You've read the title, and now I'm here to give you the answer to that question. However, the answer may be difficult for you to hear, so be forewarned. That answer is: it depends on you.
You may have heard of a game called Kingdom Come: Deliverance being released this month. I myself have already prepurchased the game. It was developed by one Daniel Vavra, a game developer noted for having grown up in Czechoslovachia. Said game developer has made his anti-communist, anti-"Left" leaning games journalism bias stance amply clear, and for that he is a darling of the Right Wing in gaming, as well as the GamerGate movement. Because of this, he is NOT well liked in Games Journalism.
Let me not mince words here: the game looks BLOODY AWESOME! I have heard nothing but positives about the game, and it's the first game I have ever, EVER pre-purchased. I am saving money to buy myself a NEW COMPUTER just to play this game with the best graphics I can get!
But Vavra's politics are contentious for many on the Liberal (NOT THE LEFT!) side of gaming. His support for GamerGate has raised concerns among Feminists and their allies. I for one am DONE with GamerGate, so I will not be discussing this point any further.
Here's the two sides of the issue. Side One says the art should be separated from the artist; our enjoyment of things shouldn't be dictated by who made it. Woody Allen has made some of the most brilliant films of the Twentieth Century, for example. Side Two states that we have a responsibility to vote with our wallets; an artist who is criminal does not deserve support. Again, we use Woody Allen as an example: he has a long history of accusations of sexual harassment, wife husbandry, and abuse. That makes it VERY hard to appreciate his movies; NOBODY likes supporting a piece of slime.
So, who's right? Ah, here's where things get a little gray. See, each side has a valid point. Art exists by itself, and it deserves to be appreciated on its own merits. Consider The Cosby Show, one of the finest sitcoms of all time, and one of the FEW shows out there to not only have a predominant African-American cast, but whose main characters each defy stereotypes often assigned to Black characters. But again, art isn't created in a vacuum; an artist is needed, and sometimes that artist is too terrible to support. Bill Cosby's allegations of rape are too numerous to ignore, and every day he seems more guilty. The Cosby Show is STILL a great show, but Bill Cosby is STILL a piece of shit. So, what do we do?
We decide for ourselves wether to still enjoy The Cosby Show or not. The question, however, becomes this: how much am I willing to tolerate from a contentious artist? What's the limit?
In general, we can say that people aren't willing to tolerate murderers, rapists, or pedophiles. So when we find out an artist is one of these, we tend to deny that artist a voice by rejecting their art. This isn't censorship, it's merely the consumers acting as one saying "we don't like you, we don't want you, there's the door." This ISN'T a bad thing!
But then, what happens when the contentiousness stems not from crime, but from politics? Ahhh, that's where again things get grayer. Politics, like it or not, are IMPORTANT because they reflect a person's core values. But this is where we need to start analyzing what politics you yourself possess, and how much you're willing to tolerate from others.
Let me mince no words; some people need to fucking grow up and accept that people have different political opinions because they have been raised differently. Some people are Individualistic and they have led lives that have reinforced this stance. The same can be said for Collectivists. Most people, if not EVERYONE, see politics other than their own to be complete and utter bullshit. This is normal.
So the question is: how much bullshit are you willing to put up with? If you choose to only consume media produced by people who think EXACTLY like you, you're going to end up with a very little to entertain yourself with. Politics has a way of seeping into mass media one way or another; be it jingoism in films like Independence Day or White Messianism in movies like James Cameron's Avatar. They are there; the question is "will this stop you from liking said movies?"
In life we often need to apply a Bullshit Threshold; a limit to how much "bullshit" we're willing to put up with from people who don't share our values. And I say this NOT with a personal belief that all opinions have validity, but with the knowledge that there's a limit to tolerance within all of us. In fact, even a highly tolerant society must instill a Bullshit Threshold to maintain its tolerance, believe it or not; this is known as the Tolerance Paradox.
Every gamer, every consumer MUST insist on their reasonable right to self-preservation; or to put it simply, what they are willing to put up with or not. Of course this means that a person who says "no" to a work of art must live with the fact that they won't experience that artwork, and will miss out on any fun to be had.
Ultimately though, all I can say is this: you are free to say "this isn't for me, I don't like the developer of this game and so I won't play it." I do it, too. You won't catch me playing any Zoe Quinn games; why can't people do the same for Daniel Vavra? All in all, it's up to YOU.
Stand for something, and stand by it.
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