Blizzard community,
Our world has a long history of racism. Humans create groups, and then create divisions between groups unlike themselves. Ironic how we need each other as social creatures, yet we developed the practice to ‘other’ humans who at first glance don’t look like what we see in the mirror.
I have made it a personal obligation to educate myself about trauma others endure, and to work to change those experiences for them. Many within Blizzard come from a place of strong purpose, with a will to do in order to help society.
Last year at BlizzCon, I made a commitment for Blizzard to do better. We pride ourselves on learning and growing, and doing something now that reflects our company and community values. I also said that our actions would matter more than our words—we have been publicly silent until now because action is the important part.
Let me be clear: Blizzard stands in solidarity with those fighting against racism, because racism is as dangerous as any pandemic for those affected. We stand with those fighting against social and institutional structures that promote inequality among people of color.
Last week, AB announced donations to the Equal Justice Initiative, the United Negro College Fund, and the Management Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) to fight systemic racial inequality. At Blizzard, we are working on initiatives for our community and our workplace.
In our games: For many years, we’ve had teams working with A.I. and machine learning to reduce toxicity and hate speech, as well as to help improve the overall gaming experience. Since January 1 this year, we’ve banned over 30,000 accounts for these reasons, as well as issued more than three million total hours of player suspensions. These penalties have notably improved our game environments: over the last two years, we’ve seen a 43% reduction in poor behavior reports, and a 59% reduction in the re-offense rate. And while this is progress, we’ve identified other places where we can use this technology and have more work to continue to do toward this effort.
In our relationships: We are also reviewing our partnerships to identify opportunities to support Black-owned and diverse businesses, and to amplify the voices of Black content creators and influencers.
Juneteenth: Today at Blizzard, we are observing Juneteenth with the goal of encouraging employees to take the time to be educated. We hosted a virtual session with a leader in our home city of Irvine, California, so employees can learn more about implicit bias, implications for law and policy, and how they can get involved in local efforts to drive change. We have also provided a list of resources to help coworkers self-educate, and shared ways to get involved in advocacy.
Ongoing: We are stronger with more diverse views and experiences. We are committed to being a more equitable workplace, including how and where we recruit, our HR practices, and employee support. We will also put an ongoing employee education program into place. This program will include more training and education (with the materials purchased from Black and minority-owned businesses), and Blizzard-wide town halls with experts on allyship, advocacy, and racism.
All of this work will continue to make Blizzard better, and play some small part in a larger, positive shift.
To our Black community, colleagues, and partners, Blizzard stands with you.
Black lives matter, today and always.
- J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment
i commend the users that support the BLM movement even if it means getting down voted to hell for believing in what's right. these "all lives matter" white privileged or misinformed users here should be ashamed of themselves but i guess it's what to expect in this day and age. and yes hong kong has its problems and so does blizz so get over it. lol the warnings..
Show 1 white privilege if you are so shure.
dont get salty dude im the one getiting warned over it, your incel self will get off. lmao
Hey Ookla I'm not racist, I do the same things good and bad to all races.
Indeed be racist is a minority.
Imagine a world where saying that all lives matter is something to be ashamed of. It is probably the same world where ''white privilege'' exists globally lol
You didn't had to say that, really.
again try learning something, you don't want to that's the problem. get over yourself kiddo
one decent person here thank you ookla
You know that you're dealing with an immature person when they call you ''kiddo''
While a lot of people might misunderstand the point and purpose of "black lives matter" and think "all lives matter" is a clever response, I doubt that many of them would actually support racism, and I think there's a slightly bigger gap between this and defending a racial ideology and mass murder (among other things). Also, while the world war started in 1939, that particular chapter in German history started 1933 (and technically earlier, of course).
When you say those people "don't think on their own", you pretty much make the same mistake though. You simplify, you polarize, and you provoke people to push back. Most people don't like being called stupid.
I'd like to say it's just an American thing, but I honestly think debate culture is generally in a difficult spot in many countries (to varying degrees), especially online, and even more when it comes to political topics. I'm not gonna speculate about the possible causes and reasons, but issues tend to get reduced to a basline that suggests two mutually exclusive positions. You either fully support something or fully oppose something, even though that "something" is not clearly defined, leaving it to your imagination what you would actually support or oppose. This also allows influencers to play with your imagination. And in such an environment, where everything is reduced to a dichotomy, the two opposing factions only need to call for attention and support with brief, sharp and sometimes witty remarks.
