Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Your Virtue Has Now Been Signaled


As you might have heard, someone on the internet said something stupid and prejudiced.  I know, shock and horror!  How could this be?

Did I mention this is the internet?  Stupid and prejudiced is kind of the internet's brand.

Specifically, Bob Bledsaw II wrote something nasty about Jews and also that black music appropriated by Elvis is pretty good.

I don't know him, but I've heard of him.  And, of course, I know of Judge's Guild, but I've never used their products.  If there's no chance of it having come from an LSD fever-dream, I'm just not interested.

Predictably, many are coming out of the woodwork to condemn what he said.  That's fine.  I condemn it, too.  Just like when I condemn it from the mouths or twitter accounts of Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and similar progressives.

But what came as a surprise is this - it wasn't the radical left or woke police or social justice warriors who are trying to "out" this old guy as a horrible bigot who must be shunned without any means of supporting himself or his family.  No, it was the neutral-ground fence-sitters, the moderates, the centrists, mild mannered conservatives, and those who don't want to get involved in politics.

Just a year ago, a popular OSR bartender disowned probably the only trans-person he's ever been in close contact with.  And I've received cold stares and silence from many quarters of the community.  But I'm not going to stop being me, just as I'm not going to stop pointing out hypocrisy. 

So, what have we learned from our moral superiors, the political leftists who've tried to deplatform, demonetize, and cancel everyone that deviates from woke scripture, anyone who doesn't pass the litmus test of egalitarian brother and sisterhood, all who stand in the way of intersectional workers of the world uniting?

That it's better to accuse and punish others than to look inward and try make better choices for ourselves.

You change views by discussing them openly, not beating people over the head merely for holding them.

And then you get comments like anti-semitism is merely talking to their OSR base or that President Trump ushered in a new era of racism, anti-semitism, sexism, homo and trans-phobia, etc.  That, too, is bullshit.  Trump has been more pro-Jew and pro-Israel than any President in memory.

I honestly thought we were better than that.  We don't need to virtue signal because, as we all know, that currency is vastly over-inflated, its stock doomed to plummet until 1,000 digital back-pats can only afford you a crust of Democratic Socialist bread.

If you want to stop buying this product or stop promoting that designer, more power to you.  It's a free country, you can do what you want with your dollars and time.  Just don't ask me to sign my name to some blacklist or join the outrage mob or help you force some dude with a terrible worldview from attending an RPG convention. 

VS

p.s. We'll be discussing the issue this Sunday on Inappropriate Characters.

19 comments:

  1. Thank you for the comment, hoss! I'm trying to walk that fine line between also lamenting that guy's offensive comments and going full-SJW. Never go full-SJW.

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  2. This: "We don't need to virtue signal because, as we all know, that currency is vastly over-inflated, its stock doomed to plummet until 1,000 digital back-pats can only afford you a crust of Democratic Socialist bread." That's artistic, man. Had to read it twice. May put it up on my wall.

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    1. Haha, thanks! Glad you liked that turn of phrase.

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  3. "Ever since we've made Indignation our official currency, we have all become fantastically rich, but now it takes over one million screams about micro-aggressions to buy one ship's peanut." --with apologies to the late Douglas Adams for this extreme re-twisting of his words.

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  4. It's the middle-of-the-roaders who are asking for de-platforming, now? That's a sign Bledsaw did pretty bad stuff, OR the lines of communication have cut new channels.
    You're trans-species, aren't you? That can be rough in an uncaring, uncomprehending world.
    Judges' Guild was known for much-appreciated supplements for Classic Traveller. None of the old guard is going to call for boycotts of them, though.

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    1. Not yet, perhaps it's a matter of time...

      Technically, I suppose trans-species is correct; although za'akier isn't that different from ordinary humans on Earth. Maybe trans-racial is closer, but I don't want to get into racial politics and that cultural burden.

      Thanks for the comments, Draconian! I liked that twisted Douglas Adams quote above.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. This is a sign of things to come. I don't think they are quite as center as they once claimed, or they are doing this out of fear. I'm glad Erik has time to fucking dig into this shit instead of heading Torchlight.

    Also, Drive thru removed all JG products as expected.

    Had to edit cause the first try was confusing.

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    1. Drive Thru did? I hadn't heard that. Then it's only a matter of time...

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    2. I think we're gonna have to start hitting the hobby harder with that 90's edge. Dirty, gritty, offensive, and unapologetic about it. Folks got comfortable with to spaces available and the corpo commie neo libs came in with strict ideology and flooded every public space with an infectious miasma. Tolerance has shielded the intolerant. Fear of excommunication and exile grips the creative spirit. Anonymity is an illusion anymore. As you pointed out, the sickness affects our own to not address the individual in private to correct errors in their beliefs and speech, but to expose them to the harsh eyes of those without potty or remorse. To ruin the lives of not only the individual but the lives of their family, driving wedges and pushing these people further into the arms of extremists. They want you at the edge of the extreme because they need an enemy to survive. Or maybe it's nothing but people being shitty and needing drama because normal life seems dull by comparison. Maybe this is the only way some people know how to get a come up.

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    3. Eventually, things come full-circle.

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  7. I could be wrong, but from what I understand this guy is simply the kid who inherited the Judges Guild IP and not actually a gamer. He profits off of sales but otherwise has no real connection to the hobby.

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  8. I try to stay out of all of this shit and will be the first to admit the OSR, at it's worst, has a tempest in a teapot at least weekly. I'm a fence-sitter fairly often, but the people who brought to our attention do business with this guy and his statements are just beyond the pale. I understand your point and maybe I'm a hypocrite, but I have to sleep at night.

    I will say that I'm not a fan of deplatforming someone and don't think that JG should not be allowed to be sold, I just won't buy any of it.

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    1. That's fair, hoss. I don't blame you. Just don't know what will happen next... someone canceled for being Catholic?

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    2. Next are going to be associated individuals and companies. Hope for his sake Erik doesn't have anything incriminating that could lead himself to ruin.

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    3. During the Reign of Terror, no one was safe from the guillotine.

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  9. Wow, kinda like an anti-Mormon Blessing of the Dead

    I do hope these Neo-Stalinist McArthy-adjacient folks are having at least SOME enjoyment in their lives

    And Tegel Manor by Judges Guild (who provided adventures outside the USA culture) still stands the test of time

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  10. How is Virtue Signal not a spell yet?

    Though I might prefer Signal Virtue.

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