What happened to "no politics"?

[Edward Wu]

They mean "no politics where it might cost us some money".

I'm guessing rednecks living in trailers decorated like the General Lee aren't that big a money spinner for Blizzard.

Pretty telling that if we ever get a Natsoc revolution in America, companies like Blizzard would start spinning fascist rhetoric soon afterwards. Lol.

[Mardux]

Because supporting US progressive agendas doesn't threaten their bottom line via Chinese sales, like supporting Hong Kong's progressive agendas would. Not to say I don't think a lot of Blizz staff personally believe in these things--Blizz is stationed in California, one of the bluest of blue bastions in the US, but the top brass love money more than morals so when a big market like China comes into play, all of a sudden most every game and film company want to push the 'we're apolitical' agenda rather than stick to their guns when being moral means doing the hard thing and taking a huge sales hit.

And this is why you should never put your faith in private companies to push for any social change you feel needs to happen. Regardless of what they may feel individually, as a company they're for it until it threatens their bottom line, then you hear deafening silence.

A company doing what's best for the company? That's just crazy.

[Perkunas]

Supporting BLM is much less of an economic risk for Blizzard than supporting the Hong Kong protests. The morally right choice, obviously, is to support both.

You're going to set the racists on these boards off again.

[agentsi]

Leftists are dishonest. They'll just say supporting LGBTQ+ and BLM is not politics but "humanitarianism". It's that manipulation of language that is the bedrock of their ideology. Read 1984 by George Orwell and you'll come to see these snakes pretty clearly.

Hard to read all these responses, but thank god for yours. I feel like I'm a little less crazy now knowing someone else understands. Because it often appears no one else understands how the left manipulates folks. I've never seen so many white people be more offended than the victims themselves. A Marxist organization, who is anti-family values, anti-nuclear families, anti-white people, and Blizzard supports them. It's so crazy.

And before anyone goes off the rails. It is quite easy to provide sources for everything I mentioned.

[Mardux]

They are hypocrites that only for for money.

Much like their playerbase.

[Cyranis]

Difference - they decided to use a platform they own, the money involved and risk is theirs, vs Blitzchung without permission used their platform. If left unchecked, people co-opting their platform could cost them advertisers and revenue streams. Blitzchung essentially came to your house, took your car to the gas station without asking without a drivers licence or insurance. Opening you up to all sorts of liabilities if something went wrong.

[rrayy]

Accepting BLM didn't come with a price tag.

Most people also don't consider equal rights being political.

Unless you are living in Hong Kong. Blizzard only cares about equal rights as long is it doesn't attack their bottom line. They are hypocrites.

[peer]

I feel like I'm a little less crazy now

you shouldn't, because you definitely are crazy.

[Mardux]

because empty,meaningless support for BLM (you didn't think they actually cared,did you?) is good for them financiallly,while getting boycotted by China is a major hit on their finances.

It's as simple as that,soulless companies and brands don't give a fuck about what's right and what's not,it's all about the money

Companies arent people. It's a hard concept to grasp, I know. People care about people, companies are inanimate non-conscious entities with no brains to think or make decisions or have a sense of morals.

[rrayy]

Difference - they decided to use a platform they own, the money involved and risk is theirs, vs Blitzchung without permission used their platform. If left unchecked, people co-opting their platform could cost them advertisers and revenue streams. Blitzchung essentially came to your house, took your car to the gas station without asking without a drivers licence or insurance. Opening you up to all sorts of liabilities if something went wrong.

You are naive if you think Blizzard did what they did for those reasons. Tony don't carea bout any of that BS. They only care about their bottom line. Moral Bankruptcy and hypocrisy are the two big hallmarks of Blizzard Entertainment.

[Ironfoe2]

Difference - they decided to use a platform they own, the money involved and risk is theirs, vs Blitzchung without permission used their platform. If left unchecked, people co-opting their platform could cost them advertisers and revenue streams. Blitzchung essentially came to your house, took your car to the gas station without asking without a drivers licence or insurance. Opening you up to all sorts of liabilities if something went wrong.

What about the BLM protests ingame? Those are people using Blizzard's game as a platform. But it's ok when Blizzard is fine with the message.

So it's not that Blizzard wants to keep politics out of their games, they just want to keep certain opinions out of their games.

[Thage]

A company doing what's best for the company? That's just crazy.

If that's your takeaway, sure. My core point is that a company that makes moral stands should always be suspect, regardless of how strongly individuals within the company feel about something, because that company will always be deafeningly silent on human rights abuses in countries where it has a strong financial interest. Ask Blizzard for their opinion on the Chechens attempting a purge of all homosexuals within their borders a few years ago, and you'll get the same 'we're apolitical' answer they gave about Hong Kong, because Russia is a big market they don't want to risk.

At the end of the day, a company's moral stance is entirely reliant on money. Blizzard spoke out in favor of the protests against police brutality because it won't impact their bottom line--they don't risk losing out on markets in the US by saying so. They're silent on China and Russia because they stand to lose money. So when they come out in support of a social issue, you should always, always amend, "because this won't hurt our finances." to the end of their statement.

[rrayy]

That's what happens when revolutionaries fight back.

So oppressing people in US bad, oppressing peoople in Hong Kong, god. Your hypocrisy could not be more blatant

[agentsi]

you shouldn't, because you definitely are crazy.

Why? Because I don't believe the media propaganda and lies? Tell me where what I said was crazy?

[Aeriedk]

Leftists are dishonest. They'll just say supporting LGBTQ+ and BLM is not politics but "humanitarianism". It's that manipulation of language that is the bedrock of their ideology. Read 1984 by George Orwell and you'll come to see these snakes pretty clearly.

I always laugh when I see stuff like this. I don't discount that the left does this, but the right clearly does this as well. All you have to do is look at the current situation with COVID. "We are pro-life! No abortions!" What about COVID? "*crickets*" or "It's a hoax" or "We swear it's not that many".

That's politics, but it's clearly found on both sides.

I maintain that the left pretends to care about you while the right just will openly take advantage of you without even pretending.

[ONCHEhap]

I always laugh when I see stuff like this. I don't discount that the left does this, but the right clearly does this as well. All you have to do is look at the current situation with COVID. "We are pro-life! No abortions!" What about COVID? "*crickets*" or "It's a hoax" or "We swear it's not that many".

That's politics, but it's clearly found on both sides.

I maintain that the left pretends to care about you while the right just will openly take advantage of you without even pretending.

honestly,the mainstream left in the US is a complete joke,just as the mainstream right is in the US.

Both are uneducated trash

[Ironfoe2]

I always laugh when I see stuff like this. I don't discount that the left does this, but the right clearly does this as well. All you have to do is look at the current situation with COVID. "We are pro-life! No abortions!" What about COVID? "*crickets*" or "It's a hoax" or "We swear it's not that many".

That's politics, but it's clearly found on both sides.

I maintain that the left pretends to care about you while the right just will openly take advantage of you without even pretending.

I find it to be happening on the left a lot more.

[Jonnusthegreat]

Unless you are living in Hong Kong. Blizzard only cares about equal rights as long is it doesn't attack their bottom line. They are hypocrites.

It's not hypocritical. The bottom line is what matters. Same stance on both issues regarding money.

[Video Games]

People zealously attach them self to [brand] and use them as a bastion morals now because its the new religion for people who live empty lives. Its really sad

[Aeriedk]

I find it to be happening on the left a lot more.

Oh c'mon.

Right now the right is literally painting the country as a warzone suffering from the sniffles.

They pretty much do this equally.

If you want the truth watch Fox then watch CNN and its in the middle.