Truth and Consequences

Gaming has always been an alliance of game players, game developers and game journalists. There is a subtle interdependence between the three groups that has always been unstated. The collective worth of all three groups is 100 billion dollars and makes up an industry that helps drive our passions.

There have been some minor scuffles between us in the past but it never got in the way of our passion. We were always able to put things aside.

But the last eight weeks in the gaming industry have been one of great turmoil and turbulence. It started with a blog post and now its a shit storm. Let's review the current happenings:

There are degenerates doxxing/hacking/threatening other human beings
There are developers verbally assaulting players.
There are players verbally assaulting developers.
There are journalists verbally assaulting readers.
There are readers verbally assaulting journalists.

This is a really a general summary. I will not be giving specific examples or elevate any individuals. They do not deserve anymore than this from me or anyone else. All of this has turned out to be absolutely deplorable.

What has happened over the last eight weeks is an embarrassment. Some of the most destructive comments and actions to this industry that I can remember have occurred in these eight weeks. It has been a step backwards for an industry that is growing at an exponential rate.

This is worse than Jack Thompson. This is worse than governments that try to censor us. This is worse than the media blaming us for school shootings. We are cannibalizing ourselves. We are alienating ourselves from each other more than we can ever know or understand.

The ramifications of this will be felt for years to come.  The genie suddenly can not be put back in the bottle. What has been done, can not be undone. It will be a spectator for every meaningful conversation in the industry.

We can no longer talk about diversity. We can no longer talk about the nature of game content. We can no longer talk about journalistic ethics. We can no longer talk about the financial influence of big publishers. We can no longer talk about working conditions or crunch. We can no longer talk about indie developers and how to make sure the best ones get the most exposure.

There are only a very few people who can be absolved of any guilt. If you have hacked/doxxed/swatted/threatened another human being;  if you verbally assaulted another human being; If you have used a pejorative; if you have made assumptions based on 140 characters; if you have participated in hashtag activism, then you are guilty of reducing the discourse to toxic levels that we should never sink to.

I certainly do not absolve myself of any wrong doing. I have voiced my opinion. I have been upfront about where I stand. If you read my twitter, you'll find out where I stand and what hashtags I've used. In fact, there are people who likely think differently about me than they did in July. I will not excuse my actions in anyway but I will scold the industry for this absolutely embarrassing behavior.

There are people that I do absolve of any wrong doing and these are the victims of harassment, doxxes, threats or hacking. These deplorable activities are actually very frightening.  In 2014, people can still be this malicious to their fellow human being while remaining 100% anonymous. For those who have had to suffer at the hands of these degenerates, I wish you nothing but safety and security. Nobody should ever feel unsafe in their own home.

But here we are. Irreparable damage has been done. We have cannibalized each other like never before. We have opened ourselves up to even more unwarranted scrutiny from the Jack Thompsons, governments and media who would like to see our passion wiped from the face of the Earth. We can no longer have a discussion in any meaningful way. And we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Ukraine and the Impact on Global Politics.

I've wanted to post about this for a few weeks, especially since the crisis in Ukraine started.  Its a very complicated situation with a number of factors at play.  There are lot of angles to analyze and I think the media has done a good job on most of them.

But there is one that goes untouched - American Credibility.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and Soviet Empire, many of the former Soviet republics had access to nuclear weapons or other weapons of destruction.   And Ukraine was one such country.

In an effort to develop a relationship with a newly reshaped world, Ukraine engaged the Russian Federation, the US and Great Britain to develop an agreement where they would denuclearize in exchange for security guarantees.

Ukraine, Russia, the US and Great Britain signed an agreement in 1994 that would denuclearize Ukraine in exchange for the following:

1. Respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its existing borders.
2. Refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine.
   (Source: Summery Provided by Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances)

This is important because the West could offer a similar agreement to more rogue states like Iran or North Korea.  But they won't accept if they know we won't enforce it.  In order to sign agreements with other nations, we need to have the credibility.  They need to believe us.

That's why the Ukraine crisis is really important. When we give territorial guarantees to countries who are willing to give up their weapons of mass destruction, we need to be positioned to enforce it.

When we give our word, it has to mean something.

Resolving the Ukraine crisis, will strengthen the West's geopolitical position and credibility on the world stage.