I read this InformationWeek article and was somewhat surprised to see the Covenant referred to as a “shadowy, terrorist group”. This says to me one of two things:
- The author has never played Halo before. As any gamer knows, the Covenant aren’t what you’d typically describe as terrorists. They’re clearly alien invaders.
- Contemporary political language is really re-shaping the way we perceive conflict.
I suppose propaganda to the effect of demonizing one’s opponent has probably always existed, but it still surprises me that we tend to think of our opponents as less than human, or as being unlike us.
But, of course, Halo is just a video game, and the Covenant really aren’t like us!
Update: Even funnier than the reference to the Covenant as terrorists is the ensuing debate in the article’s comments section!
