The Ravens Nest

And The More Things Change…

I don’t know if any of you have heard, but I suspect some of you have, sadly, sentiment reminiscent of The Panic of Old has returned.

Let’s get right down to it.

Visa and MasterCard have decided that they will decide what, how much of, when, and even if you will purchase something.

Sadly, I didn’t save the image that I’ll mention but if I ever come across it, I’ll come back, pop it in here and let everyone know but a group of Australian moral crusaders have appointed Visa and MasterCard as moral arbiters. On the surface, the cause appears noble and decent but the methods show that it’s nothing more than a skinsuit and a ruse.

The group, Collective Shout, have managed to pressure Visa and MasterCard to agree to not process purchases for certain titles on Steam. This is the pic I was talking about, I did get to see a screenshot of the titles and personally, none of them were titles I would buy but that is beside the point. We were told that these games featured rape and incest and that they were illegal. Okay, the acts of rape and incest are illegal, however, if I can’t play the videogame version of I Spit On Your Grave then how is it okay for me to watch the movie? We’re already starting down the path, aren’t we?

We are.

This group has gotten books banned that were erotica, okay, look I haven’t read them but I’m gonna assume they’re smut but they were written by women for women and these women in Collective Shout have determined that women really didn’t deserve the agency to decide whether or not they wanted to read that for themselves. They made that decision for them. Protection nobody asked for.

They came for video games.

…oh boy, we’re doing this again. Apparently they learned nothing at all from Gamergate.

Now, if depictions of rape and incest are actually illegal, then there’s fair game had this been done a different way but, understand it pains me to type these words, They Did Not Stop There.

Japanese sites that served the US now scaled back what they’ll serve up or if they’ll serve it at all. Manga has been taken down, video games, tabletop RPGs and it will keep going from there, trust and believe, people. They’re religiously-motivated, they don’t operate on fact and logic, they operate on faith and it’s impossible to question a faith because when things go right, it’s His Plan and when things go wrong, He works in Mysterious Ways.

These people will come after religious texts, or anything else that they do not approve and if you haven’t looked into this, I urge you to do so. These people are going after anything that is rated Mature or something for adults, that would be you, me and anyone of legal adult age, those of us who are supposed to act mature and look at something and say “Nah” and keep moving if we find the material objectionable. These people are tyrants and genuinely believe they’re on some inspired mission to take media away from you because they know oh so much better than you.

People, I’ve seen this twice in my life and here’s the thing, I don’t have to like games like that. I don’t have to purchase them either but I should be making that decision. When it comes to games you might find caustic to some sensibility you have, you also have the option to not buy it. It’s not for you and you’re going to be just fine. So what about those games that really shouldn’t exist? You know, the truly disgusting stuff? Well, that’s where you let the market decide. If something is that bad, it won’t sell or sell well and eventually, it will go away. If something is great then it sells and it sells well and it sticks around. Let the market decide.

Listen, I’ve seen some real puritanical fuckwits coming out of the woodwork lately arguing that two consenting adults with an age gap of about nine years shouldn’t be together and that the relationship should be actionable by law by making shit up. They don’t care about our Constitutional liberties either, they want them restricted to the point of harboring resentment because they honestly believe that they’re right and correct to do so.

This has been one of the things I’ve warned about and already I’ve seen purity spirals, denominations eating each other and now, this fuckin’ thing.

People, are we really beginning to understand why I refuse to monetize the things I write here and at Against All Odds? It’s because with this being free, I can stand somewhat outside of that because I know the opinions I post here aren’t going to be popular to the point where we, maturely accept that somewhere, there’s a housewife giving her husband a blow job while he watches The X-Files and likewise, there’s another couple re-enacting Hellraiser because they know how to do it in a safe and consensual manner and there’s nothing that you and I can think, say or do that will counter that. It’s also none of our business.

I will concede that if they’re involving children into their weird plans then that’s something that is indeed actionable by law. There’s the difference, I agree that we should protect children but that is the job of the parents and the proper way to go about this was to provide resources to parents and let the parents decide what enters the home and what doesn’t. Parents then do their own investigation and then make informed decisions, not propagandized. This provides for a better framework.

Already this has devolved into overreach by those none of us elected or asked. They came in yanking books and games from the hands of the young and adult alike. No one is safe, no where is safe, no media is safe. You have to get this into your mind.

It also doesn’t stop with media. Tomorrow, it’s guns and that’s happened before when payment processors and banks in the 2000s stating that a gun purchase went against their standards and ethics. Things like this were the reason Bitcoin was created and more cryptocurrencies have been created since. The problem is now the middlemen. It’s time to cut them out.

Listen, I’m aware that criminals will still be able to buy illegal things but the reason I bring up guns is because it does come from not just payment processors attempting to stop purchases but it comes from “Think of the Children!” which is playing on very real concerns of the multitude of children that have gone missing and have verifiably been trafficked with more and more of the predators actually being able to live openly but the other part of it, the quiet part total and complete control.

Because of their epiphany, whatever it was, and the very real concerns, they have used that as a springboard to rally support, this didn’t pop up overnight, peeps, and they have already moved for more and they will not stop. The thing you have to do now is call Visa and MasterCard and tell them, you won’t be gaslit, you know the facts (please look them up and have your bullet points ready) and that this will not be tolerated because today, it’s the stuff that we can all agree probably shouldn’t be there but tomorrow, if something you truly enjoy is considered “immoral” then that will be next.

None of this is hyperbole, we’ve been watching this happen in the last two weeks and it has to stop before it gets any more out of hand. While I find certain games to be something I wouldn’t touch even if paid, I don’t believe they should be yanked down because they offend me. I have the option of just walking away from it and I do.

It’s time we all took this route.

Mark my words: Drive-ThruRPG is next.