Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
I don't even know where to begin on this.
I guess I'll begin with what we first heard about. More stuff has surfaced since it broke out a week ago, it's a complete mess, and some really dark stuff. Completely abhorrent business practices and equal pay abuse beside the (to some, less relevant) sexual abuse. (I think it's very relevant, and intrinsical to how the underpay of female workers happen.)
Trigger warning on some things: Sexism, abuse, suicide (!)
So I guess I'll just start with the first thing I read, highlighting some important stuff (all of it is important) and then fill in more details in post replies as I get the energy for it. This is a week old, and a lot of stuff has come out since.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily...zard-sued-by-california-over-frat-boy-culture
I suggest you read the whole article.
What's important to note here is that some of the allegations are related to very old issues. This is not a culture that appeared after the Activision-Blizzard merger. It was always here.
The whole thing is listed in this complaint (as its original state, many, many people have come out since the suit and are sharing their stories, which will probably be added to the case if legally possible).
https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/07/22/activision_blizzard_complaint.pdf
Again, trigger warning, there are also some notes related to the suicide incident that are not appropriate for children. I think. It's not very explicit and kind of vague, while still being incriminating (makes sense what I mean when you read it), but I'm not sure I can write it out here. Any mod can get me confirmation on whether this is appropriate to discuss? It's very clear when it shows up, on page 15. It's connected to the suicide.
Anyways. Some developments since:
- Activision-Blizzard released a stupid statement, claiming innocence basically.
- Players are absolutely livid. We don't have the numbers on it, but I think this was the straw for many, from what I can gather (don't quote me on this), WoW subs are seeing a mass exodus, moving to Final Fantasy XIV (for this reason among others, such as general displeasement with the company's practices and design standards).
- Letter signed by (at the latest count I read) 2,600 current and former employers denouncing the public statement.
- Activision-Blizzard stock fell by like 7-8% over a day
- Massive strike organized by Activision-Blizzard workers, requiring basic worker rights. Note that they are not unionized, and this is "dangerous" for Activision-Blizzard, as some of the demands have to do with generally appropriate treatment that goes beyond the wage gap and sexism in the original suit.
- Following this, Activision-Blizzard did a second apology, claiming more responsibility, but honestly not much. Personally I feel it's because they saw the stock drop and think PR and (for the lack of a better term) "egalitarian" worker suppression is more important to their bottom line than the suit, but again, I'm just a stupid poet.
- More stuff has come out since. A Bill Cosby-themed hotel room, for one.
- This is just a Twitter thread thing, so I'm not sure it's true, but I just saw it two minutes ago and wanted to share. https://twitter.com/JDespland/status/1420534909752463361?s=20 Basically Activision-Blizzard are allegedly organizing with the same company that Amazon uses to destroy unions at their roots.
In general, each allegation has been partly explained away by some excuse (It was a long time ago, the Cosby reference was because he wore an ugly sweater and that was funny, etc), but with the number of allegations showing up, it's at the point that one thing being explained away doesn't actually matter. Again, IMO of a poet, but I've seen some talking heads about it, some attourneys and stuff, and it doesn't look good at all.
Here's Leonard French's take on the issues (he's a copyright attourney, but his knowledge of basic law supercedes most of us here), reading through the original case document and some of the allegations showing up.
I clipped a single picture of him where he reacts to the fact that lactation rooms were converted into meeting rooms, which I think sums up the situation pretty well.
The updates are daily. Pics of conversations around the Cosby suite and the suite itself were just published today. There's so much stuff I haven't shared, such as Activision-Blizzard's own statements, but it's more because I have no idea where to begin. It's bad.
I guess I'll begin with what we first heard about. More stuff has surfaced since it broke out a week ago, it's a complete mess, and some really dark stuff. Completely abhorrent business practices and equal pay abuse beside the (to some, less relevant) sexual abuse. (I think it's very relevant, and intrinsical to how the underpay of female workers happen.)
Trigger warning on some things: Sexism, abuse, suicide (!)
