Preface: I like all three of these outlets. I sincerely believe that most—likely even all—of the people who make up these sites are good human beings. I've not picked up on any hints or red flags in the hundreds of hours I've spent listening to these folk over the past X amount of years that indicate otherwise.
In fact, it's precisely because I like them all that I find their generic "don't forget to vote!" messages to be so supremely pathetic.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
Notice a trend? Their messaging suggests it doesn't matter who you vote for, so long as you vote at all.
Sure, one party is racist. And committed to expediting the destruction of the planet. And accepts regular mass shootings as the cost of doing business. And demonizes immigrants and refugees. And is responsible for (at least) tens of thousands of avoidable American deaths by promoting misinformation about a deadly pandemic. And [insert an additional thirty paragraphs here]. But none of that is important—the only thing that matters is voting for someone! Anyone! JUST VOTE, I TELL YA! THE ACT OF VOTING IS THE ONLY PART OF THE PROCESS THAT MATTERS! THE ACTUAL WINNERS ARE COMPLETELY INCIDENTAL!
There are two main reasons I can surmise for this:
The Vapid Reason
These people think the idea of democracy is inherently valuable, and that expressing your right to vote is ultimately a good thing—no matter who you cast your ballot for—because the more engaged the electorate the healthier the democracy.
Except whoops, exactly one half of the viable parties in America has gone all in on someone who won't commit to a peaceful transition of power, has done everything he can to undermine the legitimacy of any outcome in which he loses, has been hellbent on spreading baseless conspiracy theories about voter mail fraud, baselessy says he won the popular vote in 2016 because millions of illegals voted against him, rushed a partisan hack onto the Supreme Court so he can attempt to overturn the results if Biden wins, [insert an additional thirty paragraphs here].
There is, in fact, only one outcome that is good for democracy in this election, which renders this particular stance nothing more than a vapid platitude.
The Cowardice Reason
Here we get to the far more likely culprit: These outlets rely on listener support for their continued survival, and alienating any right-wing supporters will hurt business.
While I find that excuse despicable for big corporations, I honestly completely get it for small operations who's entire livelihood depends on direct support from an audience who theoretically has the power to put all of these people out of a job overnight (especially MinnMax and EZA since they are patreon joints). These groups aren't comprised of wealthy elites who who pursue the almighty dollar at the expense of any and all notion of ethics—they're passionate content creators who have provided people like me untold hours of comfort and entertainment over the years because they love what they do, even though their job security is almost entirely dependent on the whims of a few hundred people.
But if that's their calculus, then just don't say anything at all. You aren't obligated to pretend you're some apolitical outfit who has no conviction as it relates to our government. The only message this facade conveys is "we believe all opinions and viewpoints are equally valid, which is why the only thing we're advocating for is that you express yourself at the polls—regardless of whether or not your political views are draconian and abhorrent."
So, dear members of GB/EZA/MM (and likely dozens of others I don't listen to but would be glad to add to the wall of shame here if anyone sends me a link):
If you have a moral conviction about this upcoming election, don't pretend otherwise. Tell your listeners if they aren't going to vote Biden at the top of the ticket and democrats down ballot the rest of the way then they should stay the hell home instead of continuing to contribute to the decline of our society.
Conversely, if you've made the very understandable calculation that it's too big of a financial risk to alienate any right-wingers in your orbit because it could potentially collapse your entire operation and put you and your coworkers out of a job, then don't say anything at all. Because simply telling people to vote and leaving it at that is NOT a responsible use of your platform. It's a cowardly way of pretending you're doing something noble without actually having taking any of the risks associated with standing up for your beliefs.
Once again, I have nothing but well wishes for everyone at Giant Bomb, MinnMax, and Easy Allies. In fact, I'm sure some of them will even see this thread! I'm only calling you out because I otherwise like you all so much.
