The Fun Pimps

Don't try to turn this around on me. You made a joke that was in poor taste. Own it and do better.

Your pun conflates the completely trivial topic at hand in the thread with a deadly serious one. If this were an issue that affected you or those you care about, I have no doubt you'd have understood this right away, but because it doesn't, you put it on political correctness stifling your hilarity.

Your stance on the actual issue is wholly irrelevant. Your joke was inappropriate and you have a higher responsibility than a normal poster to recognize that. Hiding/deleting the posts was the right move and should have been taken immediately by your fellow moderator, rather than trying to defend an action that didn't deserve the defense.

I'm not calling for some sort of crusade, but as a moderator you are supposed to model proper posting behavior. As human beings we all make mistakes, but your role means that rather than getting defensive and trying to justify poor choices, you should take a step back and think about how what you did could affect the community as a whole. That was the point I was trying to make in my responses to Meganoth: the sensitivity toward those other issues is such a given that it's hardcoded into the forum...but that same coding does not exist for things like BLM, so it's up to YOU, the leadership of this forum to handle things the right way.

All that's required of you is a little empathy and self-restraint. We CAN have nice things, but I don't count jokes at the expense of marginalized communities among them. You can be a funny guy...I know it because I've seen it. I'm just asking you to be smarter about it for all our sakes. I don't think that's too much to ask.

As a tangentially related aside, how many people of color are employed at The Fun Pimps? How many on the moderation team?

Did you consult any of them before writing this response?

@Roland

The beauty of the forums is that you just interact with people. There are no issues of race, gender identity, religion, sexual preference, or political persuasion muddying the interactions. You asking for specifics in order to racially profile the people who post here is an interesting request from someone obviously sensitive to such things. You put much too much emphasis on who has the right to say what based on their race. You could have easily PMed me your objections and asked me to take it down privately but it is obvious to any reader that you are the one who wants to push a political agenda and so you used this opportunity to do so.

You’re right that we should always choose sensitivity over being funny. I meant no disrespect to the organization whose existence I was acknowledging through that pun. Seeing that you were offended I took it down. But I in no way agree with how you are painting things or leaping to the assumptions you are making. 

This is a private interaction, so you can stop flexing. There's no audience here and nobody is attacking you.

You know full well that I'm not racially profiling anyone as the actual meaning of that term has no bearing on this situation whatsoever.

I asked the question to enhance my knowledge of the circumstances you are dealing with. The fact that you not only refuse to answer, but have twisted my asking the question in an attempt to frame me as something I am not shows me the depth of your need for honest dialogue with people who have different perspectives than you.

I'm not saying that your joke makes you a bad person. You are not under attack here. I'm trying to help you see something that you obviously have not before cannot on your own. You have a blind spot and that is not your fault. If you've never talked about issues of racial justice with people of color, that is perfectly understandable. If there is nobody on the moderation team or on The Fun Pimps staff that can add that perspective, it is even more understandable.

I never assumed any ill will or intent on your part, but I did want to call out your joke as problematic publicly BECAUSE you are part of the leadership of this community. I don't know whether this is a job for you or something you volunteer for, but either way you have chosen to carry a mantle of higher responsibility and handling issues with sensitivity AND dealing with your own mistakes the right way is part of that.

Look at this communication for what it is: an offer of help. This is not a political agenda as equal rights for everyone is not a matter of politics on which reasonable people can disagree. I'm quite sure that you didn't see your joke as such a serious issue, but I'm trying to help you understand WHY it is and the role you can and should play when such issues are broached in our community.

Also, I NEVER said one word about who has the right to say anything, much less based on race. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech. You are clearly free to say whatever you want - the issue is whether you SHOULD. It's not an issue of freedom, it's an issue of empathy, respect, and wisdom.

The reason I asked you about the presence of people of color in your environment is not because they have any greater right to speak than you do, but because have different experiences and perspectives on these issues than you do.

I'm not Jewish, but my conversations with Jewish friends and their grandparents have helped me to understand the seriousness and sensitivity that the holocaust must be treated with. This is the same thing. Firsthand knowledge from people who've suffered from atrocity helps to build empathy and understanding about how those subjects should be handled.

I hope you're getting the message I'm trying to express. I'm not looking for a mea culpa or any demonstration of contrition, I just want to hear that you understand and want to do better.

This is public. Anyone can read what is posted here. You keep casting everything I post the worst possible light. <shrug>. I have a wide spectrum of friends and associates in every demographic you could imagine, thank you. I appreciate your offer to help but, once again, if that was all this was it would have all taken place privately. You made it public and you turned it into something it never was.
 

I feel bad that my play on words referencing the existence of a real world organization so negatively affected you. In that sense I regret posting it but in no way do I think it was wrong or immoral in and of itself. There was no joke at the expense of what that organization stands for and no slant one way or another pro or con. Any of that was solely injected by you. 
I’m not avoiding answering you—I simply don’t know. TFP is an international studio and everyone works remotely. It never occurred to me to find out everyone’s race. I’ve never seen a picture of any of our moderators and I never asked them before promoting them. It just isn’t a criteria. 

I thought this was private messaging, but it doesn't matter either way. You seem dead set on defending yourself from an attack that doesn't exist. I'm not casting what you post in any light, I'm telling you how it comes across.

I explained why I responded to your public post publicly. I didn't turn it into anything, I explained to you what it was, though that point seems to have been lost on you. I know you didn't intend to, but by punning on BLM in conjunction with something as trivial as blocks in a video game, you made light of the organization and the reason it exists. You didn't need to express any opinion in the joke...it's the joke itself that's the problem. Do you understand that now?

I never said it was wrong or immoral, I said it was in bad taste. Jokes in bad taste are not a crime...people try to be funny and miss the mark ALL THE TIME. The reason why it is an issue that I felt needed to be addressed publicly is because of your position in the community. Do you understand that?

It's not personal. It's nothing against you. Were it a random member of the community, I'd just report it and expect it to be removed. Coming from a moderator, it's a different thing. When you or any of the moderators or the staff post something like that it changes the environment itself...it sends a message that that kind of thing is endorsed or encouraged. I've seen what happens in online communities when that goes on and it's not pretty.

It's fine that you don't know the staff's demographic breakdown, all you had to do was say that in the first place instead of trying to make an issue that I asked. I don't expect you to find out anyone's racial background, but don't you think that perhaps a conversation with a person of color that you trust might have been helpful in making up your mind about how to respond to this? I understand that those conversations can be uncomfortable, but if they don't take place, we can't move forward as a society.

You say you have a wide spectrum of friends and associates from every demographic background...I assume that includes some black people. Ask them. Ask them how they feel about your joke. Ask them if they would feel welcome in an online community where a leader makes that kind of joke. Ask them how they would like to see a leader respond when they object to that kind of joke.

Maybe I'm alone in this. Maybe I'm too sensitive, but I don't think that's the case. Even if I am, my interest is in keeping the environment here positive and I don't think you should frame that as a political agenda. I'm trying to help.

@Roland My above questions were not rhetorical. I'd appreciate a response.

@meganoth Feel free to contribute as well. I feel like our exchange on the topic was also not very productive.