The #FireMikeMearls hashtag means far more than " @Wizards_DnD should fire the sacrificial lamb & we'll be happy."

In fact, not everyone believes that firing him is the only possible solution & NONE of us think that firing him fixes anything on its own.

So, what does it mean?

When you read that hashtag, hear this: "WotC has never publicly admitted this harm HAPPENED, let alone has been addressed. They just care about avoiding liability. Firing Mearls would just be a very small step in the right direction."

When you read that hashtag, also hear this: "WotC firing Mearls would be useless on its own. We need to know they're dismantling the power structures that allowed this to happen. Maybe they should fire him, or maybe he's just a symptom, because change needs to run much deeper."

People have been rightly calling for this to go all the way up to Chris Cocks, WotC president & CEO (and VP @NathanBStewart, under him). And YES. We'd all LOVE to hear CC & NS make a genuine, non-lawyery, liability-admitting apology on behalf the entire team.

We'd LOVE to hear them admit the many ways in which they've perpetuated discriminatory firing practices and encouraged a system of nepotism that makes it far easier for a white man to get hired (and stay hired, come hell or high water), because he's friends with Important People.

We'd LOVE for them to reach out to those that were exposed to Z's abuse (again) because of MM and WotC's handling of the situation - apologizing publicly, not sweeping it under the rug, and make amends in whatever way they can for the harm that was done.

We'd LOVE for them to express regret that to this day, the top credits in WotC books are still white men - and to PROVE that they plan on bringing more and more and more diversity to the UPPER echelons of WotC.

That'd be the RIGHT thing for CC & NS to do. But I'm also not enough of an idealist to believe they'd ever do that. B/C they & their lawyers want to protect WotC & MM, to protect their power - because to them, the company matters more than the people on the outside they've hurt.

And so, we're left echoing #FireMikeMearls - not because it's a fix on its own, nor because all of us necessarily think he's the one that should be fired. We're echoing this hashtag because SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE.

There is no hashtag that encompasses the breadth and depth of the damage that's been done to marginalized people in a million ways, large and small, over the years.

So we don't know WHAT to expect from WotC. They didn't do the right thing years ago; if they had, if they & MM had shown genuine regret, demonstrated how they were changing the industry so this wouldn't happen to someone else... we wouldn't have this hashtag in the first place.

Some folks say "People I trust say MM was a nice guy, just made a big mistake & has taken steps to make right." Sure, this is a reasonable position, it could be true, though not supported by a lot of public evidence. BUT THIS DOESN'T ABSOLVE WOTC FROM ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM.

On the flipside, demonizing MM doesn't help either. Perhaps he's genuinely sorry for what happened & has done the work to address the underlying issues & is dedicated to changing industry culture. This is where things go back to the wider company, and all the way up to CC and NS.

WotC has given no evidence that MM - or the people above him that protected him - have done the work needed to change himself and change the culture that made this a possibility. Maybe it's a gag order on MM and he wanted to make right years ago...

... or maybe he's quite content to be silent with his long-time buddies protecting him in the good ol' boys club. The point is, WE DON'T KNOW.

All we as a community know is that there's been radio silence from WotC on this entire situation, other than a lukewarm "apology" which came across as a blatant *lie* about their association with Z. All we know is that there IS a good ol' boys club, and we aren't part of it.

All we know is that that WotC needs more focus on (more amplification, more healing, more opportunities for) the marginalized, the survivors, the people that *aren't* in the good ol' boys club. We need protection for freelancers. We need proof of change. And we don't have it.

All we know is that WotC needs to stop ignoring the elephant in the room.

They haven't.

And so, we shout it from the rooftops: #FireMikeMearls.

RIP notifications

Just popped my head back in to comments on some common themes:

1) the answer to this is not to boycott #DMsGuild! If you want WotC to change, the creators on that site are the very kind of people you want WotC to hire! Don't hurt our livelihood.

2) Related, don't just tell us to go play in a different sandbox. I love the sandbox I'm in, especially Eberron. And we're not going to let bad actors dictate where we play. We're not gonna be silent because this is the sandbox we want to play in. Just wanna be safe doing it.

3) it's okay that others DO want to be in a different sandbox - check out DTRPG or Itchio. Just keep supporting those of us who are trying to dismantle current problematic structures & redeem them from within, instead of calling it a lost cause.