As memes link Tekken and restaurant chains, the community and competition in the game seem healthier than the brawls that broke out at Waffle House.
Last month, Katsuhiro Harada, the creator of the globally successful fighting game Tekken, was asked to create the Waffle House stage for X. Even though he set a precedent of not asking for anything from the community, he trolled the community in his own way by asking for background and original stories.
His response quickly sparked a flurry of comments, and a video of a violent fight at a Waffle House chain restaurant was posted and went viral.
This got me thinking about what people have been discussing for years about the social impact of simulated violence in video games. But people don't realize that there is more violence at the Waffle House chain than at a Tekken tournament.
The question of whether people are influenced by the games they play and emulate them in real life has been answered by gamers for many years and has even built a strong community.
“I’ve made a lot of friends because of video games,” said Cameron Salter, a member of UWT’s gaming club. “I think it definitely has its own culture.”
When people think of games, they probably think of Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat, Gears of War, or Resident Evil. All of these simulate violence to a greater or lesser degree, but in any case, gamers keep in mind that all of this is based on fantastical concepts.
But when people think of Waffle House, they think of the food, the history, and, even more infamously, the viral video of violence after dark.
“People often visit Waffle House with the expectation that they might witness this type of event firsthand,” says Ty Mate, author of Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary. Jorsky said on More Perfect Union's YouTube channel.
The Waffle House chain of restaurants is open 24 hours a day and is known as the place to stop after a late night meal or drink. Nevertheless, this is not the only reason for the violent acts, as they do not employ security guards or any safety deterrents for their employees or patrons.
Employees have been shot, robbed, assaulted, had things thrown at them, and had their fists punched in the face just for making a mistake with an order.
Matejovsky added that patrons feel free to “fly the unusual flag while moving through the cemetery.”
Various fighting game tournaments and the Waffle House chain have codes of conduct that state that violent behavior will not be tolerated. To be fair, inappropriate behavior exists in games, too. However, it would be a mistake to compare them and say they are equivalent. Only one of them, he, is serious about taking responsibility.
“I like fighting games because you are responsible for every loss,” said Bill Raktaem, another member of UWT's gaming club. He added that it's a stigma in tournament play to become violent over a loss because “if you lose, it's your fault.”
Waffle House's silence speaks volumes, as it has neither commented nor condemned the vulgar behavior at its stores. This is surprising since the “Our Story” section of the website states that the chain's founding principles are to provide friendly service, rewarding careers, and caring for employees and customers. is.
It's time for Waffle House to take responsibility and stand on the principles that started it all. Posting signs of the rules but not enforcing them in any way suggests that the rules are circumventing the situation, prompting Matejovski to say: The company name will be made public. ”
The long-running TV show SNL, known for making comedic skits about just about anything, has one about Waffle House, which takes its own approach to depicting the violence that is known to occur there.
Employees at the chain are fed up with these working conditions and have begun forming a union, but so far their efforts have been ignored.
If Waffle House is part of American culture, we have to ask ourselves if this is what we want as a society. Would we want the places we frequent to remain silent while the masses hurt each other? Or do you want these companies to uphold sound values of doing the right thing in the face of the wrong?
The gaming community is doing their part and showing a willingness to embrace competition instead of violence. There is respect between gamers and their skills, and fighting games draw inspiration from various cultures and martial arts disciplines.
When asked about fighting games and real-life violence, Miguel Gaspar, a UWT student and gaming club member, said, “We try to keep it in the game.” “Just like in regular sports, competitive trash talk can help each other get better.”
A society that immediately returns to normal life as if nothing had happened even when violence erupts cannot be called civilized. And if Harada were to set Waffle House as the setting, a place rife with violence would represent American society in Tekken.
Featured images, Waffles fight each other on the Waffle House stage. Art by Cameron Berens and Cole Martin.
