It’s not hateful shit, and I’m not trying to “see both sides,” either. I have no quarter for gender ideologues. However, I do think that any person or business (that doesn’t have any kind of monopoly status over critical services) has the freedom to refuse to serve anyone they want for any reason they want, so GN is free to take down whatever they want and they don’t really owe any of us an explanation.
And, really, I’m not defending the people who made the mod and put it up. They don’t really need a defense. I’m just pointing out that the removal of it makes GN either petty activists, or scared of the left.
Obviously gender ideologues perceive it as hateful, but so what? Gender ideologues perceive literally anything they disagree with, no matter how slightly as hateful. It’s their entire brand. Would GN host mods for a game if the game itself was “hateful?” Absolutely not. And if a mod whose only function is to remove the ability to arbitrarily select your pronouns is hateful, then why isn’t every single game which is supported on GN that does not offer that functionality considered hateful and have all support for it removed? The answer is simple: GN are petty activists and this is performative.
My views on Twitter (et al) haven’t changed even after its ownership changed hands from someone who I don’t like to someone who I don’t like a little bit less. Not that it’s on-topic, but I think platforms like Twitter need to decide if they are publishers or platforms and then play by the rules set forth for those that they decided to be, no mixing and matching. §230 of Title 47 needs an overhaul.
I really don’t care that much about the mod and this event, in part because I can’t afford the game nor the hardware needed to run it. But, I do have opinions on gender ideology and the behavior of public-facing organizations with respect to gender ideology.
I’ll reiterate my point: GN are petty activists (or afraid of the left).
Yes, I would care the exact same amount. It’s crummy behavior, no matter where it comes from. I can exist in the presence of ideas I don’t agree with. I don’t have the urge to stamp out, by fiat or coercion, every trace of any belief that differs from mine.