Thread by @medievalpoc

I hope people realize I'm still getting harassment and death threats because someone asked me a question about a video game on tumblr back in 2013 or so and I answered it honestly.

Not only that, I get another wave of it every single time anyone writes an article about that particular game, since the developer decided I was somehow, uh, "attacking"....someone or something by answering a history question.

Someone asked me if the devs had a choice about choosing to include the option of brown or Black people existing in a medieval-style game that boasted about its character creation tool being "the most advanced" ever to exist; I said of course they could have, but chose not to.

I went on to explain that it's a twofold thing: first of all they're making a statement about who they expect to play the game and why; secondly that "historical accuracy" doesn't exclude people of color-that's a *choice* on the part of the devs.

And in the end, making overtly racist and white supremacist statements as a way to supposedly justify those choices makes it clear that the intentions were never good in the first place.

Notice people of a certain mindset only decide that "historical accuracy" is this sort of unbreakable, obligating restraint ~only~ when it comes to dodging responsibility for refusing to consider representing people who are marginalized today in a piece of media.

I'm pretty sure at least 3 people over the weekend tried to solicit me to write an article about this (or perhaps another game, but def. gaming related), and I replied honestly: you couldn't pay me enough to write for that market.
I did however, write about it for free, at length

Not only that, I continued to write about. For years. For free.
I only started crowdfunding after my partner became permanently physically disabled and my department at the college I worked at was eliminated, and I was laid off.

But anyhow, the most important thing is the same conclusion I always reach: no history justifies the exclusion of marginalized people from your creative endeavor-this is a choice YOU make and that YOU are responsible for.

If you *must* know, and since I'm going to get the wave of harassment no matter what, here's just one of those posts I wrote maybe two years into it, after I'd already been doxxed, stalked in person, and Other Stuff:
medievalpoc.tumblr.com/post/112158952…

That being said, please consider helping me afford basic necessities:
patreon.com/medievalpoc
or just tip if you can:
ko-fi.com/medievalpoc
Regardless of either, thanks for reading. Thanks for learning. It means a lot.

(cherry on the irony sundae: the game raised million of dollars & succeeded, despite the "attacks" from me, who cannot afford to own or maintain a vehicle anymore, non-ground beef at the grocery store, or health insurance)