The phrase ‘in Minecraft‘ has been used to soften many problematic statements. A case from the USA clearly shows that this softening does not help at all.
Any statement, no matter how grim, can be softened by simply adding ‘in Minecraft’. This is what a 38-year-old man from New Jersey presumably thought, who expressed quite radical views in a forum and called for murder.
However, the ‘in Minecraft’ phrase did not protect him from being subsequently arrested by the police.
What is behind this? The threat was directed at County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. He has come into focus over the past few weeks from people in the ‘Far Right’ movement after he advocated for Jewish people who were targeted by anti-Semitic propaganda and were in the crosshairs of right-wing extremists.
In one of the 4chan forums, the now-arrested person previously wrote:
Shoot Chitwood in the head, and he is no longer a problem. You will then have to find a new man who is the problem.
But shooting Chitwood in the head fixes the problem immediately and permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him.In Minecraft.
Chitwood, who had received several death threats in recent weeks, apparently welcomed the arrest and mentioned on Twitter:
‘What a shame. A 4chan troll had to leave his room.’
Chitwood had previously commented on the threats, saying, ‘You are in the wrong district. I stand with my Jewish friends, and I am honored to be on your target list. It is an honor for me to be targeted by scumbags like you.’
The 4chan forum is often criticized. Not only are racist and anti-Semitic views frequently spread and “discussed” here, but several shooting sprees have already been announced on the platform.
The arrest was recorded by the police with body cams and published on YouTube.
‘In Minecraft’ as a magical formula that frees one from any consequence – No
What does ‘in Minecraft’ actually mean? Although adding the phrase ‘in Minecraft’ has become a meme in recent years, it also originated in the 4chan forums. It is generally added to statements and views that are considered controversial or ‘difficult’. The phrase ‘in Minecraft’ is intended to take some edge off such statements.
It is an attempt to playfully soften statements while simultaneously protecting oneself by implying ‘I didn’t mean that seriously’ – without retaining the controversial view or often inhumane plans for oneself.
In a more casual meme environment, ‘in Minecraft’ is also often added as a joke to calm the fictional FBI agent who is reading all statements in the chat.
Basically, it seems that many have the thought that a statement cannot be prosecutable if framed in the context of a video game. That this is not the case is shown quite clearly by this example.
