Gonna say this one plainly:

If you fixed your fingers at any point to say "fire Mike Mearls", but you adamantly REFUSE to support and aid POC who are challenging that institution to their face, knowing its a risk, they aren't the goofy ones: YOU are. https://twitter.com/OrionDBlack/status/1300129961181810688

Again: no one is in disagreement that these companies need to be severely overhauled.

But y'all gotta stop this thing where you expect us to be ideologically pure and untouched. Where you pretend you don't see how its much more nuanced than "I don't want to support the company."

Honestly? DON'T SUPPORT THEM.

But stop coming at us sideways when we don't IMMEDIATELY drop everything upon hearing egregious misconduct.

Especially when the following is true:

1) we have other means of support that doesn't require you to support that company. Trust, we got PayPals, Ko-Fi, Patreons.

I've had plenty of people drop me off $5 in PayPal with the note "I don't support Twitch, but I support you and I want you to get more than 50%."

2) when you're in the same scenario, you seek understanding, suddenly.

I witnessed one of these "fire Mike Mearls" types cricize and belabour POC still working with WotC, only to turn around months later with their own project, upset that people were constantly yelling >>>

<<< at them to force all groups in their project to not use any problematic RPG settings.

"I can't force people to not use them..." sounds like you need to issue a lot of apologies to the POC you had no problem bothering about this mess.

3) you agree and realize that opportunities are limited, and we just want to survive capitalism.

I've faced the same crit of "Vanessa if you have problems with Twitch why are you still there?"

I don't have the luxury of shutting down and starting over. I'm not Ninja or Shroud.

I don't get space to just "encourage" my community to follow me anywhere without repercussion. I'm not swimming in sponsorship offers. I can't get anything for my community by virtue of *JUST* existing. The same is true for many POC.

I CAN leave, but if I do, that's a wrap. Ask the POC who are trying to migrate to Twitch to Mixer.

Ask them how many Partnerships got handed out to them. How many people rushed to pick us up when OPG crumbled. How many people want to work with us before G. Floyd died and after.

Its this weird unspoken pedastal that we get put on. This idea that because we champion diversity and change, that we will never work with anyone who doesn't "make the cut".

That's a fast way to ensure your favorite POC creators remain tired and hungry, or remain unfound.

What I'm saying is my popular bark of 'you can do both.'

You can absolutely roast all these companies for doing an absolutely abysmal job trying to diversify their spaces, do better by non-men, or addressing serious allegations.

You can also realize for many, many POC/marginalized people this is their living you're asking them to get up and throw away. It isn't as easy as 'they still equate orcs to black people? Guess I'm putting in my two weeks notice!'

What you CAN'T do both us, is demand that we're involved, engaged, and present in these spaces then spend all your energy criticizing us for....being in these spaces, like you've said needs to happen.

Those changes aren't going to occur overnight.

Like many things: change takes time.

This isn't a defense for companies; fuck them.

It's a reminder that because of how many of these systems are set up, however, that they can't be insta-fixed. It requires work of holding them accountable AND uplifting the voices who need it.

So by all means: yell at *these companies*. Force them to face the music. Make them do better and withdraw support until they do.

But stop coming for POC who are trying their best in the endeavor and just want to live. We not the ones who caused the issues at said companies.

Stop showing up in OUR PROJECTS and OUR WINS to scream "oh, but you did it with THAT company? I don't support them for all these RACIST AND TERRIBLE THINGS they did, so I won't support you "

Do you see how backwards and useless that sounds? Do you really think we don't know?

We don't run these companies. Trust: you would know if we did.

Put that angy energy towards these insensitive, POS leaders who like to pretend they've never seen the black power fist. Not our POC colleagues who you know stared at that announcement in the same anger and horror.

And stop roaming through on some "create your own" energy, too. We don't all have the resources, the time, the knowledge, etc.

There is not an "easy solution", so stop trying to make one.