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<blockquote data-quote="cowpie" data-source="post: 7766370" data-attributes="member: 98840">I'm not sure about any of this, because I haven't had a chance to actually read the Camarilla book, and see for myself what they said.&nbsp; On the surface, it seems like an ill-advised and insensitive decision to use recent real world events and real world figures as part of the game's fiction.&nbsp; They certainly put themselves in the cross-hairs for groups that would like to censor them:1) The Chechen government: a dictatorship, where corruption and crime is endemic, and the legal system is influenced by Sharia Law.&nbsp; This seems consistent with their pattern of publicly denying extortion, kidnapping, civil unrest, and the recent crackdown on the LGBT community in the country.&nbsp; Of course they'd deny it, and try to censor anything shedding light on these events.2) The &quot;LGBT community&quot;:&nbsp; there are LGBT activists protesting the anti-gay crackdowns in Chechnya.&nbsp; Is this the community that protested?&nbsp; I know lots of LGBT people who've played make-believe monsters in White Wolf games for years, with no problems (it has a long history of being an inclusive game).&nbsp; Who *exactly* called for censorship here?&nbsp; They couldn't possibly represent all LGBT people.I don't play Vampire, but now I would like to buy a copy of the books, because...A) By censoring the book, my rights to free assembly and free thought are also being violated, because I can't even read the book and judge it for myself.&nbsp; I'm a grown up, and I'm going to make up my own mind.&nbsp; Our thoughts are our own, and no one has the right to tell us what we are allowed think.B) I don't want to support the aims of the dictator of Chechnya.&nbsp; If he wants to censor the books, then I will be happy to buy them, just to thumb my nose at him.C) I don't trust the LGBT activists who complained -- they could just be using this controversy as propaganda to garner attention for their cause.&nbsp; Hopefully they aren't just moralizing busybodies, like the &quot;satanic panic&quot; RPG censors from the 80s.&nbsp; There's not enough info in this article to really know their motives.And finally, if White Wolf apologized for being insensitive, is it really so hard to forgive them for screwing up? Everyone makes mistakes. We all want to be understood and forgiven when we do.&nbsp; I think the best way to make that happen is to forgive others in kind. Demonizing and censoring a small-fry RPG company is a cruel and heavy handed punishment, IMHO.&nbsp; It's sure not going to stop the anti-LGBT violence in Chechnya.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="cowpie, post: 7766370, member: 98840"] I'm not sure about any of this, because I haven't had a chance to actually read the Camarilla book, and see for myself what they said. On the surface, it seems like an ill-advised and insensitive decision to use recent real world events and real world figures as part of the game's fiction. They certainly put themselves in the cross-hairs for groups that would like to censor them: 1) The Chechen government: a dictatorship, where corruption and crime is endemic, and the legal system is influenced by Sharia Law. This seems consistent with their pattern of publicly denying extortion, kidnapping, civil unrest, and the recent crackdown on the LGBT community in the country. Of course they'd deny it, and try to censor anything shedding light on these events. 2) The "LGBT community": there are LGBT activists protesting the anti-gay crackdowns in Chechnya. Is this the community that protested? I know lots of LGBT people who've played make-believe monsters in White Wolf games for years, with no problems (it has a long history of being an inclusive game). Who *exactly* called for censorship here? They couldn't possibly represent all LGBT people. I don't play Vampire, but now I would like to buy a copy of the books, because... A) By censoring the book, my rights to free assembly and free thought are also being violated, because I can't even read the book and judge it for myself. I'm a grown up, and I'm going to make up my own mind. Our thoughts are our own, and no one has the right to tell us what we are allowed think. B) I don't want to support the aims of the dictator of Chechnya. If he wants to censor the books, then I will be happy to buy them, just to thumb my nose at him. C) I don't trust the LGBT activists who complained -- they could just be using this controversy as propaganda to garner attention for their cause. Hopefully they aren't just moralizing busybodies, like the "satanic panic" RPG censors from the 80s. There's not enough info in this article to really know their motives. And finally, if White Wolf apologized for being insensitive, is it really so hard to forgive them for screwing up? Everyone makes mistakes. We all want to be understood and forgiven when we do. I think the best way to make that happen is to forgive others in kind. Demonizing and censoring a small-fry RPG company is a cruel and heavy handed punishment, IMHO. It's sure not going to stop the anti-LGBT violence in Chechnya. [/QUOTE]

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