To Our Community: Let’s Be Better Together
Added 2020-06-22 16:01:02 +0000 UTCTo our community--
When we started our journey as Kinda Funny, one of the first things we said on our January 5th, 2015 stream was what we expected of our community. Namely, if you’re going to be a jerk, we don’t want your view, subscription, or money; this isn’t the place for you.
Over the years, we’ve never wavered from that stance, but we also haven’t been as vocal about it as we should have.
This weekend, a number of abusers across multiple industries were outed by their brave survivors. A few of these abusers had at one time been a part of the Kinda Funny community. This started a number of conversations about how we at Kinda Funny aren’t doing enough to support the members of our community who aren’t straight white males.
We want to be better, and that starts with being clear about who we are and what our expectations are of our community.
Kinda Funny is a community for everyone who wants to celebrate games, movies, and Oreos while respecting their fellow community members.
If you don’t believe that black lives matter, that trans lives matter, that all genders are equal, that racism is fucking stupid, that LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, and that it’s our duty to be better to each other and make this world a better place, Kinda Funny is not for you.
But believing isn’t enough; being good to each other comes with action. That means not attacking each other in comments when you disagree, that means not harassing women in our community, and that even means calling out others when you do see this kind of bad behavior and course correcting.
This is a rallying cry to all Kinda Funny fans. The time for us to be silent and “not feed the trolls” is over because our silence looks like we don’t support our targeted community members and that we accept the toxic parts of our community as our community.
We do not.
This letter alone won’t fix things overnight. We all need to work together and -- even more importantly -- listen to each other. Engage in discussions about this topic, but check your defensiveness at the door. Listen, empathize, and act.
That’s what we’re doing on this side of the screen -- as well as talking with and working alongside mods on our community-run channels to make these spaces feel more open and welcoming to everyone. That’s how we support each other like Best Friends would. If you need concrete examples on how to do that, this thread has some great starting points.
Let’s be better together.
The Kinda Funny Crew
Comments
I normally only supposed you guys during the new year drives. But you have earned my 10 dollars a month for life.
2020-06-22 22:44:57 +0000 UTCThat IS what Best Friends Do. Fuck yes, spread love!
2020-06-22 20:59:03 +0000 UTCGET IT DONE, KF!! 😎
Jacob Meyer
2020-06-22 20:27:20 +0000 UTCThe subreddit has a few good threads.
Vince
2020-06-22 20:08:39 +0000 UTCFuck yes spread love!
2020-06-22 17:54:50 +0000 UTC💜💜💜
Amy Gilroy
2020-06-22 17:45:20 +0000 UTCI agree. I liked the GameOverGreggy Show way, in which there would be 4 sometimes 5 topics prepared for the show. They’d go into detail on each topic. I do enjoy off the cuff but a balance of both would be great.
2020-06-22 17:39:25 +0000 UTCI am slightly out of the loop, might not be the right place to ask but is there somewhere I can go (besides skimming through twitter) where I can find out who these abusers are just so I can stop supporting them if I do already?
McBeer Me
2020-06-22 17:10:56 +0000 UTCThis is the first gaming community where I haven’t been scared to be an out trans woman, thank you for creating this and for all you do.
2020-06-22 17:00:09 +0000 UTCI appreciate the statement and the progress that you're hoping to push but the lack of actionable items and acknowledging being complicit in enabling abusers by leaving it to the community to self police disappoints me.
2020-06-22 16:59:26 +0000 UTCDon't have social media so I'm not entirely sure what's going on but I support you guys and the positive vibes you want to put into the world
Reid Medeiros
2020-06-22 16:54:02 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing this statement. I agreed wholeheartedly with Andy's and Blessing's tweets this weekend, and it is reassuring to hear the KF crew reiterate the sentiments. FWIW - One suggestion for how to foster a more informed discussion about topics that are a bit heavier would be to spend a bit more time prepping to discuss and being less "off the cuff." Trust me, I get that "off the cuff" is KF's bread and butter and leads to several hilarious and heart warming moments, but sometimes the conversation needs more facts and less feels. I remember when Ferguson happened (or possibly another event around that time), Greg came prepared for The Gameover Greggy Show with facts, articles, etc. about the subject at hand. Not only did Greg's emotional response to such a horrific moment move and inspire me, backing it up with facts further cemented his point. My concern is that by saying things off the cuff, something factually inaccurate is stated or a stereotype is reinforced, which further exacerbates the problem. Fortunately or unfortunately, a lot of people look up to you and value what you have to say. It is important that you be thoughtful about how those words could influence someone. For example, Joe Rogen's baseless comments bashing people for wearing masks in public no doubt has led some listeners to not wear masks. You all do a great job and I'm so proud to be a supporter of KF. You bring me so much joy and laughter, especially during these dark times. As the company continues to grow, I hope you all will continue to grow as well. Like the View Askewniverse in Reviewniverse, you can't always be dick and fart jokes. Sometimes you have to get serious and that requires a bit of extra work sometimes. Thank you for everything.
Devon Holbrook
2020-06-22 16:25:30 +0000 UTC
