Tripwire CEO John Gibson Steps Down Over Texas Bill Tweet
No unpopular opinions allowed.
This tweet is in response to yesterday’s announcement that Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson is stepping down after he tweeted support for the new Texas abortion bill.
The statement reads:
The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company. His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community. Our leadership team at Tripwire are deeply sorry and are unified in our commitment to take swift action and to foster a more positive environment.
Effective immediately, John Gibson has stepped down as CEO of Tripwire Interactive, Cof-founding member and current Vice President, Alan Wilson, will take over as interim CEO. Alan has been with the company since its formation in 2005 and is an active lead in both the studio’s business and developmental affairs. Alan will work with the rest of the Tripwire leadership team to take steps with employees and partners to address their concerns including executing a company-wide town hall meeting and promoting open dialogue with Tripwire leadership and all employees. His understanding of both the company’s culture and the creative vision of our games will carry the team through this transition, with full support from the other Tripwire leaders."
So let’s unpack this, shall we?
Yesterday I wrote a very long post about abortion and abortion laws throughout the world and how much they differ from one country to the next. I pointed out that the United States is among just a handful of countries with extremely liberal abortion restrictions, and also that Texas’s new law is far more restrictive than the average advanced nation’s laws.
I argued that this is obviously not an issue most people agree on and that across civil society we must learn to accept that we will have disagreements on issues and that this is all part of the democratic process. Instead of lashing out at a private citizen like Gibson, perhaps instead we should focus our efforts on the lawmakers who passed the law and appointed the judges.
Now look at that tweet up above from Kyle. Free speech, he points out, gives you the right to say stupid shit but not the right to avoid consequences. In current left-think this is a very common refrain—and it’s enormously arrogant. A very similar thing was said about Troy Leavitt, the Hogwart’s Legacy producer who, game journalists argued, should “face consequences” for posting videos they found disagreeable. Wrongthink is punishable now. We don’t want to debate anymore.
Sure, sometimes people do face consequences. If you’re an employee and your boss has told you not to post something on social media and you do, well, there you have it. Consequences. But what if you’re just a normal citizen with views that don’t line up with the progressive chattering class? What if you’re a Christian who is opposed to abortion because you believe it’s the tragic taking of a human life and so you support the Texas law because you believe it saves the lives of infants? Does this really make you a woman-hating monster or are you simply following your own moral path?
Look, I understand all the arguments against this bill and this line of thinking. Forcing women to have babies they don’t want—perhaps because of rape or incest, perhaps not—or that puts their own lives in danger is wrong. It’s bad policy that will lead to enormous backlash and unintended consequences. Making abortion rare is important but this is not the way to go about it. Education, access to healthcare, and more humane laws and resources for everybody is a better strategy.
I think the Texas bill is too restrictive and its bounty system, that effectively turns citizens against one another, is extreme and dangerous.
But I still believe that other people are allowed to have—and even speak—their fundamental beliefs without losing their jobs over it, without their (now former) company throwing them under the bus. Tripwire’s statement reads like John Gibson presided over massive discrimination and abuse at the company—but wait, no, that’s Activision and Ubisoft, two companies that garnered less outrage than this.
What Kyle and others really mean is this: If you don’t hold the same beliefs as we do, you’ll face consequences. We will shut you down, ruin your life, come for your job, and tarnish your reputation unless you believe the exact same way we do, because we are so precious and arrogant that we think all of our views and opinions are sacred. Anyone who disagrees with us is a bigot and somehow creates this abstract “harm” and so crushing them is actually protecting other people.
Imagine a different world. A world not that long ago, really, in which abortion was illegal and the vast majority of people in this country were opposed to it. In that society, speaking out in favor of legal abortion might get you fired, might get you run out of town. Imagine, hypothetically, that we lived in a world where Twitter and social media existed but the majority of game journalists and mainstream media were conservative pro-lifers and abortion was widely banned across the country and a CEO at some game publisher came out in favor of a new bill that loosened abortion restrictions.
In this hypothetical universe, journalists would leap to the attack, companies would distance themselves from the publisher and the company’s leadership would force the CEO to step down. And someone on Twitter might say, “Look you dolts, free speech let’s you say any stupid thing you want but it doesn’t protect you from facing the consequences.”
Just because an opinion is popular doesn’t make it right. More to the point, just because someone says something that goes against the grain of popular opinion doesn’t mean they deserve to be smeared or ruined or dragged through the muck. This is, again, not a value judgement on my part. I’m not saying that I agree with Gibson (I don’t) but my agreement is immaterial. I simply do not relish a world where unpopular opinions are crushed underfoot and those who voice them are run out of town by an angry mob.
I don’t think that’s the way you handle disagreement in civil society anymore than I believe Texas’s bill is the way to create a world free from abortions. What Gibson’s critics don’t realize is that it’s easy to get on Twitter and scream and holler at some random dude for his bad opinion. It’s much harder to change hearts and minds. Same goes for the authors of this Texas law. It’s easy to try to ban something, but much harder to create the kind of society that doesn’t need to ban it in the first place.
Subscribe to diabolical to get this newsletter directly in your inbox. Consider supporting my work as a paying subscriber if you value this kind of independent journalism and commentary. Thanks for reading!
(Very anecdotally), I see positions hardening.
Doesn't matter who started it, but many people are angry and no longer interested in discussions.
Among my middle aged friends (if we live to 130), I frequently hear the statement: "I hope the revolution comes before I am too old to participate.".
Bravado aside, that is not the comment of a man eager to compromise.
Wimpy thought, but I come back to courtesy.
Just plain bad manners to destroy a man's career because you disagree with him.
And the punishment is disproportionate to the crime.
And someday, the shoe may be/will be on the other foot.
What a convenient way to silence people with the "wrong" viewpoint. By the way, don't know if you've heard, but Bette Midler wants all us gals to stop having sex with our mens cause, you know, solidarity.
It must be nice to be so arrogant- to truly believe that every single opinion you have is not only right, but righteous. We're living in a very "Off with their heads!" society right now- and thankfully, by heads I mean careers, but, give it a minute...
For what it's worth, my take on the Right to Choose argument is this: yes, it's a woman's right to choose, but it's a terrible choice to have to make. Unplanned isn't the same as unwanted, and it's a difficult and heartbreaking decision. Glorifying the ability to get an abortion is the most dishonest kind of advertising.