And for what it's worth, if any of you three groups explicitly endorses Biden or the dems before Tuesday (as a website... not an individual making a personal endorsement on Twitter), I'll sign up for another year of GB premium/make a $5 monthly patreon pledge.
In fact, it's precisely because I like them all that I find their generic "don't forget to vote!" messages to be so supremely pathetic.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
Notice a trend? Their messaging suggests it doesn't matter who you vote for, so long as you vote at all.
Sure, one party is racist. And committed to expediting the destruction of the planet. And accepts regular mass shootings as the cost of doing business. And demonizes immigrants and refugees. And is responsible for (at least) tens of thousands of avoidable American deaths by promoting misinformation about a deadly pandemic. And [insert an additional thirty paragraphs here]. But none of that is important—the only thing that matters is voting for someone! Anyone! JUST VOTE, I TELL YA! THE ACT OF VOTING IS THE ONLY PART OF THE PROCESS THAT MATTERS! THE ACTUAL WINNERS ARE COMPLETELY INCIDENTAL!
There are two main reasons I can surmise for this:
The Vapid Reason
These people think the idea of democracy is inherently valuable, and that expressing your right to vote is ultimately a good thing—no matter who you cast your ballot for—because the more engaged the electorate the healthier the democracy.
Except whoops, exactly one half of the viable parties in America has gone all in on someone who won't commit to a peaceful transition of power, has done everything he can to undermine the legitimacy of any outcome in which he loses, has been hellbent on spreading baseless conspiracy theories about voter mail fraud, baselessy says he won the popular vote in 2016 because millions of illegals voted against him, rushed a partisan hack onto the Supreme Court so he can attempt to overturn the results if Biden wins, [insert an additional thirty paragraphs here].
There is, in fact, only one outcome that is good for democracy in this election, which renders this particular stance nothing more than a vapid platitude.
The Cowardice Reason
Here we get to the far more likely culprit: These outlets rely on listener support for their continued survival, and alienating any right-wing supporters will hurt business.
While I find that excuse despicable for big corporations, I honestly completely get it for small operations who's entire livelihood depends on direct support from an audience who theoretically has the power to put all of these people out of a job overnight (especially MinnMax and EZA since they are patreon joints). These groups aren't comprised of wealthy elites who who pursue the almighty dollar at the expense of any and all notion of ethics—they're passionate content creators who have provided people like me untold hours of comfort and entertainment over the years because they love what they do, even though their job security is almost entirely dependent on the whims of a few hundred people.
But if that's their calculus, then just don't say anything at all. You aren't obligated to pretend you're some apolitical outfit who has no conviction as it relates to our government. The only message this facade conveys is "we believe all opinions and viewpoints are equally valid, which is why the only thing we're advocating for is that you express yourself at the polls—regardless of whether or not your political views are draconian and abhorrent."
So, dear members of GB/EZA/MM (and likely dozens of others I don't listen to but would be glad to add to the wall of shame here if anyone sends me a link):
If you have a moral conviction about this upcoming election, don't pretend otherwise. Tell your listeners if they aren't going to vote Biden at the top of the ticket and democrats down ballot the rest of the way then they should stay the hell home instead of continuing to contribute to the decline of our society.
Conversely, if you've made the very understandable calculation that it's too big of a financial risk to alienate any right-wingers in your orbit because it could potentially collapse your entire operation and put you and your coworkers out of a job, then don't say anything at all. Because simply telling people to vote and leaving it at that is NOT a responsible use of your platform. It's a cowardly way of pretending you're doing something noble without actually having taking any of the risks associated with standing up for your beliefs.
Once again, I have nothing but well wishes for everyone at Giant Bomb, MinnMax, and Easy Allies. In fact, I'm sure some of them will even see this thread! I'm only calling you out because I otherwise like you all so much.
And for what it's worth, if any of you three groups explicitly endorses Biden or the dems before Tuesday (as a website... not an individual making a personal endorsement on Twitter), I'll sign up for another year of GB premium/make a $5 monthly patreon pledge.
