Black Lives Matter

[UltraAlt]

Thank you, DEVs, for standing up to protect the International Community.

 

I saw the comment "Everyone can be a hero. Homecoming supports equality, freedom, and justice for all, no matter who they are." and "Black lives matter." and I had to come here and post how much I appreciate you making that stand.

I am in agreement with you.

 

I don't mean to belittle or undermine what needs to be done in regards to Black Lives Matter. I think All Lives Matter, and believe that the underlying problem in this case is racism projected through (general) police brutality. I believe the two are interlinked and stem from economic, community status, educational, medical, sexual, etc.  disparities.

 

A hero works to uplift those in need (regardless of the type of need).

We are all better when we uplift and support one another. I believe this on a global as well as local level (along with all the levels in between).

 

Thank you.

[Patti]

Some of us were wondering if there would be an official statement made by homecoming on this.  Where did they post it?

[Troo]

Please keep the politics out of the escape that the game provides. While appreciating the sentiment, this could be perceived as trolling folks of a different opinion and could quickly devolve into a topic where things are said that then have to be policed by moderators.

 

-peace

[lemming]

16 minutes ago, Patti said:

Some of us were wondering if there would be an official statement made by homecoming on this.  Where did they post it?

gmotd is where I saw it

[Troo]

[lemming]

I don't think treating people respectfully is politics, it's decency.  Are we playing redside or blueside in the real world?  (Or stuck in a goldside arc?)

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

1 hour ago, Patti said:

Some of us were wondering if there would be an official statement made by homecoming on this.  Where did they post it?

Honestly hard to take it seriously after their reaction to my suggestion to remove Blue Steel as a trainer, since in lore he is very much your classic violent cop, given a  free pass on his violence because of his connections to and protection by Statesman. Hell Ill probably get another infraction just for saying this. But actions speak louder than words. and if they are really in support of the current protests against police violence, a simple symbolic gesture like locking up Blue Steel would be a real message about were the HC team stands in this historic moment as we see a 2nd civil rights movement born like a Phoenix rising from the tragedies that time and again have been swept under the rug.

 

Go ahead HC team infract me ban me whatevs, dont even care because I feel what I have written needed to be. You can not claim solidarity or support while saying an out of control super cop can beat someone into dead meat and continue to be seen as a hero.

 

Because lets be honest here, if these RL events did play out in Paragon, Blue Steel would not be siding with the protestors. Hm that would be a awesome sight Back Alley protecting protestors as Blue Steel leads the charge of riot police.

 

I am now retracting my statement about them taking this seriously. The action in this thread has proven to me that they are indeed supporting the need for a complex and uncomfortable discussion. And it was in no way my intent to sound as if removing Blue Steel was some kind of demand rather than a suggestion to use the medium of art, as has it been sued through history, to express through imagery and imagination, the desire to see the world improve.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Bentley Berkeley
Apologizing to the HC team and admin.

[Dylan Clearbrook]

I saw this motd....and shut down the game.  I now have to decide what I am going to do...ignore the fact that that the admin is inserting something that is undeniably divisive in the real world into the game a lot of us come to in order to get away from all that crap....or something else..... at this point...just don't know. 

[Widower]

Since we opened this can of worms, you can discuss this, as long as you avoid being incendiary. Starting a flame war will not be looked upon kindly.

[Ruin Mage]

11 minutes ago, Bentley Berkeley said:

Honestly hard to take it seriously after their reaction to my suggestion to remove Blue Steel as a trainer, since in lore he is very much your classic violent cop, given a  free pass on his violence because of his connections to and protection by Statesman. Hell Ill probably get another infraction just for saying this. But actions speak louder than words. and if they are really in support of the current protests against police violence, a simple symbolic gesture like locking up Blue Steel would be a real message about were the HC team stands in this historic moment as we see a 2nd civil rights movement born like a Phoenix rising from the tragedies that time and again have been swept under the rug.

You take a game way too seriously, my man.

 

 

11 minutes ago, Bentley Berkeley said:

Go ahead HC team infract me ban me whatevs, dont even care because I feel what I have written needed to be. You can not claim solidarity or support while saying an out of control super cop can beat someone into dead meat and continue to be seen as a hero.

 

Because lets be honest here, if these RL events did play out in Paragon, Blue Steel would not be siding with the protesters. Hm that would be a awesome sight Back Alley protecting protesters as Blue Steel leads the charge of riot police.

That's...not how it works at all.

People would not want the game world to change just because of RL events. That's...a lack of separation between fiction and reality.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Shadeknight

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

1 minute ago, Shadeknight said:

You take a game way too seriously, my man.

 

 

That's...not how it works at all.

Well to be blunt as many high profile black celebs have gone on record saying of late, its not enough to not be racist, or to join in a protest about one event. Its about actively countering these things in any way someone can. Now would locking blue steel up make some world shattering difference? No. Would it possibly make those who have suffered at the hands of violent LEOs who play this game feel perhaps a wee bit better knowing that even a literal super cop in coh lore, who crossed the line and abused their power and authority was punished for it? Possibly. That possibly is enough for me to say yes lets do it.

[Starforge]

You take game lore from a nearly 20 year old game too seriously.

[lemming]

Thanks Widower.

 

My thoughts on it are, I don't really care to discuss stuff in game, but I appreciate the HC team addressing it here.

I do play CoH to get away from some of the real world stress going on, but the HC team are people too and that they feel this way makes me happy.

 

In game, I tend to run stuff in my own head cannon.   Like for the example with Blue Steel, maybe in my own cannon, he did get called out for his prior actions and has reformed?   (I didn't even remember that bit brought up by Bentley.)

It's hard to feel RW stuff when we have heroes going into low level zones to see how far one can KB a Skull.