So I guess I'll just start with the first thing I read, highlighting some important stuff (all of it is important) and then fill in more details in post replies as I get the energy for it. This is a week old, and a lot of stuff has come out since.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily...zard-sued-by-california-over-frat-boy-culture
According to the complaint, filed Tuesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, female employees make up around 20% of the Activision workforce, and are subjected to a “pervasive frat boy workplace culture,” including “cube crawls,” in which male employees “drink copious amounts of alcohol as they crawl their way through various cubicles in the office and often engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees.”
The agency alleges male employees play video games during the workday while delegating responsibilities to female employees, engage in sexual banter, and joke openly about rape, among other things.
Female employees allege being held back from promotions because of the possibility they might become pregnant, being criticized for leaving to pick their children up from daycare, and being kicked out of lactation rooms so male colleagues could use the room for meetings, the complaint says.
[...]
The suit also points to a female Activision employee who took her own life while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death, including having nude photos passed around at a company holiday party, the complaint says.
I suggest you read the whole article.
What's important to note here is that some of the allegations are related to very old issues. This is not a culture that appeared after the Activision-Blizzard merger. It was always here.
The whole thing is listed in this complaint (as its original state, many, many people have come out since the suit and are sharing their stories, which will probably be added to the case if legally possible).
https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/07/22/activision_blizzard_complaint.pdf
Again, trigger warning, there are also some notes related to the suicide incident that are not appropriate for children. I think. It's not very explicit and kind of vague, while still being incriminating (makes sense what I mean when you read it), but I'm not sure I can write it out here. Any mod can get me confirmation on whether this is appropriate to discuss? It's very clear when it shows up, on page 15. It's connected to the suicide.
Anyways. Some developments since:
- Activision-Blizzard released a stupid statement, claiming innocence basically.
- Players are absolutely livid. We don't have the numbers on it, but I think this was the straw for many, from what I can gather (don't quote me on this), WoW subs are seeing a mass exodus, moving to Final Fantasy XIV (for this reason among others, such as general displeasement with the company's practices and design standards).
- Letter signed by (at the latest count I read) 2,600 current and former employers denouncing the public statement.
- Activision-Blizzard stock fell by like 7-8% over a day
- Massive strike organized by Activision-Blizzard workers, requiring basic worker rights. Note that they are not unionized, and this is "dangerous" for Activision-Blizzard, as some of the demands have to do with generally appropriate treatment that goes beyond the wage gap and sexism in the original suit.
- Following this, Activision-Blizzard did a second apology, claiming more responsibility, but honestly not much. Personally I feel it's because they saw the stock drop and think PR and (for the lack of a better term) "egalitarian" worker suppression is more important to their bottom line than the suit, but again, I'm just a stupid poet.
- More stuff has come out since. A Bill Cosby-themed hotel room, for one.
- This is just a Twitter thread thing, so I'm not sure it's true, but I just saw it two minutes ago and wanted to share. https://twitter.com/JDespland/status/1420534909752463361?s=20 Basically Activision-Blizzard are allegedly organizing with the same company that Amazon uses to destroy unions at their roots.
In general, each allegation has been partly explained away by some excuse (It was a long time ago, the Cosby reference was because he wore an ugly sweater and that was funny, etc), but with the number of allegations showing up, it's at the point that one thing being explained away doesn't actually matter. Again, IMO of a poet, but I've seen some talking heads about it, some attourneys and stuff, and it doesn't look good at all.
Here's Leonard French's take on the issues (he's a copyright attourney, but his knowledge of basic law supercedes most of us here), reading through the original case document and some of the allegations showing up.
I clipped a single picture of him where he reacts to the fact that lactation rooms were converted into meeting rooms, which I think sums up the situation pretty well.
The updates are daily. Pics of conversations around the Cosby suite and the suite itself were just published today. There's so much stuff I haven't shared, such as Activision-Blizzard's own statements, but it's more because I have no idea where to begin. It's bad.