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.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The payment processor wasn't my issue in the slightest, only how the funds were going to a private corporation in what -feels like- a deceptive practice with no financial accountability.

Fair enough! I appreciate the clarification.

The only thing I would add to this excellent conversation is that it has unfortunately come to my attention that simply being a charity isn't enough either; I have seen 501(c)(3)s that are, for all practical purposes, a legal way to funnel money to people (they raise money to provide it to a few individuals as management fees, or to pay money to third parties that are owned by the individual who set up the charity).

That's why it is always prudent to donate to charities you are comfortable with. Oh, and avoid charities that rely heavily on phone banks and calling for donations- those are the worst (IMO).

 

[Xaelvaen]

Oh, and avoid charities that rely heavily on phone banks and calling for donations- those are the worst (IMO).

Half the time, you never even know if those phone-bank charities are even scams these days. I've had the exact same voice call me from four or five different charities over two years. Thank you for the great discussion, despite any misunderstandings.

 

[Umbran]

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

That's not the Grandma Rule. The Grandma rule is about language use, to keep the discussion family friendly - constrain your language use as if you were speaking to Eric's Grandma. Meaning - no swearing, and keep sexual content down to vague innuendo, and such.

"No politics, no religion," is a separate rule.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'm sorry, I have a problem with this. Black lives definitely do matter. All lives do. I don't know when saying "All Lives Matter" became a mark of racism.

The death of George Floyd was tragic, and the cop(s) responsible deserve the full measure of justice. But it has become a "justification" for rioting and looting. And more African American people have died during all this in the last few weeks than at the hands of cops in the last few years. Combined. To say nothing of all the AA families and business owners who have lost homes and businesses.

Whatever the purpose of BLM, it has become co-opted by anarchists and anti-American extremists. The NY director of BLM, Hawk Newsome, has stated their objective of raising, training and equipping a force to combat the police. As much as I do care about the black community, I cannot in good conscience support the BLM organization.

Why does even our beloved hobby have to buy into this?

This is literally misinformation.

 

[Eltab]

Absolutely!

EJI (as @Snarf Zagyg mentioned) is highly efficient with their spending. Equal Justice Initiative
I like that they focus on righting the wrongs already present in our society, to boot.

EDIT: I have another to add, sorry for the delay on it - had to break for lunch.

I also recently made a donation to National Urban League which isn't as efficient as EJI, but they focus on "Empowering Communities, Changing Lives" and have a strong base in education with an "85% increase in college attendance rate" through their programs. I feel like this is a major way to help create future equality. Their 2019 financial report is available on their website to check for yourself, if its the sort of program you'd like to support.

Thank you for doing the research on alternatives.

 

[evileeyore]

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

Too late. There are actively political threads (see this one for instance) where only side of the politics is allowed to be openly supported.

 

[Morrus]

Too late. There are actively political threads (see this one for instance) where only side of the politics is allowed to be openly supported.

Don't post again in this thread.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

This is literally misinformation.

I agree. Saying "All Lives Matter" is racist because it's trying to minimize the appearance of a problem. It's something white people, such as myself, don't understand naturally. I don't have to be super careful around cops. I don't have to worry that I'll be shot dead while reaching for my driver's license if I'm pulled over. I don't have to worry about being killed while arrested for having a 20 dollar bill that's counterfeit.

The problem with saying "Well, all live matter!" when someone tells you that black lives matter is because that's an ignorant and racist statement. If someone's child who overdosed on drugs, because they got hooked on heroin from opiods that were prescribed to them, you wouldn't go up to them and tell them to not complain because "ALL LIVES MATTER" because that's an insensitive and a stupid thing to say. It's a tragedy, we have to work through this problem while comforting the victims of the problem.

In any other context, anyone who said "All lives matter" in response to someone protesting over their lives being taken away would be immediately condemned. Not only was their post misinformation, but it lacked empathy or understanding of the situation, and they need to reevaluate their stance on Black Lives Matter as a phrase and an organization.

 

[cmad1977]

I saw the College of Acappella on DMs guild somewhere I thought. I recommend.

 

[the Jester]

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

100% agreed. Russ, I- and I hope the vast majority of ENWorlders- am absolutely, unequivocally in support of your, er, support here. Thank you.