I originally posted this on Power Word: Totem, but thought it was worth another post. It may be World of Warcraft related, but it has enough real world significance that I threw it on here as well. Plus, I'm having some serious writers block. Give me a break. ^_^

The Art of Persuasion.

I was playing World of Warcraft and running my toon Härpy around the Borean Tundra powering through quests when she ran into that one. It took me by surprise. I carefully read the quest text, then re-read it.

"It is fortunate you're here, Troll.

You see, the Kirin Tor code of conduct frowns upon our taking certain 'extreme' measures - even in desperate times such as these.

You, however, as an outsider, are not bound by such restrictions and could take any steps necessary in the retrieval of information.

Do what you must. We need to know where Lady Evanor is being held at once!

I'll just busy myself organizing these shelves here. Oh, and here, perhaps you'll find this old thing useful.... "

"WTF is THIS?!" I typed incredulously to my boyfriend. "I'm being told to torture a prisoner?"

Until just recently, America had a president in office who staunchly defended the use of torture techniques. Movies, television shows, and video games constantly glorify that barbaric approach to gaining information, and suddenly I was faced with my favorite game jumping on the filthy bandwagon.

I used to scoff at the idea that the entertainment industry was the cause of violent crimes. When the Columbine shooting occurred I shrieked in outrage every time I read an article that held metal bands responsible. "I listen to metal, and I'M not about to go shoot up a school," I snapped. "How about some personal accountability!" But since then I've seen our entertainment become more realistic and grim, and witnessed the emergence of the "torture porn" cinematic genre. When Hostel was released, I'm ashamed to say I went to go see it. Within the first half of the film I literally felt sick to my stomach, but worse than the film was the fact that I was surrounded by young men who laughed through the entire duration of the movie.

I am still reluctant to blame the media, blame entertainment. It still feels like a cop out to me, a way to dodge the personal responsibility. But I don't think there's any escaping the fact that we are building a culture of desensitization - perhaps have built. And I know that this quest seems insignificant. Click, click, the prisoner says a few cheesy lines, and it's done. From how I look at it, it feels like all Blizzard is doing is adding to the commonplace nature of torture, and not only that, promoting it. What does Librarian Normantis say to you?

"You see, the Kirin Tor code of conduct frowns upon our taking certain 'extreme' measures - even in desperate times such as these."

Even in desperate times such as these. I say that in desperate times such as these, and by that I mean the world we, as players, have to inhabit in real life, we need to stand up and object to this casual integration of brutality into our every day entertainment.

This is a smaller point, but one I'd still like to mention.

Children play this game.

I'm a twenty-four year old adult, I was raised with very strong moral values, and I know the difference between right and wrong. World of Warcraft is rated "Teen", and I know twelve year olds who play. Now don't get me wrong, I believe very strongly that parents should be involved in what their children are doing, and the games that their children are playing. But even if you're an attentive parent and you're watching your fourteen year old play WoW here and there, it seems all right. Cartoony graphics, bloodless battle. Odds are you probably wouldn't notice the quests to torture helpless prisoners slipped in there under the radar. What's next, torture in children's books?

And don't even get me started on Forsaken biological warfare.