Tag Archives: Diversity

Diverse GenCon

GenCon, the biggest board game convention in North America, has a very diverse (read: non-white male) line-up for its Insider Featured Presenters this year, including a female majority. I’ll let a celebrator explain (H/T: VD):

That’s right, folks. There are 13 female IIFPs and only 12 men. This means there are MORE WOMEN THAN MEN, and that is a HUGE FUCKING DEAL, because that is a HUGE amount of change in a really short period of time.

So, how did GenCon attain this goal of diversity:

And importantly, this lineup is much more reflective of the diversity of activity within the gaming industry as a whole. In years past, in order to get selected you pretty much had to be a cishet white dude working for a mainstream company on trad tabletop games. But this year’s lineup includes a wide swath of thought-leadership in the hobby, including tabletop publishers, LARP designers, event organizers, activists, critics, podcasters, academics, and community managers. Which is EXCITING!

Consider the nerd/geek distinction when reading the italicized list.

Here’s the list of people and their credits.

It has abandoned having presentations from people who create board games in companies that matter, in favour of people who like to talk about board games or have nothing to do with board games. Of course, our diversity celebrator thinks abandoning the raison d’etre of the convention is EXCITING!

Why is it that diversity is only ever achieved by allowing those who don’t make things, unimportant people, and those aren’t involved in the activity equal say to to key players who actually create things?

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Also, notice this: more women than men is a huge deal. The individuals and their worth aren’t even mentioned, just having women there is all that is celebrated. Yet it is evil to suggest that: “Indies chosen as IIFPs were selected because of pretentious identity politics and not merit.” It’s all identity politics all the time with them, yet pointing it out is just wrong.

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Contra Vox, I doubt this particular action will effect GenCon attendance over much. Of the many people I’ve known who’ve gone to GenCon not one has ever mentioned attending a panel. Most of the people I know who go, go to play as many games as possible and buy the newest games. I doubt a change in the industry panel line-up will even be noticed by the majority of attendees, let alone effect their attendance. (Although, it could be a first step to other measures).

No One Will Help You

Going around is the story of a Democratic activist who encountered diversity on the subway and was culturally enriched with a folding knife. The Federalist goes on some kind of shaming rant of the beta males who watched his encounter with vibrancy, but this is misguided. The better question is why would we expect anyone to help?

The freedom of self-defence has been under full-court attack, particularly by the progressive types of whom Sutherland was a part. If you read his blog and look at the voting record of the man he interned with, Sutherland was in favour of removing people’s ability to protect themselves and others. Why would anyone protect a man who not only is unwilling to protect himself but is dedicated to preventing others from protecting themselves?

Beyond the why, is the how. Contrary to what you see in the movies, fighting off a knife attack is very difficult if you’re unarmed and don’t have training. Davidson has no clue what he’s talking about when he says, “Any two adult men in that subway car could have stopped him, no matter how crazy or strong he was.” Thanks to Democrats like Sutherland, DC has very restrictive concealed carry laws and bans open carry, among other restrictive gun laws.

The only effective means of stopping stopping a knife attacker is practically illegal in Washington, so how exactly was someone supposed to intervene?

Further, the progressive types of Sutherland was a part have been actively trying to remove the ability to prevent these types of attacks from police. Look at what Jim Himes, the Democrat for whom Sutherland interned, has to say on the issue of Ferguson and policing black crime:

One indisputable fact in the United States of America today, and there’s no argument about this, is that the judicial system, from stop and frisk to who gets arrested to what crimes they get charged with to how long they get sentenced to all the way to the application of the death penalty is dramatically discriminatory against our African American population, There’s no argument about that. National data shows that if you’re an 18-year-old African American man arrested with marijuana in your pocket versus a white 18-year-old with marijuana in your pocket you’re treated totally different by the judicial system. The African American community in Ferguson knew that.

Well, we can see what supporting that opinion got Sutherland. Did you know that Jasper Spires may have been high on synthetic marijuana and had been arrested for felony robbery a week earlier, but was released only the Friday before the stabbing? Sometimes, you have to learn the hard way that ideas have consequences; sadly, Sutherland learned the hardest way.

Finally, why would anybody want to intervene to stop a black criminal from violence. Why would anybody volunteer to be the next George Zimmerman? Who wants to be the next Darren Wilson? Why would someone want to have risk having their life destroyed to protect some random stranger?

Did you know that Jim Himes, the person Himes interned for, attended an “I am Trayvon Martin” rally back in 2012?

It seems the demonization of those who protect their neighbours and themselves didn’t turn out too well for Sutherland.

Now, none of this is an accident. There has been a campaign (intentional or not) to get you to stop helping your neighbours so that the atomization of society can continue. As a Democratic operative, Sutherland was on the front lines of this campaign. It’s too bad the atomization worked against him when the time came.

We can’t atomize society and attack those who help others then expect others to help when people are in need. Jesus might help, but we’re not Jesus. A person might help family and friends, but strangers? Probably not. Why would anybody help a random stranger when helping is impossible and will lead to a lynch mob?

Congratulations, you won. No one will help you.