And now, my thoughts in general. This is not surprising at all. Over the last forty years, since the Reagan era, we’ve watched corporations and governments move in alignment as the wealthy bought up politicians and made “profits over all” the mantra of the world. The United States is in no way immune to this problem, although we do have a sizeable portion of the population willing to go out and do something about it that has kept it in check. But our currently crippled political system directly stems from the issue of an economic and human rights policy that is driven entirely by profit motives. Whether its a true Republic or an authoritarian government, no one is immune to this.
Letting 500 wealthy families and 500 super rich corporations guide your country has not made us better. When your quest for profits leads to you abusing workers, consumers, families, children, refugees, protestors, ANYONE who dares suggest those profits could be better distributed through the tax system into social services that help everyone live healthier, happier, freer lives, you are no longer living the dream as a society.
China is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world. They have become so despite human rights abuses, from the Tienanmen Square massacre, to the current suppression and forced arresting of religious minorities. They have done so because our corporations prefer profits over anything else. “Don’t discuss politics” they say, as if that makes the politics go away. Aiding human rights abusers by turning a blind eye is no different than the sum history of humanity, and is a blight on the very ideals we set as our standard.
So we’ll claw and fight for those ideals again, this time in the form of supporting Hong Kong. I will have zero to do with Blizzards products. If they make it, I will boycott it. Not hard to do frankly for me, I’m an old guy who prefers No Man’s Sky to games like Hearthstone. But I hope you folks who play Blizzard games currently will show them that our ideals are more important than their profit motives, and turning a blind eye to authoritarianism means we’ll turn an empty wallet to them. Because hitting them in their own wallets is literally the only way we can win these days. Our governments are bought and paid for by these people, our voices are muted by the billions they spend to capture politicians. So hit the bastards where it hurts most, in the bank account.
EDIT: oh, and I’m loving that gamers are rising up in revolt. Like, it seems like for years now the predominant vocal minority has been screaming about “we just want to play our games, don’t inject politics into them!” (ala gamergate). It’s nice to see that it really is a minority, and the majority of gamers are coming out swinging in favor of “your damn right I’m going to get my politics on for Hong Kong and human rights!”
