I’ve been thinking about this for a bit, and I think I support WotC in their decision to not offer the Pride Dice in Turkey. Here’s my reasoning.
There are places where it’s definitely great to support LGBTQ rights. Unfortunately, there are also places where being homosexual (et al) is illegal, and supporting LGBTQ rights is simply not a realistic option for brands to endorse. And, more to the point, there are places that are gray areas; specific alternate lifestyles are not illegal, but it may be dangerous in multiple ways for people to be associated with LGBTQ culture.
Hasbro has a division in Turkey with ~20 employees. They also have a distribution chain and business associates there. If Hasbro has reason to believe that their employees (or anyone else related to the company) may come to harm because of association with LGBTQ rights, it’s morally preferable for them to not offer the dice and ensure that everyone is safe. If Hasbro has employees there that are closeted LGBTQ, it could be dangerous for them to work at a company flying the Pride Flag. It could be dangerous for retail workers at stores to sell D&D products if the brand is associated with LGBTQ pride. And if that’s the case, Hasbro is making the right choice. The main thing here to remember is that it’s not just the people at Hasbro HQ and the end user that will be affected, there are a lot of people in between that may also face consequences. Even in the case of a digital product.
Now, I will also admit I don’t have a clear understanding of how safe it is to be gay in Turkey. Accoring to Wikipedia,
honor killings are still legal there. The
second link I saw when I googled about it says “gay and transgender communities face a threat of violence and discrimination on a daily basis”. Maybe that’s out of date or blown out or proportion. I am absolutely not the person who should be making that call. But that’s why I am giving Hasbro the benefit of the doubt in this case; I’m assuming they know more than I do. I would be happy to learn more about what it's really like there to know if this reasoning makes sense.