Civil Rights vs. Security

I haven't looked at the game itself yet. U.S. residents don't have to download since you're already playing


Go directly to Guantanamo . . . Do not collect $200
Patriot Act: Home Version | This Monopoly game trades in civil liberties
Mar. 26, 2006. 01:00 AM
WAYNE PARRY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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In this version of Monopoly, players don't go directly to jail; they go to Guantanamo Bay.

They don't lose cash by landing on certain squares; they lose civil liberties. A scowling John Ashcroft, the U.S. attorney general in the days after 9/11, dominates the centre of the board, replacing the Mr. Monopoly character.

Chance cards read like this: "Held For Extended Questioning! Either lose one civil liberty, or decide which player you turn in to authorities (they lose two civil liberties.)"

Designed by New Jersey graphic artist and civil rights advocate Michael Kabbash, Patriot Act: The Home Version pokes fun at "the historic abuse of governmental powers" by America's recently renewed anti-terrorism law.

While the game may be fun, Kabbash is serious about how he feels the law has curtailed Americans' freedom. The object of the game is not to amass the most money or real estate, but to be the last player to retain civil liberties.

Says Kabbash: "I've had people complain to me that when they play, nobody wins. They say, `We're all in Guantanamo and nobody has any civil liberties left.' I'm like, `Yeah, that's the point.'"

The Patriot Act was passed by Congress in the fall of 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, giving law enforcers a vast array of investigative and prosecutorial powers they previously had not enjoyed.

Critics say it unacceptably impinged on civil liberties, granting investigators the right to examine people's library and medical records, among other things.

But the government defends the law as a vital tool that has helped prevent another terror attack. When the bill was renewed this month, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said, "the 89-to-10 bipartisan vote illustrates an understanding that the Patriot Act has kept us safer while protecting the civil liberties we cherish."

Kabbash, 38, decided on Ashcroft, who stepped down in January 2005, as the visual focus of the game because "he really is the icon that people associate with the Patriot Act."

In a nod to President George W. Bush's prewar comments, the "Go" space in this game is renamed "Bring It On!" Players roll the dice to determine how many civil liberties they start out with, accumulating them from a variety of categories. U.S. citizens get 5; non-citizens get 1. Whites and Asians get 5; Arabs get 1. Christians get 5 or 6 and Jews get 4; Muslims get 2 or 3. Ultra right-wingers get 6; Democrats get 3 or 4.

Instead of landing on, say Oriental Ave., a player lands on a space colour-coded to one of the national terror-alert levels. If it's a red space, one civil liberty is lost for the player and any others within five spaces. If it's an orange space, the one who lands there selects another player to lose one civil liberty.

The jail has been replaced by Guantanamo Bay — an automatic loss of three civil liberties. You can get out only by rolling a one.

Chance cards have become Homeland Security Cards. They include: "FBI wants you for questioning, lose one turn!" and "The ACLU takes your case; gain back one civil liberty!"

Kabbash is distributing the game free over the Internet, with printable game board and playing cards. So far, more than 2,000 copies of the game have been downloaded since it debuted in 2004.

Aside from possible copyright problems with the company that owns the rights to Monopoly, Kabbash isn't selling copies of his parody because he wants it to be as widely available as possible. Plus, he says, people might suspect his motives if he were profiting from it.

He had seven physical copies of the game produced, with die-cast metal playing pieces such as a jetliner, a dollar sign and an oversized cowboy hat.

"I wanted it to be not only a parody but a teaching tool," says Kabbash, who teaches graphics at The College of New Jersey. "This is my way of putting my political ideas forward, hoping people will wake up. There's a lot of apathy and we have to realize that we're in a democracy, that we're all allowed to say something."

Kabbash is a Christian whose grandparents came to the United States from Syria. His wife, Maha, is an attorney and activist with the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The designer, who says his next project will probably have something to do with the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, is reasonably certain "there's a file on me somewhere" and notes that some of the Internet addresses that have logged on to his site have been registered to government and military users.

When asked if the FBI keeps a file on Kabbash, a bureau spokesman declined comment.

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The downloadable game is available at: http://www.graphix4change.com