It seems that's a lot of peoples definition.
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The Escapist hires on transphobic Brandon Morse
- Thread starter The Technomancer
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It seems that's a lot of peoples definition.
If we met in person, how would you treat me? And would you call me by the name and pronouns I identify as, or the ones you believe I should be called?
The argument in this thread goes back to the same question I always want to ask in trans threads, which is:
What are trans people asking for? Is it:
a) To have the same rights and freedoms as anyone of their gender, and to be treated with politeness and respect as a member of their gender, OR
b) To have the same rights and freedoms as anyone of their gender, and to be treated with politeness and respect as a member of their gender, and to ensure that everyone genuinely believes that they are not in any respect different from a cis member of that gender.
Because I believe the first one is achievable, but that the second one will be very difficult. I simply don't believe that you can police people's internal thoughts that way. There will always be people who define things by the physical rather than the mental, by sex rather than by gender. If those people are pro-trans rights and treat trans people the same as anyone else of their gender, I personally think that person meets the standard for a good, progressive person no matter what their internal beliefs might be.
It's the difference between asking for rights and tolerance and a kind of policing of internal thoughts and ideas.
What are trans people asking for? Is it:
a) To have the same rights and freedoms as anyone of their gender, and to be treated with politeness and respect as a member of their gender, OR
b) To have the same rights and freedoms as anyone of their gender, and to be treated with politeness and respect as a member of their gender, and to ensure that everyone genuinely believes that they are not in any respect different from a cis member of that gender.
Because I believe the first one is achievable, but that the second one will be very difficult. I simply don't believe that you can police people's internal thoughts that way. There will always be people who define things by the physical rather than the mental, by sex rather than by gender. If those people are pro-trans rights and treat trans people the same as anyone else of their gender, I personally think that person meets the standard for a good, progressive person no matter what their internal beliefs might be.
It's the difference between asking for rights and tolerance and a kind of policing of internal thoughts and ideas.
stump sock
Member
being a catholic then, I'm hoping that you also take to heart James 4:12
are you respectful to others? do you judge them?
I mean really the core of this - of ALL this - is just being nice to other people. It doesn't matter if you agree with how someone lives their life if it's not hurting anyone else. Just be nice to people.
Religion was/still is used to argue for Slavery, Segregation, against Interracial Marriage, AND against Gay Marriage.
i don't really give a shit about explaining the guy's tweet. i was just clarifying the other gaffer's joke.
Look, not to be blunt, (and TW for violence applies to what am about to say) but I'm sick of hearing about people getting murdered or committing suicide because of transphobia. It's at least once a week this year already. It's brutally sad and wholely unnecessary. So please, save me the "people are sick of hearing about it" stuff; until people stop being murdered, you're going to be hearing about it more than ever now.
What about religious beliefs? Plenty of religious beliefs have been racist, homophobic, etc. I don't think anyone has any qualms with calling the Westboro Baptist Church bigoted.
Oh yeah, I saw that Alberto clarified the post, sorry, my bad!
RockTurtle
Member
i looked at the dude's twitter and he's retweeting totalbiscuit being the worst celebrating escapist hiring some anti-feminist woman (which gamergaters love ofc), so obviously someone with power there is conservative and/or deciding to try pandering to 4chan as a business strategy
TNDGAlcatraz
Neo Member
Well i just want to say i am in the same boat with you. Glad to see i am not alone in this.
Humans have an XY determination system. But important things.
1) Sex does not equal gender. Gender is a social construct. (There are many cultures around the world that recognize more than two.)
2) Humans can have chromosomes other than XX and XY.
3) Physical genitalia does not always develop with the corresponding chromosomes. ie someone who appears to have a vagina can actually be XY
4) People can have genitalia that is neither distinctly a penis or vagina. (intersex)
Also, religious beliefs aren't an excuse for bigotry. But others have addressed that.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I feel this statistic is really important: The risk for a trans woman being murdered by a cis person is one in twelve. It leaps up dramatically to one in eight if they're non-white.
You say two isn't achievable, and you might be right, but at least needs to be socially unacceptable to spew the kind of hate that stirs up the culture that makes it so you're more likely to die for who you are than if you took a Malaysia Airlines flight in 2014. It needs to have the same consequences and outrage that saying "I don't care what black people think, Africa is only for animals" has for people now and not passive, and sometimes even explicit, agreement as if it's socially acceptable.
You didn't really give an explanation of how you feel on the issue of gender - you can say you're catholic but each catholic cherry-picks different parts of the bible and interprets them differently. As an example, many christians use the bible to justify homophobia and they are bigots.
It's just ignorant. Sex is not the same thing as gender - gender is completely a social construction. there are interesting genetic mutations where is sex is ambiguous too. That is, some individuals are born with both female and male genitalia.
