On Censorship

Coming soon to a politically correct table near you! (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator)

I was thinking whether I should post about this at all.  Not in a fit of self-censorship, mind you, but if you follow the same blogs and/or RPG video channels I do (and you probably do,) you’ve about heard enough concerning this subject: that Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has been retroactively editing their 5e books to replace words which have become (quite suddenly) politically incorrect with less “problematic” vernacular.

Still, this is my joint to speak out, and so I will, but instead of sitting here and pontificating, I’ll take the Socratic route and ask some hypothetical questions of WotC:

• Why are you doing this?  (Yes, I know they have their sanitized, corporate reasons, but I want to know the actual “why?”)
• How many complaints did you get from actual customers regarding the language in your books?  Was there a survey I missed?
• Do you expect sales of your products to increase in or at least maintain their sales volume after this decision?
• Will you be retroactively editing your entire catalog?  What about classic (previous edition) books?
• If this is truly an organic change in language over time (as your defenders claim,) why do your books need to be edited at all?  Wouldn’t they already be compliant with current, socially-acceptable language?
• How will future potential customers view your decisions?  What about your current ones?  Do you want to keep me as a customer?
• Extra Credit: how much money would you save by foregoing the use of commissars sensitivity readers?

I began my D&D journey in the AD&D 2nd Edition era, long after Gary Gygax had left TSR and their products had lost some of their edginess to appease concerned moms, the infamous Patricia Pulling, and other hysterical and deceptive proponents of the Satanic Panic of the 80s (which I am old enough to remember.  Did you know The Smurfs were satanic?)  On the subject, here’s TSR’s 1995 Code of Ethics, courtesy of Grognardia.  It makes for fun reading with a slight hint of déjà vu.

Now, I happily bought TSR’s products with my meager paper route money, completely oblivious to their self-censorship.  It was only in later years that I discovered what I had missed out on in their earlier products.  I wonder if it will be the same for future D&D generations if WotC continues in this trajectory.  More’s the pity, because I can't think of any time in which past censorship has been looked at favorably by future generations.

Don't forget your three S's: (Satanic) Sacrifice, Sex, and Slavery!