RPG Sales for Black Lives Matter

If you would like to give something to the Black Lives Matter movement, there are some great RPG-related options!

• DMs Guild has a Black Lives Matter spotlight. You can buy D&D material from people of color. There are 11 items in the spotlight, including a couple of bundles. One of them, a Black Lives Matter bundle, has nearly 30 D&D supplements heavily discounted.
• DriveThruRPG (DMs Guild's sister site) has a spotlight page too. This includes some awesome products like the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit, and a bunch of bundles which include Rocket Age and Shadows Over Sol.
• Itchio's MASSIVE bundle has raised nearly $5M so far, and contains over 1,000 products for just $5! They're not all tabletop RPGs, but there's a whole bunch in there including Lancer, a mech pilot RPG I've been meaning to pick up for ages!

As a side note, as I've said elsewhere on EN World, if you feel the burning need to declare that hearing about the suffering of others infringes on your gaming pleasure in some way, or that fundraisers for charity are somehow bothering you, I'd suggest you find somewhere else to say it. It's not welcome here.

 

[Xaelvaen]

This is always true. I would add that truly ethical giving often involves looking at the administrative costs of the entity that you are giving to.

However, I do take issue with the specific post that brought this up. Without going to into the weeds, ActBlue is a payment processor for many progressive groups and nonprofits as well as Democratic candidates; however, it is not true that a donation to a group that uses ActBlue as a payment is a donation to "democrat [sic] election funds."

if this is unclear, please see:

How does ActBlue work? | ActBlue Support

We build tools for Democratic candidates and committees, progressive organizations, and nonprofits so they can raise money online.

support.actblue.com

But to reiterate- you are providing the funds to the organization in question, not to the processor.

You're right, that ActBlue is a payment processor. However, I'll also note that Black Lives Matter is technically a corporation - you can find this on their About Us page, and not a 501(c) charity themselves. It is "Black Lives Matter, Inc." Meaning, they cannot accept charitable donations. This seems very suspicious to me, however - a corporation getting money from a charity and getting to skip filing their own 501(c) status. That means they don't have to be held accountable for where their charitable donations are spent, nor do they have to file a spending report like other 501(c) charities.

So, you're absolutely right that it isn't proof that the money is going to a political campaign. It IS proof, however, that there will never be accountability for where that money goes, aside from ActBlue saying "We gave the money to a corporation". I will personally choose a more transparent place to donate my money. I will amend my original statement to better reflect this enlightenment, because I truly meant no offense at all.

To further illustrate, I have absolutely no problem with people donating to election campaigns of their choice - I just think this movement isn't the best place to funnel money for it. I think politicians have enough cash, and these donations should go to the people most affected, directly.

 

[Haldrik]

Black Lives Matter is a racist Antisemitic organization. One needs to be more informed about which organizations one supports.

 

[Morrus]

Black Lives Matter is a racist Antisemitic organization. One needs to be more informed about which organizations one supports.

Don't post in this thread again.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'd just like to thank Morrus and the other staffers for supporting this cause.

 

[Eltab]

As for re-editing CoS (ToA was mentioned also), I dont think it will happen, but I think the demand is legit. The demand, though, is not about removing the Vistani or Chultans, is more about editing the book to present Vistani in a better light without the ''drunken, child-stealing, thieves, all of 'em!'' part, much like 4e did with them, and editing Chult to add more info about the culture of Chult.

When CoS came out, a poster came to EnWorld to launch a rant against the portrayal of Vistani. She drew red ink for violating "Be Polite" and eventually wound up to accusing Morrus of being a racist because he allowed people to rebut her claims (and explain how RPGs mix real world and fantasy) on his forum.

Needless to say, she did her cause more harm than good by being argumentative.

 

[TheIdeaOfGood]

Regarding the Vistani, it would help tremendously to portray them as victims of the Dark Powers, like all inhabitants of the Dread Realms, and/or Fate and all they do as consequences of that.

 

[BrokenTwin]

I bought the itch.io bundle just for the Hex Kit alone, by Cone of Negative Energy. It normally sells for $15 all by itself.

Oh, that bundle is fantastic. Thanks for mentioning it!

 

[Deset Gled]

However, I'll also note that Black Lives Matter is technically a corporation - you can find this on their About Us page, and not a 501(c) charity themselves. It is "Black Lives Matter, Inc." ... That means they don't have to be held accountable for where their charitable donations are spent, nor do they have to file a spending report like other 501(c) charities.

I recommend using Charity Navigator (Charity Navigator - Your Guide To Intelligent Giving | Home) to anyone who wants to review where their dollars are going.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

This is where I remember the wisdom of Eric Noah for having the Eric's Grandmother rule: No religion or politics.

I am genuinely worried that this will soon turn into RPG.net.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Next time someone tells you "all lives matter," show them this cartoon might help you there.

Edit: And this is the full extended version of the cartoon: all houses matter: the extended cut – Chainsawsuit by Kris Straub – now that's what i call content

Not only that, but it seems many who say "all lives matter" also have taken a position that the elderly and sick should sacrifice themselves for the economy. And it all lives truly matter, then that includes black lives, so when black lives are routinely snuffed out by the people who are supposed to protect them, those people should be equally infuriated as well, and not a token, "Well, that was a bad thing with them getting killed, BUT..."

The data is overwhelming that shows African Americans suffer exponentially worse punishments as compared to white people for the same offenses, from traffic stops to capitol punishment. IMO, this shouldn't even be a political issue. This is a basic humanity issue.