Random Painted HIghway
Member
Ah, twitter claims another. bummer. Regardless of your personal feelings on this chap, you have to sit back and wonder how bright a fellow can be that would wade wholly unnecessarily into this issue online using his own name. This is 21st century career darwinism at work again.
usernamechange
Member
Sadly, most bigots arent alone.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Look, honestly? Here's the statistic that matters: 40% of trans individuals will attempt suicide at some point in their lives. That number jumps as high as 75% for individuals who have experienced abuse or neglect, and in a shocking twist they're also more likely to suffer from abuse or neglect. Whatever your beliefs are, the belief of a trans woman that she is a woman is strong enough that a lack of social acceptance drives that many to try and kill themselves. That is as genuine and heartfelt as a belief about onesself gets
Riposte
Member
What did they hire Morse for? I know Escapist isn't just games. I looked at the work he linked through his twitter and he seems to be primarily a political writer (right-leaning libertarian?).
Does that statistic not apply to trans men or something?
Does that statistic not apply to trans men or something?
I'm new be nice
Member
People like this are always so stupid. Whatever he believes is for him to believe, but it hurts literally no one to just call a trans-person by the pronoun they identify as.
He's hurting people, and for what? What a worthless thing to stand for.
He's hurting people, and for what? What a worthless thing to stand for.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Its from studies about trans individuals in general, I just used trans women there because I couldn't find a way to phrase what I was saying that didn't come off as grammatically awkward
Seriously, I still can't believe that common courtesy is being debated.
How fucking hard is it? A person wants to to be referred to as "she" instead of "he". That some fuckwad is saying "waaaa too hard" is a joke.
Listen if The Escapist wants this idiot, fine. I'd fire his ass, because I choose not to respect belligerent asshats. Yep, I'm a hypocrite, I am bigoted against assholes.
How fucking hard is it? A person wants to to be referred to as "she" instead of "he". That some fuckwad is saying "waaaa too hard" is a joke.
Listen if The Escapist wants this idiot, fine. I'd fire his ass, because I choose not to respect belligerent asshats. Yep, I'm a hypocrite, I am bigoted against assholes.
StreetsAhead
Member
I bow to you a thousand times.
I think I read yesterday that seven transgender woman have been murdered just in the US, just in 2015.
So if you want to pretend that this is a non-issue whipped up by the "liberal" media go ahead, but the rest of us are disgusted.
appaws
Banned
As I said before. I try to see the face of Christ (or his holy mother) in all people. Of course issues like this would not come up in casual conversation...but if you asked me about my faith or about the deeper issues it touches on, I would not lie to you about the moral implications. That would not be doing you any favors.
As for names and pronouns, I would call you whatever you wanted just out of general politeness. That has nothing to do with your trans identity...I would do the same for any human being.
Ah, the old "select a Bible quote" game. Yes, the Lord taught us not to judge. He also told the woman at the well to "go and sin no more." He did not tell her "keep doing whatever you want, it's all good!"
False. No Catholic "cherry picks" anything. If they do, the are not Catholic. Catholics are not individualists. It is not democracy...it is a "monarchy." I believe what the Church teaches.
His politics
Sure, I agree 100% with what you've just said.
But I'd also say that when a person gives their opinion that they do see a difference, however small, between a trans and cis person of a particular gender, that is not automatically hate, and does not automatically cause violence. Now, there's really no reason to say that, and certainly not on twitter. But the fact remains that such opinions are not hatred, and the voicing of them isn't hate speech.
I'm not giving the guy in the OP the benefit of the doubt because of his tweet regarding the n-word.
As a gay person I'm really tired of these kinds of witch hunts on everybody who doesn't agree with alternative lifestyles. As long as you don't literally try to stop me from living my life the way I want, then we can just civilly agree to disagree and leave it at that.
I have no idea where I fall on whether or not sexual orientation is genetic or cultural or even sometimes a choice, but I think religion and personal morality is every bit as much a part of some people's identity as sexual orientation is. Religious views and moral principles for some people are every bit as much a matter of life or death part of their identity as gender is life or death for some transpeople's sense of identity. As long as they don't literally try to stop you from living your life the way you want, you shouldn't try to get them fired or stop them from attaining happiness in their own way just because they hold different moral or religious beliefs than you.
People are more than their sexual orientation but they are also more than any one view they have on any single given topic. I think this guy's views on gender are overly simplistic but that doesn't mean he should be blacklisted from every working in the videogame industry. Nor does it mean he doesn't have worthwhile insights on videogames or any number of other topics. Nor does it mean I can't just civilly disagree with him on that issue and just go on some crusade like a fucking monster and try to ruin his life over some expression of his views he made off the cuff a long time ago.
I have no idea where I fall on whether or not sexual orientation is genetic or cultural or even sometimes a choice, but I think religion and personal morality is every bit as much a part of some people's identity as sexual orientation is. Religious views and moral principles for some people are every bit as much a matter of life or death part of their identity as gender is life or death for some transpeople's sense of identity. As long as they don't literally try to stop you from living your life the way you want, you shouldn't try to get them fired or stop them from attaining happiness in their own way just because they hold different moral or religious beliefs than you.
