Thread by @JesseHeinig

I'm sure we all see from time to time the repeated refrain to creators that they shouldn't talk politics, that they should just stick to making games or writing books or acting or whatever it is that they do, that nobody wants their political opinions. 1/

Usually this is someone who wants to support the status quo, who wants to unthinkingly consume media without being challenged about The Way Things Are or How Some Things Are Problematic. Just let me watch my movie and get my video game points and stop Forcing A Message, eh? 2/

Thing is, movies and games and books and theater are all part of our culture. Art is a reflection of our culture. And our culture, as a dear friend and anthropologist once told me, is shared. Culture is negotiated. Culture is a fluid space where people intersect. 3/

So when a designer or writer or actor speaks up against the status quo, about civil rights or justice or intersectionality, this isn't just "oh look at that dumb artist-type pretending to know what they're talking about." This is someone who informs our culture, speaking out. /4

So when I say, trans rights are human rights; systemic abuse and misogyny are real; the black community suffers disproportionate persecution; these are not just statements blown into the wind by a guy who makes vidya games. 5/

This is my tiny part in negotiating our culture, in shaping that corner, in saying "This is what I believe our society should be, and I'm speaking up about it because other people should believe it, too." It's a voice that contributes to our shared culture. 6/

I can't speak to what it's like to be someone from a marginalized and persecuted minority. But I can recognize their essential humanity and speak up to say, "The culture that I agree to is one where these people are treated better than they are now." 7/

Angry conservatives call this virtue signaling, because some folks can't imagine a world where you'd speak up for someone else without getting anything out of it for yourself. But when our narratives and our stories speak up for the humanity of those most oppressed... 8/

... we negotiate a stance that says, "Our culture should be BETTER, the culture that we share should be supportive to these people, not oppressive." It's speaking up in that negotiation to determine the shape that our culture takes. Because if nobody speaks up... 9/

... then the only voices that are heard are the loud, angry, fearful, hostile ones. Since culture is a negotiation, those who believe in making things better, in protecting the marginalized, in fighting oppressors, have to speak up too. 10/

Elevate the voices of the oppressed - give them the chance to speak out - so that they can be heard, and they can make their grievances known, so we can fix them. Those with the privilege to do so, speak up against the ones who would do harm. Make sure everyone knows that... 11/

... we are ready to work for a better culture, one that will face the problems of our past and present, one that won't bow to oppressors, one that doesn't shout down victims and the oppressed as "troublemakers" or "ungrateful" or some such bullcrap. 12/

That's why I write about these things - just because I have the luxury of a good job and a place in a society that caters to people like me, doesn't mean that things are fine. Things are not fine. People are suffering. So it's my obligation to push our culture... 13/

... on those shared edges and negotiated spaces, to speak up so that the culture that we form as a whole recognizes these problems and tries to tackle them, rather than just passively accepting them. 14/

In summary:
* YOU get to shape our culture by how you speak and how you act.
* So use your speech and your action to help the oppressed.
* Elevate the voices of the marginalized.
* Help to open spaces for the oppressed to thrive and be included.

'cuz otherwise...

...otherwise, our culture is a Problem, and if nobody speaks up - especially the people who benefit from the status quo - it won't get better.

So that's why I write about these things. Fin/