 

Reflecting on comics, they have always been political and often more liberal.  Heck, in some ways I might be more of a liberal because I read comics.  Even Judge Dredd & Marshal Law show why a totalitarian state might not be the best idea.

 

As Scott McCloud wrote "Justice is more than a punch in the mouth"

 

Sorry for being a bit rambly and not being completely focused.

[Omega-202]

16 minutes ago, Dylan Clearbrook said:

I saw this motd....and shut down the game.  I now have to decide what I am going to do...ignore the fact that that the admin is inserting something that is undeniably divisive in the real world into the game a lot of us come to in order to get away from all that crap....or something else..... at this point...just don't know. 

There's nothing divisive about BLM.  If you are against that message, you are on the wrong side of history.  

[FrauleinMental]

From a logical standpoint, if you don't believe that Black Lives Matter, you cannot possibly believe that All Lives Matter.

 

While we want to escape from the real world, I've read a lot of politics in the global chat channels, both during Live and with HC.  We bring the outside world with us into our escape unless we're deliberate about escaping.

[arcane]

13 minutes ago, GM Widower said:

Since we opened this can of worms, you can discuss this, as long as you avoid being incendiary. Starting a flame war will not be looked upon kindly.

As time approaches infinity, the chance of this thread not producing a shitshow converges towards zero. This is not a good idea.

[Ruin Mage]

Just now, Bentley Berkeley said:

Well to be blunt as many high profile black celebs have gone on record saying of late, its not enough to not be racist, or to join in a protest about one event. Its about actively countering these things in any way someone can. Now would locking blue steel up make some world shattering difference? No. Would it possibly make those who have suffered at the hands of violent LEOs who play this game feel perhaps a wee bit better knowing that even a literal super cop in coh lore, who crossed the line and abused their power and authority was punished for it? Possibly. That possibly is enough for me to say yes lets do it.

No one else is dying on this hill, chief. This isn't rocket science - people can separate fiction from reality much better. Not everyone is as hawk-eyed on the lore as you, or cares as much as you. Which is not a compliment I might add. It's a wild leap to go for "They can't stand in solidarity if they don't remove Blue Steel!!" - which is baffling to even remotely suggest. Considering the CoH lore/world is stagnant as all hell - making a move with it during these times? It seems like a bunch of virtue signaling from you - which is poor choice, in my honest opinion.

It's also baffling and questionable that one assumes where characters not written by us would stand. There's no real proof on the matter nor should we even be debating this right now. It's rather odd to interject on a BLM thread and going on a tangent about removing Blue Steel. It's just disheartening to see a thread about a real life movement get someone trying to meld the fictional world with the real world / vice-versa.

[FrauleinMental]

1 minute ago, arcaneholocaust said:

As time approaches infinity, the chance of this thread not producing a shitshow converges towards zero. This is not a good idea.

Eventually this thread will be locked.  The GMs are good about keeping things from getting out of hand.

[Ruin Mage]

23 minutes ago, Dylan Clearbrook said:

saw this motd....and shut down the game.  I now have to decide what I am going to do...ignore the fact that that the admin is inserting something that is undeniably divisive in the real world into the game a lot of us come to in order to get away from all that crap....or something else..... at this point...just don't know. 

>divisive
>a movement against the mistreatment & prejudice towards black people which is very systemic (a real shitty summary i think but hey im a shitposter - but you get the idea)

i'm...That aint the hill to die on, chief.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Shadeknight

[Patti]

Game lore is it's own subject, but it's also definitely entangled with this one.   Something maybe worth keeping in mind on all "sides."

Also worth keeping in mind that the gms are not the admins and policy is enforced by one and written by the other, often times without full disclosure or discussion between them.

[MTeague]

I have zero problems with the gmotd.  

 

All lives matter, regardless of your genetics or beliefs. 

But there's NOTHING wrong with calling extra attention to black lives given the events we've all seen unfold Too Many Times.

In fact, I'd say one can reasonable conclude one MUST call out extra attention to black lives, given said events. 

 

However, if you feel excluded by this, if you feel attacked by this, just sit back, put on some Gordon Lightfoot on continuous loop, maybe some Paul Simon, whatever it takes for you to find your happy place.  At the end of the day, this is Homecoming's home, and we are here present as thier guests.  They'd like us to all be calm, and think a few times before we pop the clutch on our mouth before putting the brain / heart in gear.  It's really not that big of an ask. 

[ShardWarrior]

1 minute ago, MTeague said:

I have zero problems with the gmotd.  

 

All lives matter, regardless of your genetics or beliefs. 

Same here.

[arcane]

6 minutes ago, FrauleinMental said:

Eventually this thread will be locked.  The GMs are good about keeping things from getting out of hand.

Sooner the better. Until then I’ll have to be content flagging every incendiary post.

[lemming]

I could certainly see Blue Steel getting his history tweaked, but let's face it, there is a lot of history that is odd in CoX that would need tweaking.  In someways it's a reflection of the writers back then.  Much like old cartoons have some very problematic history.

 

I think the views of characters can be much different than the players themselves.  Of course, that's my view with my characters.  Some of my mine are certainly closer to my views, but others, not so much.

[Ruin Mage]

1 minute ago, Patti said:

Game lore is it's own subject, but it's also definitely entangled with this one.   Something maybe worth keeping in mind on all "sides."

I'm sorry what. The universe of CoH is its own thing and timeline. It's been locked as well since 2012 (almost typed 20012 wtf)

There's no real entanglement because of one character doing a really heinous act in a background written in the early 2000s. This isn't a character who is currently written as going out as doing the same things that are going on in RL. Hell, none of us are the original writers of Blue Steel so who knows what he'd be doing in 2020. Maybe he's retired and drinking tequila in the Bahamas.