The activist media seems to be pulling out all the stops to oppose the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade. After a draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked to Politico, it became clear that the abortion issue would likely once again become one that states will address instead of the federal government.
Left-wing media has been sounding the alarm on the possible dissolution of Roe v. Wade and it seems they might be using an all-too-familiar tactic: Shaming major corporations into joining their cause. The Washington Post published a piece on Wednesday lamenting the reality that video game companies are not speaking out on the abortion issue. The article, titled “As Roe v. Wade repeal looms, video game industry stays mostly silent,” complains that “most of the video game industry’s biggest companies have remained conspicuously quiet” when it comes to the abortion issue.
It appears progressives have not yet learned their lesson from the Disney v. DeSantis fiasco. Their strategy seems to be targeting specific industries – although it is not clear why they believe companies who create video games, in particular, should be a critical part of the conversation. Nevertheless, the authors continue their diatribe against the industry:
But the majority of gaming’s heaviest hitters appear to have kept both their mouths and wallets closed. This silence is especially conspicuous following the industry’s near-uniliteral support of causes like Black Lives Matter in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and anti-Asian hate as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. In both of those cases, many big companies released statements, donated to charitable causes, updated internal policies and added in-game features to allow players to express their support.
The Washington Post reached out to 20 major video game companies to find out whether they intended to release a statement to address the potential repeal of Roe v. Wade and if they would provide “monetary aid” to employees in areas of the country in which abortion would be outlawed. “Only Microsoft and Activision Blizzard responded with statements,” according to the report.
In a statement given to the Post, Microsoft said the following:
“Microsoft will continue to do everything we can under the law to protect our employees’ rights and support employees and their enrolled dependents in accessing critical health care — which already includes services like abortion and gender-affirming care — regardless of where they live across the U.S. This support is being extended to include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region.”
Activision Blizzard, which is facing a myriad of legal issues because of its corporate culture, also responded. Spokesman Rich George gave the Post a statement explaining that the company is “committed to an inclusive environment that is supportive of all of our employees.”
He continued, claiming that “providing fair and equitable health care is a top priority.”
WaPo obtained a May 5 message to Blizzard employees sent by President Mike Ybarra. “I realize we are late and I am sorry. It has been incredibly stressful for Blizzard (and me personally) as we read the news,” he wrote, explaining that he met with leadership to figure out how it would respond to the ongoing conversation. “I realize this isn’t very helpful, but I’m being honest with where we are and what we are discussing across the company,” he added.
Not surprisingly, at least some employees were not satisfied with the response from the company’s leadership. Emily Knief, a senior motion graphic designer at Blizzard who happens to be transgender said there are “many employees distracted and scared for the future” and that Kotick is “failing all of us.”
Let’s just call this what it is, shall we?
This is nothing more than the Washington Post, one of the most prominent legacy activist media outlets in America, trying to pressure companies into falling in line on the abortion issue. They are serving as a sort of enforcer for the woke mob. Their objective is clear: Compel these corporations into supporting abortion by shaming, bullying, or coercing them to get with the program.
It is the same approach we saw with Disney when it concerned Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill. We also witnessed this after the murder of George Floyd. Corporations used the controversy as an opportunity to virtue signal and pretend to care about the plight of black Americans.
But this is a different animal.
Corporations seem to be aware of the fact that they have to tread lightly. Most of the nation was outraged by what happened to George Floyd. But a significant chunk of Americans are pro-life. Even among those who are pro-choice, most are not in favor of unrestricted abortions. Being too outspoken either way could alienate a crucial customer base for these companies.
Last week, it was revealed that a major public relations firm was advising its clients not to chime in on the abortion issue. It even went so far as to tell companies to avoid allowing media outlets to nail them down for a response. It’s not clear if any of their clients include video game companies, but it appears they have figured it out anyway.
This won’t be the last time we hear about activist media outlets targeting specific industries and companies. The idea is to publicly shame them if they fail to give a response on abortion that is acceptable to the left-wing chattering class. The question is: Will they give in?
