Brian Kibler 声明
http://bmkgaming.com/statement-on-blitzchung/
I certainly never expected that my position in the Hearthstone community
would lead to me making a statement on sensitive topics regarding
international relations, but I have always viewed my strange place as a
public figure in gaming as an opportunity to try to make the world a better
place in whatever way I can, so here we are.
Here are the facts as I understand them.
After finishing his final match of the second season of the Asia-Pacific
Hearthstone Grandmasters, Hong Kong player Ng “blitzchung” Wai Chung
appeared on the official Taiwanese Hearthstone stream for his post-game
interview wearing a gas mask. He lifted the mouthpiece and shouted, in
Chinese: “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!” – a rallying cry of
the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
On Tuesday, Blizzard announced their ruling, claiming that Blitzchung
violated one of the Hearthstone Grandmasters rules against “engaging in any
act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute,
offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image.
”
The penalty they imposed was expelling Blitzchung from the Grandmasters
league entirely, including retroactively revoking the prize money he had
earned throughout the season, and additionally banning him from competing in
events for a year. They also announced that they would no longer work with
the casters involved in the controversial interview.
I want to start by saying that I feel what Blitzchung did was very brave. He
knew that his actions would likely have serious consequences, not just for
his future in Hearthstone but possibly even for his personal safety, and I
commend him for the fortitude that takes.
Even so, I do think that Blizzard was correct in issuing him a penalty for
his actions. They do not want to set the precedent for their official
broadcasts being used as political tools. The players agreed to particular
rules for behavior, and he violated those rules.
I have seen many descriptions of the situation claim that Blizzard took
action against Blitzchung “for his support of the Hong Kong protests”, but
that’s not an entirely accurate description. They did not penalize him for
his political stance – they penalized him for breaking the rules by using
their official broadcast to promote that stance.
Anyone who pays attention to my social media feeds knows that I am not
someone who shies away from politics. I am frequently quite vocal about my
views about what’s going on in the United States. I have kept a deck titled
“Election 2016” in my collection for the past three years, full of cards
like Corruption, DOOM, and Validated Doomsayer. I would rather risk
alienating those who disagree with me rather than stay silent on matters I
consider important.
But when I am on the desk for an official Hearthstone broadcast, I leave
those views at home. Maybe I’ll make a subtle snide remark on occasion, but
I know that I am representing Blizzard in addition to myself. If I were to
close a show with speech about how I feel like Trump should be impeached, I
wouldn’t expect to be invited back for future events.
All that having been said, there are additional factors at play here. The
punishment meted out to Blitzchung is incredibly harsh. I could understand a
fine, or even a short suspension from competitive play, but removal from
Grandmasters, clawing back the prizes he already earned, and banning him for
a full year seems completely overboard to an extent that feels completely
unwarranted and unfair.
I won’t pretend to understand either the intricacies of the geopolitical
situation in China and Hong Kong or the full extent of Blizzard’s business
interests there, but to me this penalty feels like it is deeply rooted in
both. The heavy-handedness of it feels like someone insisted that Blizzard
make an example of Blitzchung, not only to discourage others from similar
acts in the future but also to appease those upset by the outburst itself.
That kind of appeasement is simply not something I can in good conscience be
associated with. When I learned about the ruling, I reached out to Blizzard
and informed them that I no longer feel comfortable casting the Grandmasters
finals at BlizzCon. I will not be a smiling face on camera that tacitly
endorses this decision. Unless something changes, I will have no involvement
in Grandmasters moving forward.
However, I want to make clear that not everyone involved in GM has this
luxury. Do not take your anger out on the other casters, or streamers, or
employees of Blizzard. This is not the kind of decision that comes from the
rank and file. Most likely they’re just as angry as you are. I know I am.
大概翻译一下
第一段意思是他从来没想过自己会因为自己在炉石的社群地位而需要对国际情势的敏感话
题发表看法，但他既然身为炉石圈的公众人物，就有责任发表意见
再来是Brian Kibler大概讲一下Blitzchung事件经过，并说Blitzchung非常勇敢，他知道
自己的举动会造成的后果，他赞赏他的坚毅态度
然后Brian Kibler认为暴雪对他惩处是正确的，暴雪不想被当做宣扬政治主张的平台。
暴雪不是因为"Blitzchung支持香港抗议活动而惩处"，而是因为他违反规则利用官方平台
宣传他私人的政治主张
认识Brian Kibler的人都知道我不是一个回避政治的人，我经常对美国发生的事发表看法
我宁愿疏远那些不同意我的人，也不愿对我认为重要的事情沉默
但我认为暴雪对Blitzchung惩处过于严厉，你可以暂停他的比赛，甚至短暂停赛
但是剥夺他的大师赛资格，还要追回他获得的奖金及禁赛一年就太过分了，这完全是没有
根据且不公平的
我不会假装说我知道香港跟中国的复杂地缘政治，假装知道暴雪在中国的商业利益
更正：我翻错了；意思搞反
对我而言，这么重的惩罚只有两个原因
1.杀鸡儆猴给其他人，让其他人看到Blitzchung这么做后的下场
2.不仅要阻止今后其他人采取类似行动，还要安抚因为这个抗议而不满的人
这种惩处不合我的良心，我知道判决后，就联系暴雪并告诉他们，我没办法在暴雪嘉年华
上参加大师赛决赛了，我做不到在摄影机前面笑着就像是我默认这件事是正确的一样
除非未来有所改变，否则我不会再参与大师赛决赛
最后就是Brian Kibler恳求网友不要迁怒暴雪其他员工、主播或是其他参赛者
他们可能跟你一样生气，至少我知道我是这样的
https://imgur.com/2p1EII0
但其实中国暴雪还是表达自己的政治态度了，所以Brain 说法说不通，至少是双重标准