…will be unfortunate ones, whether it be for Shep or fans petitioning for better ones.
This tidbit of information is a few days old but I’ve been sitting it over to decide how I feel. I am less upset than I was after I delved a little deeper into what exactly happened, and while I can understand the situation the Penny Arcade guys found themselves in I do not agree with how they handled it.
Basically the Retake Mass Effect movement was shut down. The reasoning was boiled down to some people believed, either through stupidity or misinformation (and not reading the website before donating) that donating to Child’s Play would directly impact Bioware making a new ending. This of course was not the case, and some people sought to get their money back, which I think is shameful to seek reimbursement from a charity because it wasn’t officially sanctioned by Bioware. There was confusion, but you can’t control what people say about a charity, petition, game, etc.. so if someone lies the only thing you can do it try to set them straight about the situation.
“…(W)hen someone attaches Child’s Play to something we can’t get behind, or leverages your history of generosity and fellow feeling for their own weird bullshit. So, we need to have something like a policy on this. This is the best way I can think to say it:
Child’s Play cannot be a tool to draw attention to a cause. Child’s Play must be the Cause.” -TB
People have attached Child’s Play to other events and movements, but none of them drew the attention Retake Mass Effect has and none of them were shut down because Child’s Play was not the sole cause. PAX was also never publicly derogatory toward any of these groups and didn’t openly disagree with them.
So this is where I get annoyed, regardless of whether or not you agree with other peoples opinions they are entitled to have them. If someone starts a movement that donates money to a charity while raising support for something they believe in, even if you do not, I don’t see what the huge issue is that should prevent the charity from receiving money. Yes, they are taking an extra step past a petition by involving a charity and they are garnering more support for themselves, but they aren’t profiting from it; the charity is, and the children are. The kid sitting in the hospital battling cancer or hopefully recovering from an illness doesn’t care if his Playstation came from a movement YOU might not agree with. If you went up to his mother and told her you cut donations that would have given her child something to lift their spirits while sick because YOU didn’t like the reason people were donating she’d fucking slap you and you would deserve it.
I am extremely disappointed in Penny Arcade, but I am extremely proud of the organizer of Retake Mass Effect. The ending of this movement may have been unfortunate but it did plenty of good while it was active and that counts for a lot.
“We have shown our sincerity and passion. We have brought positive attention to the Retake Mass Effect movement.
Make no mistake. This effort has been victorious.” -Robb, Retake Mass Effect
