CCF Refuses to Endorse GenCon Donations
Okay, I know I'm a little late in finding out about this, but Its got my blood boiling, and I have to blog it out.
Earlier this year, the charity auction at Gen Con Indy raised over $17,000 to donate to the late Gary Gygax's favorite charity, the Christian Children's Fund. It was initially reported that the CCF refused to accept the money because of the convention's association with Dungeons & Dragons. It was later revealed that GenCon chose to donate to another of Gygax's favorite charities, the Fisher House Foundation, because a CCF representative told them that they would not officially endorse GenCon because of their association with D&D.
So they were willing to take their money, but they weren't willing to recognize GenCon for their generous donation because, as we all know, D&D is a secret recruiting tool for goat-raping satanic cults. What. The. Fuck.
The CCF, of course, quickly backpeddled out of the situation after the deluge of complaints recieved through e-mail. Their official canned response goes a little something like this:
"When Gen Con contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn’t lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for Gen Con until we began receiving emails. This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction."
Yeah, you spin that. You spin that real good. I don't care what their PR people say. The fact of the matter is that a representative of an organization whose main goal is supposed to be feeding starving children refused to cooperate with an oranization willing to donate over $17,000 because of their own personal bigotry and ignorance. That is not ok. I'm sure the kids that money would have gone to don't give a good Goddamn about what games the donors play.
At least we had one good thing come of this: one more example of the gaming community refusing to be bullied by ignorant and fearful prejudice. And, of course, the money was donated to a worthwhile charity after all. If you want to know more, you can read about it here.
- Nick
Earlier this year, the charity auction at Gen Con Indy raised over $17,000 to donate to the late Gary Gygax's favorite charity, the Christian Children's Fund. It was initially reported that the CCF refused to accept the money because of the convention's association with Dungeons & Dragons. It was later revealed that GenCon chose to donate to another of Gygax's favorite charities, the Fisher House Foundation, because a CCF representative told them that they would not officially endorse GenCon because of their association with D&D.
So they were willing to take their money, but they weren't willing to recognize GenCon for their generous donation because, as we all know, D&D is a secret recruiting tool for goat-raping satanic cults. What. The. Fuck.
The CCF, of course, quickly backpeddled out of the situation after the deluge of complaints recieved through e-mail. Their official canned response goes a little something like this:
"When Gen Con contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn’t lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for Gen Con until we began receiving emails. This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction."
Yeah, you spin that. You spin that real good. I don't care what their PR people say. The fact of the matter is that a representative of an organization whose main goal is supposed to be feeding starving children refused to cooperate with an oranization willing to donate over $17,000 because of their own personal bigotry and ignorance. That is not ok. I'm sure the kids that money would have gone to don't give a good Goddamn about what games the donors play.
At least we had one good thing come of this: one more example of the gaming community refusing to be bullied by ignorant and fearful prejudice. And, of course, the money was donated to a worthwhile charity after all. If you want to know more, you can read about it here.
- Nick