Some Thoughts I’d Like To Share
This post is coming from me personally and not in my role as a spokesperson for Wizards of the Coast. There’s just a few things I‘d like to say. First up, I strongly believe black lives matter. I believe there is systemic racism towards black people in this country. I think it’s an important issue that needs light shed upon it, because we as a country (and really, as a world) need to change and be better. I’m stating this firmly and bluntly, because I don’t want anyone doubting where I stand or what I believe.
Second, I feel my fellow co-workers at Wizards of the Coast share my desire to be a part of this change. I’ve heard their passion about it in meetings, in online communication, and just when talking face-to-face around the building. I’ve watched as we’ve worked hard to incorporate diversity and representation, both in the game and at the company. That said, I’ll be the first to say we have room for improvement. We have a lot of work to do to get to the place we’d like to be, especially in employment. I believe we’re moving in the right direction, but we need to figure out how to move faster.
Third, I think we need to be better at communicating with all of you. I go to meetings where so much work is being done to improve things and then I turn to social media where I get yelled at for Wizards not doing anything. I would like us to be better at telling all of you what we’re up to. We have a good vision. It should be shared.
Fourth and finally, this has been a time of self-reflection. There’s three truths about myself I must come to terms with. One, I’m a white man that grew up in America in the 70’s and 80’s. I need to recognize that a lot of things I’ve internalized as normal and “just part of life” have ugly aspects tied to them. I need to self-educate to understand these biases so that I can remove them. Two, I sometimes miss larger context to the things I say or do. It’s on me to use whatever resources necessary to avoid doing this in the future. Three, I need to learn how to be a better advocate for black people (as well as other people of color and women). It’s not enough to just do no wrong. I need to listen and learn the things I can do to actively make things better. Not solving the problem is being part of the problem.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope I might inspire others to do some self-reflection.
