So this story was brought to my attention by someone in the GGR Discord server:  https://medium.com/@nicolas.j.carter/how-to-know-youre-not-insane-and-how-a-cards-against-humanity-staff-writer-was-fired-40fe07fbbfe4 

A Black writer for Cards Against Humanity was gaslit, silenced, and then forcibly committed after his bosses there convinced his family that his being unwilling to be silent in the face of their racism was a mental breakdown.  

Then fired.  

Yeah… I wish I could say I was surprised.  

I quit playing after the rape allegations came out against one of the founders.  

I am not telling you what to do, just that you should know to whom you are giving your hard earned money.  Only you can make that call.  

So, yeah, what will make me quit someone whose art, media or products I once loved?

Being a rapist, defending a rapist, being racist, defending racism, being transphobic, defending transphobia, queer/homophobia, misogyny, ableism…  

Trust me, there are days when I do feel like I’m going to run out of media to watch, or products to use.  But then I remind myself that it’s ok to like problematic things, as long as you acknowledge it’s problematic and hopefully do your part to make things less problematic going forward.  

It’s also easier if the reprehensible person is dead, because then you don’t have to worry about supporting them with your dollars and attention.  

That does NOT let you off the hook though.  And we’ve talked about this a lot, you can still find the Social Justice League’s “How to be a Fan of  Problematic Things” post up on the internet and I highly encourage you to read it if you haven’t. 

But the question does get more immediate when the problematic person/people are still alive and still profiting off of whatever it is that they do.  

I, for one, when at all possible, stop giving them money or attention.  I don’t play their games, I don’t buy their books or attendant merchandise, I don’t see their movies, and I don’t voice support of them.  Period.  

I adored the Harry Potter books, but then JK Rowling outed herself as a TERF, or at the very least as someone with questionable  reasoning skills.  I idolized Margaret Atwood, but until she walks back her support of the TERFs, I’m off her books.

That one hurt, I will be honest.  I  have literally spent the majority of my life hoping what I write is half as impactful as her writing, and now…  Ugh. It’s all tainted by TERFishness.  

The thing is, only a very tiny fraction of people achieve this kind of fame and notoriety, and yes, often their skill is a large part of why they got there, but just as important is luck.  They submitted that manuscript at just the right time. They tried out for just the right role.  They made a thing that hit a sweet spot that had it happened a few months earlier or later, probably wouldn’t have  blown up like it did.  

And many of them come from a place of privilege, they have the support network to do that thing they do.  Even JK Rowling, the single mother, lived in a country that would not allow her to be homeless or starve while raising her kids and was therefore able to write the first Harry Potter. You know, not America.  

So, I guess, yeah, a large part of what will make me quit something is the realization that they people making it don’t recognize the privilege they have/had, and apparently don’t think some subset of people are actually people deserving of the same rights and respect they enjoy.  

CAH hit that line for me years ago.  Let’s see how many of you catch up now.