It's only a game?

For once during February I am taking about a game that's not rugby. I am actually writing this during an orchestra rehearsal while the rest are playing a piece I'm not in. This means I am missing today's England vs Italy match and won't know the result until I get home and watch the recording. Whatever the result I'm not sure I would ever refer to a rugby international as "only a game". My subject here is of course the wizard lady's latest product, or rather the kerfuffle about it in social media.

If you know me you won't be surprised to hear that I will not be buying it. I can hardly say I am boycotting it as I have never bought a computer game, not ever, not even once in my entire life. Would I boycott it if I did play computer games ~ well probably, but given would make me a different person who knows?

I have heard the argument for boycott as basically how can one morally support a product and help further enrich a person who's views are unpalatable and has no compunction in expressing those views?

Then there are two arguments against a boycott, first is simply "I want it, I'm going to buy it, and that's as far as I'm going to think about it. This is of course a difficult stance to argue with as it is based entirely upon satisfying a personal desire. The second is that a lot of other people have engaged and invested in producing this game, why should they be penalised simply for the views of one person within the team?

I have indeed used this same argument against the current boycotting of kevin Spacey films. "American Beauty" and "The Shipping News" are two if my favorite films with many excellent performances in front of and behind the camera. A friend of mine was involved with the music for Shipping News and is if course not getting any royalties from it now it no longer gets broadcast. I think this is a little different though, Kevin Spacey has yet to be demonstrated to have done anything wrong, at the moment we just have accusations ~ it may be different after the case has been heard.

Further, at the time of production there were no suggestions (as far as I can find out) of inappropriate behaviour by Spacey, he was a leading light of his profession, and a respected member of society. Everyone who was involved with these films, productions at the old Vic, and his honorary degree had no idea that years later he would be accused of inappropriate behaviour. In the same way I'm quite sure that the recording engineers and members of the "Glitter Band" were unaware of Paul Gadd's particular sexual tastes. (if they were then shame on them). In the case of RKR her views are well known, and were being proudly broadcast far and wide well before any work started on this game.

Anyone who has been unaware of RKR's transphobia and antisemitism cannot have been living anywhere in the English speaking world for at least the last three years. This leads me to the conclusion that anyone who has worked on this game knows but either doesn't care, or agrees with her.

I'm old enough to remember that in the 1960s and 70s we would not buy Spanish oranges or sherry in protest at General Franco's continued dictatorship. From '67 - '74 Greek olives and retsina were off the meno because of the Greek Junta. Likewise who wanted to support apartheid by buying South African goods before 1994? None of these were legal impositions, our governments didn't ban them like they did with Rhodesia (over the illegal declaration of UDI not there appalling treatment of indigenous people) we made moral decisions based on what we knew about the regimes in question.

I think all that some of my trans siblings are doing is asking you to make a moral choice here as well. Personally I think that whenever we make any purchases we should to some extent be making moral choices, what we do with our money is the surest indication of our values.