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Comment by tyingq | Hacker News Reader

That's where I'm confused. I see the issue with products appropriating it as a sort of brand hijacking...like the example of a first aid kit with a red cross.

But tv, movies, games, etc, just showing an accurate representation of real life, within the media itself seems...normal.

I think if they have to, the least confusing thing would be a red square with a white cross inside it. That's what a lot of first aid kits seem to do. Though perhaps the Swiss wouldn't be thrilled. Maybe a white cross in a red circle?

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> an accurate representation of real life

In real life, the symbol is pretty strictly limited to a specific international organization well-known for their neutrality in armed conflict. Portraying it as just meaning 'healing' takes away from the power of that neutrality.

>the symbol is pretty strictly limited to a specific international

It's not though. Lots of military ambulances, from many countries, not associated with the Red Cross, have a red cross on them.

One example, there are many more: https://www.google.com/search?q=british+military+ambulance&t...

These are medical units that fall under the protections of the red cross as outlined in the Geneva Conventions.

"Under the Geneva Conventions, the three distinctive emblems of the red cross, red crescent and red crystal are intended to identify and protect medical and relief workers, military and civilian medical facilities, mobile units and hospital ships during armed conflict."

https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDF_s/Inte... (PDF)

Ah, but going back up to the top, the Red Cross seems to be unhappy with in-game depictions of this reality.

Edit: Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought the Red Cross was complaining about military ambulances, hospital ships, and so on, depicted in games. In addition to less realistic uses.

Because it's used generally as "health" and not "protected health worker" in video games.

I suspect the red cross would not take issue with a game using the red cross to depict untargatable aid workers.

But they're not "untargetable". Laws of physics say so.

"Countries around the world protect the red cross emblem and limit its use to official Red Cross organizations and programs, as well as the medical services of their armed forces. In the United States, only the American Red Cross and the medical corps of the Armed Forces are permitted by law to use the red cross emblem. Some U.S. companies were granted an exception that were already using the emblem before 1906. Use of the red cross emblem by anyone else is not only prohibited, but also unlawful in the United States and around the world." (https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2020/...)

I don't think games are very good about doing an accurate representation there. They mostly seem to slap a red cross on anything "healing" related, like not-non-combatant military medics (Starcraft medics and medivacs come to mind, which the game specifically expects you to fire at).

Holy shit. They're medics, they're showing a red cross, and you're supposed to shoot at them. (https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Medic)

Oy.

To complicate things one further layer down, what about games (Escape From Tarkov's AFAK for example) having products in them that do hijack the red cross, which is somewhat common in real life.

As you say, some actual US military first aid kits have a red cross on them...here's one I've seen in real life: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0106/5435/1460/products/1a...

This falls under the appropriate case as defined under the Geneva Conventions, because these would be used by people administering aid in armed conflict.

Yes, but then depicting a military first aid kit in a game, as it appears in real life...is somewhat normal. At least to me. That's what you see on TV and movies.

And, FWIW, those first aid kits in big green plastic boxes are mostly used by regular soldiers. The medics have different kits in backpack looking containers called an M-9.

DOOM's health pickups have had the red cross on them, it was released in 1994. DOOM was a widespread cultural phenomenon, at least in the US. Did the Red Cross try to address this at all?

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