I am not trying to attack you or flame you in any way but you are making it hard to find words that won't come off as aggressive.
It's all good, i'm happy to discuss.
You had a bad experience at your former company but in all honesty we only know your side of the story and from my experience as a manager and general life experience there's always two sides of the story. Without needing details what you may consider objective metrics might not have been objective at all or there were more factors involved than just measurable metrics.
Yes... there were more factors involved... skin color. Racism.
I am a manager and have led groups of up to 70 people and there's more to numbers when i consider promotions, people leadership skills are very high on that list and i have denied promotions of very good employees because they have not shown great skill and aptitude concerning leading people and it would have been a bad call to put them into a position of having to lead people ( and i have told them that to their face in 1:1 conversations, harsh truth but sometimes direct feedback can lead to change for the better).
I'm also a manager and I understand that 100%. In this specific instance, I *WAS* given feedback. The feedback was that I didn't fit what they were looking for... which was not anything performance based. I didn't fit the DEI initiative.
You say you support the D and I but not the E ( Equity) but it doesn't make sense because all of the parts of DEI are linked closely together, you can't/shouldn't pick parts of it or you are not a true supporter what this actually means. Equity means giving everybody the same chance based on their needs. This doesn't mean that everybody starts at the same line because we are all different - people need different styles of support based on many factors so in the end everybody has the same chance and this is what it's about ( think of it as a bike race - if everyone gets the same bike those with short legs or unable to ride a bike will not have the same chance as the one whose bike fits them perfectly).
I understand why people may support equity, and I might agree to an extent... but the way it tends to be applied is more the issue I have. "Equity" as it stands tends to be based entirely on racial lines, which is absolute nonsense. To actually have equity, we need to look at the
individuals and consider their circumstances, of which socio-economic status is likely the most important. My issue is equity can't come at the expense of others, it's wrong to pull others down to push others forward. I don't know what the best solution for it is, but I know it's definitely not how its working out currently.
I actually applaud companies using services to make their products fit DEI criteria better. For some it may be just a a way to increase sales as they understood that gamers are not exclusively white male teenagers anymore but some may have realized they are in over their heads and need professional assistance, where's the harm in that?
I think my biggest problem is summed up in the phrase "DEI criteria". The harm is that media is suffering because of it. Companies seem to be putting more effort into making sure they hit all their "DEI criteria" rather than... making a good product. We've come to demand DEI first, everything else secondary. That's stupid.
I also take issue with the apparent need to change existing things rather than make new things for better inclusion. Like, don't make Superman black. Make... an awesome new black superhero. That's great! Do that! Don't make an "all female" reboot of something. Make... a new thing with female characters. That's great!
Given AC having a black samura - well, that's not dubious history, it's a well researched historical fact. There was a black Samurai during this period, however i'll admit it surely is not a coincidence that they chose that one in a million outlier historical fact to conveniently make their game more DEI ( and be able to point to history books)
It is "well researched", but far from "historical fact". There
was an African man under Nobunaga's service for roughly 18 months before he was sold (back?) into slavery. This man was almost certainly not "Samurai"... at best he was something of a "pet" or mascot who Nobunaga dressed up in warrior clothes because they thought the nanban with the black skin was funny looking. There's an anecdote about Nobunaga not believing he was real, and tried to scrub his black off.
Regardless, to try to claim a "historical fact" here is just flat out incorrect and in the context of Assassin's Creed, highlighting this is the first "historical" protagonist is just laughable. Yasuke wasn't because the story was so good that it needed a game based around it. Yasuke was used to check of a diversity checkbox and make Sweet Baby happy.
If they wanted an AC game with an African protagonist, why not delve into... idk... African history? Africa has a rich history rife with all kinds of settings for amazing stories. An AC game about the Zulu's would be absolutely bad ass! Make THAT game!
I would like to reiterate the tone deafness of this particular inclusion. There is an unfortunate epidemic of black on Asian violence. Seems like a great time to have an african character appropriate Asian culture, and then proceed to play in the slaughter of thousands of Asian people...
.Given that the gaming industry is not monolithic young white males anymore the entertainment industry has followed this social trend and expanded their games to allow for more representation. Sometimes they strain and stretch believability ( there was one (!) black Samurai in history, lucky for them i guess) but overall i think it's a good thing as gaming doesn't have the basement dweller stigma anymore and if you take a look outside in big cities it is not exclusively white anymore and i love it.
I think that's great too! I do appreciate diversity.
I just want true diversity, and not diversity at the expense of others, or rather "diversity". The Assassins Creed example is great... "Diversity", right? Asian people aren't "diverse"? It was already a game about a minority population.
We are told "cultural appropriation is bad", but then also are expected to applaud... cultural appropriation? It only matters with some cultures?
What puts me off in a more meta sense is that "diversity" all too often is "no yt people", and also to the point of villainizing white people for.. existing? Isn't that the EXACT thing we aren't supposed to be doing? I experience casual racism a
shocking amount. I'm sorry I was born white and straight, it wasn't my choice. I've never oppressed anyone, i've never owned slaves and I can be reasonably sure my ancestors likely didn't either.
In the end, i'm all about diversity. I just want it done right, without putting others down, and when it comes to media, have it make sense. Don't just shoehorn in "diversity". If you're making a TV show about Vikings, don't make the king a black woman. That's stupid. There are plenty of amazing black stories to be told.
TELL THEM!
Part of the reason it bothers me so much is because i'm caught between two worlds. I'm liberal myself. I'm for the cause. I also live around alot of people who very much are NOT. And you know what? The overbearance of all this is what got us Trump, and it's going to be what gets us Trump again. It seems like a good thing, lets push all of this, but its hurting the cause. It's driving people away. You can't win over people by alienating them and excluding them from your inclusion...
(my side rant about an an overlooked historical thing that could prove awesome in some form of media that is perfect for diversity... focus something on the War of 1812, specifically the Battle of New Orleans... it's already like something out of a movie... US Army forming an alliance with people of New Orleans, native Americans, and god damn pirates to fight off the British... at one point using a beached ship as an artillery platform?!
Why aren't we funding this?")