In the wake of the various protests happening last week, R. Talsorian Games (the publisher of the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG) used their regular “First Friday” blog post to address what was going on and where they stood with it. Mike Pondsmith, CEO and creator, is black and has apparently been mulling on his own personal statement regarding the matter. For the moment, the company has made its position abundantly, nay painfully, clear to all interested parties.
We don’t just condemn racism. We despise it.
People, no matter the color of their skin, their gender identity, their sexual preference, their ethnicity, their physical and mental differences, their age, or their religion have a right to live their lives without worrying about being harassed or beaten or killed by others, especially others with power and authority.
When power is abused, people have the right and, in fact, the duty to stand up, protest that abuse, and demand accountability.
The post went on to indicate that the company has donated $2,000 USD to The Bail Project, and that further actions were likely in the offing. “It won’t be the last action we take to help make the world a better place,” the company wrote. “We encourage you to do what you can as well and to look locally whenever possible. There’s probably things in your back yard that could use attention.”
At the present time, there is no specific word when Mike Pondsmith will be making the previously alluded to personal statement on the protests. There is also no indication what particular forum or media he might use for it. When he does, Game Luster will be there to let the readers know. For now, the closing words of the blog post, which are directly attributable to Pondsmith, pretty much say it all. “Cyberpunk was a warning, not an aspiration.”
