven't locked down the role. Ritchie is reportedly looking for a fresh faces to play Jasimin and Aladdin.

Mulan Director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) said that her project will be a "girly martial arts extravaganza." That was initially interpreted that her Mulan would not be a musical. Since she made that statement, she has walked back on it a bit. Apparently, the studio is still leaning towards incorporating the music from the animated version into the live-action remake.

RELATED: Ming-Na Wen seeks role in 'Mulan' remake

She is encountering the same casting problem that faced CRA director Jon Chu and Aladdin's Ritchie. Where are all the actors of Asian descent? The abilityi to speak English eliminates a wide swath of popular actors based in Asia.

Sony is also doing its own version of Mulan. Financed by Chinese - that will also feature an all-Chinese cast and directed by Alex Graves. No cast announcements have been made on that production.

DISNEY

Disney is having trouble finding Asian actors for its live action remake of Mulan. Really?

The motion picture industry is treading lightly on the issue of culturally appropriate casting. Three of four recent productions that had casting controversies tanked at the box office after a social media groundswell of criticism, most of which originated from the Internet savvy Asian/American community.

RELATED: Hollywood has a mostly black and white view of America

Casting bankable stars such as Matt Damon as lead in The Great Wall of China, Emma Stone cast as a hapa in Aloha and Scarlett Johansson as Motoku Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell failed to overcome the whitewashing protests. They lost money in U.S. ticket sales.

Only Dr. Strange, featuring Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, managed to break even at the box office. However, it should be noted, all of the aforementioned films did well enough in the Asian market to make up for the disappointing showing at the box office in the U.S. 

With that economic argument to justify those casting failures thrown out the window, coupled with recent studies that show diverse casting increases the chances of box office success, Hollywood has had to reconsider its traditional casting choices.

Prior to the 2015 #OscarsSoWhite controversy that ripped off the institutional racism in Hollywood motion pictures and television, a study by the University of Southern California's  Annenberg School of Communications, found that over half of the 400 films and television series studied did not feature an Asian person in a speaking role at all. And most of the roles featuring Asians perpetuated stereotypes.

Asian and Asian/American actors must be breaking down the doors for an audition for these movies. Yet, all three can't find the right actors. Really?

Give Hollywood a helping hand: Who would you cast in these movies?

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