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Comment by bovermyer | Hacker News Reader

As long as the protesters don't disrupt the experience that I paid for too much, they can do whatever they want.

After weighing the facts carefully, I've decided that Blizzard was justified in penalizing the Hearthstone player, justified in penalizing the two casters, and truly abysmal at managing public relations.

My position on Hong Kong is unchanged. I'm still firmly of the belief that China needs to grant Hong Kong full autonomy and/or independence, and that China needs to stop trying to extend its morally bankrupt censorship beyond its own borders.

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Protest is supposed to interrupt, to be there where it isn't wanted. It is supposed to be inconvenient and blocking.

If you stand on the side of the road with your signs, I may read your signs, and I might even be sympathetic to your cause. If you block the road with your signs, I definitely won't read your signs, and I definitely won't be sympathetic to your cause. Same for any type of violence.

That might be true. If 500.000 people block every big street in a city, you will read the signs and think about the cause. What a protest can afford depends on how many are protesting.

Going to the specific event in question, the convention of Activision Blizzard, if one person tries to blocks the event with protest, they will be removed, if necessary by physical force. If sufficiently many block the event with protest, the protest will be successful.

Let me summarize: 'Thoughts and prayers to the people of Hong Kong.'

Alternatively: "I don't want other people's pain and suffering to ruin my good time. Please suffer quietly and out of sight."

But that's already been happening for years. It wasn't until Blizzard banned a HS player that people got riled up. Prior to that, no one really cared. In fact, those doing the boycott weren't planning on doing anything prior to this. It wasn't until the community they were apart of was affected that they did something.

If anything, Blizzard doing what it did helped the cause more than anything. If they hadn't done anything, no one would have cared (because people weren't doing a damn thing on this scale before).

> It wasn't until Blizzard banned a HS player that people got riled up.

Correction: It wasn't until Blizzard banned a HS player during a US/China trade war that people got riled up.

> But that's already been happening for years.

I'm not sure what you're referring to.

The protests in Hong Kong have been going on for for at most 200 days and it is only recently that the situation escalated to where we are at now.

Do not mistake my judgment in favor of Blizzard's actions for approval of China's actions.

Hong Kong is in crisis and its people need help.

Blizzard's actions do not equate to subservience to China. They may have been a little too harsh in enforcing their extant policy, however.

I think these protesters would be better served by protesting at NBA games, given the much wider audience. I don't deny their right to protest at BlizzCon, but I think they're wasting their time. As such, I don't see their disruption of BlizzCon as anything other than a disruption. It's not like it's going to change my opinion of China (which I've stated elsewhere here).

Ah yes, as long as the protesters are non disruptive and I can ignore them they are allowed to protest as they want. Should they inconvenience me however, someone will have to take care of them

> the experience that I paid for

I would feel sorry for you, but you would have to pay me for that too.

I ask myself what facts are there to be weighted. I doubt playing along and suddenly China liberalizes is a realistic outlook.

But since China wasn't content with keeping their content rules within their own borders, that option quickly became less interesting. And I do believe that warrants a very strong answer. One which could even deescalate and drawing a clear border for China to respect if it wants to be treated in kind.

Did you read my last sentence?

China needs to be dealt with. The world has ignored its crimes against humanity for too long.

But that doesn't change my position on Blizzard's actions.

So long as US companies (like Blizzard) have strong financial and supply chain ties to China, the US has no incentive to move against China.

If we want the US to move against China, those ties must be cut, not ignored or grown. As such, Blizzard’s actions only helps to prolong China’s dominance.

If you really want China to be challenged, supporting Blizzard doesn’t further that goal.

But it doesn't hinder that goal either.

If you want China to play by the rules of a free society, it must be freed, not ignored. That requires force, and not symbolic protest of a relatively insignificant company.

I agree with this mostly. I think penalizing the casters were a bit too much though.

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