EA Games targeted by anti gay hate campaign
The inclusion of gay romance storylines in Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars Knights of the Old Repbublic has resulted in a flood of anti gay hate letters for EA Games, most of them from Florida. Help turn the tide.
What you can do to show support of EA GAmes and LGBT game content
Help stem the tide of hate by signing a letter of support to EA Games by AllOut.Org.
What is this hate campaign all about?
In the last couple of weeks, EA Games has been swamped by thousands of emails and letters decrying the games publisher’s decision to include LGBT content in its video games, particularly Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
“Homos are ruining gaming!” wrote one boycotter. “I urge all parents to keep any EA games from their children to prevent them to be AIDS-spreading, Satan-loving scum,” wrote another.
EA Games have confirmed this is really happening and have no plans to censor their games as a result.
The letters have been directed to everyone who’s high up in EA Games. Many of the letters threaten to boycott EA’s titles if the publisher refuses to remove same gender relationship content.
The letters also suggest that EA was pressured by LGBT groups to include homosexual content in its games, and that this content is somehow forced upon children, exposing them to LGBT themes. This is obviously utter bullshit. The games are not for children, nor do they force LGBT content on a player – it’s merely an option for gamers who wish to replicate their real-life sexual orientation.
“Every one of EA’s games includes ESRB content descriptors so it’s hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content. This isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political harassment,” said Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications to GamesIndustry International.
Some of the letters also complain that EA has deleted posts against LGBT issues on its official forum. This is true when the comments in question violate discussion rules on hate speech. We commend EA on having a nice tidy non-hatey forum.
Matt Kane, Associate Director of Entertainment Media at GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) says: “Trying to rally Americans around messages rooted in hate is a losing proposition.”
GamesIndustry International has been doing some research to try to pinpoint the inception of the hate campaign. They had initially suspected that ‘Focus on the Family’ was involved, but as so many of the letters have come from Florida, GamesIndustry International are more inclined to believe that this call to action for Star Wars is a hate campaign directed by the Florida Family Association.
The Family Research Council also seems to be involved. “In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists!” said council leader Tony Perkins.
Matt Kane has this to say about how hate campaigns along these lines currently work:
“Anti-LGBT campaigns are falling into a pretty consistent pattern these days, in which messages of hate directed at our allies are met with an overwhelming outpouring of support for our allies in response,” Kane noted. “Following Starbucks’ announcing public support for marriage equality, 25,000 people signed a “Dump Starbucks” campaign, which in turn inspired more than 600,000 people to sign on to a “Thank Starbucks” campaign.
He continued, “The group ‘One Million Moms’ tried to have Ellen Degeneres fired from her role as a spokesperson for JC Penny, but the public expressions of support JC Penny received following the Stand Up for Ellen campaign were so numerous that ‘One Million Moms’ announced they would be ‘moving on to other things.’ Trying to rally Americans around messages rooted in hate is a losing proposition.”
What you can do to show support of EA GAmes and LGBT game content
Help stem the tide of hate by signing a letter of support to EA Games by AllOut.Org.
This article was compiled with huge thanks to James Brightman and his article for GamesIndustry International which was the original source of inspiration. Good work, you guys. Good work. We’re merely aiming to help spread the word.