People are more than their sexual orientation but they are also more than any one view they have on any single given topic. I think this guy's views on gender are overly simplistic but that doesn't mean he should be blacklisted from every working in the videogame industry. Nor does it mean he doesn't have worthwhile insights on videogames or any number of other topics. Nor does it mean I can't just civilly disagree with him on that issue and just go on some crusade like a fucking monster and try to ruin his life over some expression of his views he made off the cuff a long time ago.
appaws
Banned
I know this is the answer. People who hold traditional views on these issues are beyond the pale. It is not permitted in polite conversation to disagree with the popular opinion. It is the modern heresy.
Then you should see the specific reasons people are referring to this guy as a bigot - he isn't even extending that common courtesy. He is being selectively impolite to a group of individuals simply because he disagrees with them.
So let the lord deal with that.
NickFire
Member
I think the word science is being used too liberally here, but if there are studies that are premised on on the scientific method id be interested to hear. Certainly we have studies to look at, as well as general consensus amoung many / most mental health professionals in certain geographical areas. But consensus among people is not "science" necessarily, and for many people it comes across as just another example of people telling them they are wrong because they decided some new theory makes sense, despite everything the listener can see with their eyes and always new to be true.
I also disagree that being sick of issues always means more than being sick of iT. Sometimes you just don't care and want to stick to talking about fun stuff.
I'm going back to playing games now.
A Link to the Past
Banned
"I'm anti-vaccination"
"I don't believe in global warming"
"I don't think trans women/men are real women/men"
This isn't a matter of opinion, it's a matter of ignoring science and psychology.
Riposte
Member
You suppose that Escapist is now going to do political-themed articles?
Come the fuck on.
People who are ignorant about these issues (willingly or no) are still the overwhelming majority.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Look, again, between 40 and 70% of trans people will attempt suicide during their lives depending on circumstance. This isn't meant to make you feel bad for them, its meant to highlight just how fundamental their gender identity is. You don't try and commit suicide because people won't call you a viking.
Whats the difference between saying Whites Shouldn't marry Blacks because of Religion and Trans people are abominations because of Religion or that Blacks should be separate from Whites, Gays shouldn't be allowed to get married, Slavery was okay.
All these positions have used Religion has a excuse and defense.
TNDGAlcatraz
Neo Member
Some people obviously have some reservations/preconceived notions about what it means to be Catholic. We don't hate people. We don't hate other humans. Hell, our whole belief system is based on serving the poor/helping those in need. If you seriously think that I'm somehow hurting on trans/gay/whatever people Westboro baptist style, then I'm honestly insulted.
well it seems like they're specifically hiring people based on their political views...
so maybe? not like this guy has worked in the gaming industry before as far as i can tell. seems like they've thrown in their lot with the gators.
the point in this case is that the escapist has become (always was?) a haven for reactionary thinking and the hiring of this individual was done entirely because of his views on gender and other identity politics
Bobby_Sullivan
Neo Member
He rejects the notion of not offending people...
sounds like a nice guy...
sounds like a nice guy...
"Racism: The modern heresy"
ShockingAlberto
Member
Well, I do.
Were I gay or trans or anything at all, I would at minimum expect that people treat that as more important than their self-imposed religious or moral values. I have absolutely no compunction, none at all, saying that.
the_batman
Banned
you can't please everyone.
stump sock
Member
I was going to rebut, but this will do
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
You are. That's what the statistic is about. Not accepting trans individuals is so emotionally traumatic that it drives them to try and kill themselves. Sorry but its true. That's the effect that refusing to recognize them has.
CambriaRising
Member
You can at least make the effort.
you can attempt to avoid actively antagonizing people though
A Link to the Past
Banned
"Lifestyle"? As a gay person you should be able to understand that the term lifestyle dehumanizes those whose natural features/status are called lifestyles. It would be like a person being deaf from birth having a "deaf lifestyle." It's not a lifestyle, it's just like, your life.
He doesn't have a simplistic view on gender, he has an abhorrent view. His view inherently involves bigotry. We have enough intelligent people that we don't need to settle for bad intelligent people.
Yep! It's even harder when you go out of your way to not please everyone.
And that's fine with me too. I certainly can't think of any game outlets that provide a mouthpiece for more "reactionary" (as you call it) or conservative thinking that voices dissent from the run towards unquestioned identity politics.
I'm fairly liberal, but it's nice to hear voices that aren't in the choir every now and then.
Yeah, I suspect they are re-branding themselves to some degree as a right-wing pop culture site. To the best of my knowledge it's a fairly untapped market. There is obviously an enormous right-wing blog industry out there, but they tend to deal with pop culture and pop culture analysis only in passing.
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