So I gotta be real here for a sec:

I've been working on commissions for a client who created a successful series of tabletop games which are a tongue-in-cheek homage to 80's-90's cop movies. I created the design for their latest Kickstarter page am still working with them.

So far I'm incredibly proud of the work I've done but I've been very aware of the implications of me, an ACAB-shirt toting anarchist working on a piece of media that idealizes the police.

I haven't shared the work on social media because it feels not on-brand for me

But I think it's disingenuous to not disclose that. If you find the project on KS you can find my name in the credits and it feels so amazing to have my name attached to a successful Kickstarter campaign.

The timing of the campaign launch was incredibly unfortunate though.

And even if it weren't for the timing, I think it's vitally important to criticise the premise of the game. I think it's important to reiterate how the old-school police stereotypes were created during a time of heightened police violence and US law enforcement needed a PR boost.

Which is very similar to how modern TV shows like Brooklyn 99 are working to revitalize the image of law enforcement today. B99 is also incidentally one of my favourite TV shows

Yet I think that this type of media is serving a very specific propagandistic purpose.

And when offered to work on this project I seriously had to think about whether I wanted to associate myself with that.

The truth is, they are incredibly pleasant clients to work with, they are high-profile enough to help advance my freelance career, but mostly I gotta eat.

And I acknowledge that as an ostensibly White cis-passing Queer person I get the privilege of pondering moral implications without having to live the everyday horror that people suffer from the police.

So let me reiterate: there is no such thing as a "good" cop.

Yet work is work and I have shitty landladies to feed and overpriced markets to boost in order to survive, so I don't fault myself for choosing that work. This isn't an apology or an attempt to justify myself, more like me pondering that stuff aloud and partially covering my ass.

The game got a bit of (justifiable) backlash on Twitter and frankly I was kind of afraid that some of that crowd will decide to come after the people who worked on the campaign, including myself. Heck maybe this thread will summon them. idk. Left Twitter has done stupider things.