I do find it sad that apparently a lot of people think of "black lives matter" as something super controversial for some reason. But it doesn't really surprise me, because again, the continuous repetition of that single line reduces it to a solitary empty statement with no real content, it's left to people's imagination what it amounts to, what it means, so you'll have some on the one side that think it's discriminating them as not being black (or discredits them as a minority that would equally deserve to be considered), and some on the other side that think any opposition must stem from indifference or racism. It doesn't really worry me though either (well, a little bit sometimes), because I think that most people have more differentiated views than they might initially portray, and are able to reason properly.
The movement is really nothing but a shout-out, a reminder that racial violence and discrimination is still a thing, and provokes people to reconsider if and how they (unknowingly) contribute to that in their language, behavior, business practices, wardrobe or whatever. And if J. Allen Brack thinks that he needs to do something, that's good for him.
But at the same time, I have to accept that people feeling this way are still people I have to get along with somehow. And I think, calling people stupid or ignorant or comparing them to followers of a lousy austrian artist is not a good start to get along, and not really going to change anything. As futile as it is going to be, I'd rather try to convince without resorting to name-calling.
Also, while I'd strongly disagree with some of the comments here, I've seen nothing that really needs to get moderated yet.
nice meme
KEKW
I don't defend joe biden. I will vote for him because trump is a crypto fascist. That bill was his plan 25 years ago, they all have disowned it and moved on with life. Also, that crime bill was at a time when crime was ridiculously high and the majority of people wanted an answer. It was directed to violent offenders, but ended up hurting the wrong people. In hindsight, he did what he had to do. Even bernie sanders voted for it.
keep drinking that kool aid bro soon youl be able to knock holes in buildings
Finally, I got one of you little conservative gamers to utter more than a few words. Maybe next time try using paragraphs.
"BLM is not necessary"
the factors which lead to disproportionate criminality amongst black Americans are also in large part a product of racial bias. Underfunded public programs, redlining, generational poverty, bad schooling, and myriad other factors which influence criminality can also be traced to racial bias. Proof?
While White & Black Americans admit to using and selling illicit drugs at similar rates, Black Americans are VASTLY more likely to go to prison for a drug offense.
In 2002, Black Americans were incarcerated for drug offenses at TEN TIMES the rate of White Americans.
"Police brutality IS an abuse of power"
Looks like I made you concede, good you are on the side of FACTS.
Police brutality is a problem because It affects african american men more so that other similarly situated white men. Police militarization does not lead to a decrease in crimes committed or officer injuries, may actually increase both.
Police militarization (including the adoption of SWAT teams) decreases public trust in police, which may contribute to increases in crime.
"I'm white and a nationalist, whatever bro"
Have you seen this video about a cop at mcdonalds? I won't post it here because it might delete my post: Here is what I think about your fragility
You know, to this highly upsetable human being, there is no evidence even on her end to distrust her egg mcmuffin. What did she think was going to happen? poisoning food? , that her "life was in danger?" really think about that rationally. The people who serve the food at mcdonalds don't make it. She is sobbing for minutes to a camera over a mcmuffin. This fragility is what underlines police mentality. They prep themselves up as warriors and takers of life, the thin blue line between us and them. They are genuinely scared their "life is in danger" at every moment in their life, and people will defend the use of force when an officer's "life is in danger". What else are we going excuse them for?: Well it's probably poison, which is like murder, which means probable cause to kill preemptively. So should we let them do mass drive by at all fast food places next? Will the next excuse be "my life was in danger"? She should turn in her firearm. She has no business owing one.
Someone with this mentality is a giant coward and she should turn in the badge and get another job.
joe bidens 95 crime bill you guys got some bones to pick with him
tldr
Black Lives Matter, eh Blizz?
I guess Hong Kong lives.... not so much?
I think you are confusing trigger with cause. Maybe I wasnt clear enough on that part myself. The cause of the protests isn't George Floyds death, the cause is the systematic racism in US Amarican society. George Floyds death is the trigger that startet the protests.
Imagine living in a country where police brutality especially against African Americans is a well known problem and then there is a video of a white police man choking a black man to death while he is crying for help and that he cant breath, while everyone is watching and feels unable to do anything. Everyone in the world can watch that video and it is horrifying. The power behind that image is incredible strong. It is not an image created by media or politics, many people saw the video and instantly thought about racism and how it is still a major problem in US American society.
To make it short: The media didnt create the image, it was a strong trigger to a long underlying problem in US American society. The protests are a natural and needed result of that. The sad thing is that the death of George Floyd had to happen for the protests to start.
Your comment holds some merit but it's also a half-truth. The truth is, you're more likely to be targeted, harrased, arrested, and face violence as an African American. If you don't believe me then don't even bother replying.