Violent video game targets Koch Industries and Tea Party

September 08, 2011|by Brian Heap | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — The goal is to kill as many as you can. But these aren't just zombies, they're zombies with a right-wing political agenda.

Players of "Tea Party Zombies Must Die" use a crow bar, gun, or Uzi destroy everyone from the angry white guy to Sarah Palin.

Koch Industries is also a target of the game, with game creator Starvingeyes: Viral Advergaming taking issue with the Wichita based company's business practices.

Three zombies represent Koch Industries. There is the lobbyist pig, The Climate Change Denial Toxic Zombie and the two-headed Koch Brothers Zombie.

"I think it's a sick mind and there are other sick people out there who would believe it and think that this is something they should be doing," said State Senator Jean Schodorf.

Schodorf knows about aggressive political rhetoric. She was targeted in the last congressional race for being a RINO, a Republican in Name Only.

"You worry about your family. You worry, why would they do that?" she said.

"There's a presumption that in the context of the game those are people worth taking out," said Dr. Russell Arben Fox, a Political Science professor at Friends University.

Eyewitness News received the following email from a Koch Industries spokeswoman in response to questions about the video game:

"This alarming video game is an example of the vitriol from the extreme left that has become commonplace in today's political rhetoric. It seems that language and imagery of violence, as witnessed earlier this year when protestors at a Common Cause rally called for various violent acts, including for the lynching of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, have replaced civil discussion about issues that matter to the majority of Americans such as jobs and the economy. Despite these distractions, as a proud employer here in Kansas and in the United States, Koch Industries remains committed to responsible corporate practices that in turn will create jobs and grow the economy to benefit every American."

The maker of the video game did not respond to an email from Eyewitness News.

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