Apple is Treating the Confederate Flag the Same as the Swastika
Apple is booting everything with the flag out of its app store.
In the latest sign that Confederate flag supporter’s war for hearts and minds is going about as well as Robert E. Lee’s campaign, Apple is pulling everything from its app store featuring the banner in any context. Even Civil War games that use the flag not as an endorsement but as a matter of historical accuracy are out.
Maxim Zasov, a developer with Game Labs who helped build “Ultimate General: Gettysburg,” told Touch Arcade that they wanted their game to be the most accurate representation of the historic battle available, from weapons and uniforms down to the environment’s streams and farms.
“Spielberg’s Schindler’s List did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable,” Zasov wrote. “The historical Gettysburg movie (1993) is still on iTunes. We believe that all historical art forms: books, movies, or games such as ours, help to learn and understand history, depicting events as they were. True stories are more important to us than money.”
Zasov makes a fair point about the difference between declaring support and sanitizing history. But Apple’s choice is a telling gauge that public perception of the flag may have eroded past the point of no return. The last time Apple refused to sell games over an offensive flag, it was the swastika.
If you find yourself on the other side of this debate, consider the implications when your most vocal retail supporter is Cooter’s Place.
