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Forums - Gaming Discussion - GDC rescinds Atari founder Nolan Bushnell’s Pioneer Award after #MeToo protests

jardesonbarbosa on 31 January 2018

Just by reading the title I knew there would be a lot of people here defending him and against the GDC's decision. This forum never disappoints.

He's an asshole. Giving awards to people like him sends a horrible message. GDC is right in not wanting to be associated with that kind of scum.



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KLAMarine on 31 January 2018
SpokenTruth said:
That fact you guys are isolating a t-shirt or game code name tells me why this must continue.

NONE of you are asking if there was more. NONE of you are asking if any of the women were actually sexually harassed or abused.

You're just assuming it was t-shirts and codenames. If it were just that, then yes, this is blown much out of proportion. But if it were more, and none of us knows all the details, then we should be ashamed of ourselves for trivializing their trauma.

Have any of you read The Ultimate History of Video Games or read early interviews from him? He has openly admitted and bragged about sexually harassing his employees. I'm not saying he shouldn't be honored for his contributions to the industry but we now live in an era where you don't reward people for harming others.

So was Bushnell rewarded for harming others? I don't understand.



Qwark on 31 January 2018

This reminds me off that time a guy in an anime suit put a robot on a meteor. His so called sexist shirt was more important than putting a robot on a meteor. Way to go society... way to go.



Please excuse my (probally) poor grammar

LivingMetal on 31 January 2018

He an asshole just for not recognizing Ralph Baer as the Father of Video Games. It was once believed that Bushnell was, and he ran with it until the video game history corrected itself. Besides, Bushnell started the Chucky Cheese franchise. That in itself is an abomination.



KLAMarine on 31 January 2018
SpokenTruth said:
KLAMarine said:

So was Bushnell rewarded for harming others? I don't understand.

Indirectly.  This award is directly tied to his work within the industry and during his tenure within the industry he was a well known "asshole" (as termed by many of his past colleagues) toward his female employees.  His achievements are a culmination of his actions and his actions were often of poor character which harmed others. 

So what were these "asshole" things that he did?



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KungKras on 31 January 2018

So, did he do anything illegal?



I LOVE ICELAND!

KLAMarine on 31 January 2018
SpokenTruth said:
KLAMarine said:

So what were these "asshole" things that he did?

Ask them.  Hell, ask him.  He's been bragging about it for decades.

So we don't know?



Vincoletto on 31 January 2018

Thats absolutely terrible.
Next, people will find a picture of kojima when he was 13 years old wearing a t shirt saying "I like big boobs" and will call him rapist, homophobic and genderphobic and ask for all metal gear games to be banished from face of the earth.
Please, stop...



captain carot on 31 January 2018
LivingMetal said:
He an asshole just for not recognizing Ralph Baer as the Father of Video Games.

Well, Ralph Baer also wasn't. He's the father of home consoles as it seems. Not video games.

Back to topic:

Thing is, you could possibly argue that sexual harassment was the norm in the 70's. And it pretty much was, even if half of humanity didn't look at it that way.

At the same time you actually can argue that someone who has been talking that openly about stuff that in fact is sexual harasment shouldn't get an award or that such an award should be rescinded.

Maybe men should be victims here more often, might change the point of view massively.



KLAMarine on 31 January 2018
SpokenTruth said:
KLAMarine said:

So we don't know?

Let's go back to my first post.

 

SpokenTruth said:
That fact you guys are isolating a t-shirt or game code name tells me why this must continue.

NONE of you are asking if there was more. NONE of you are asking if any of the women were actually sexually harassed or abused.

You're just assuming it was t-shirts and codenames. If it were just that, then yes, this is blown much out of proportion. But if it were more, and none of us knows all the details, then we should be ashamed of ourselves for trivializing their trauma.

Have any of you read The Ultimate History of Video Games or read early interviews from him? He has openly admitted and bragged about sexually harassing his employees. I'm not saying he shouldn't be honored for his contributions to the industry but we now live in an era where you don't reward people for harming others.

Notice something in bold, italics and underlined?

No, we don't know.  But all the early posts were claiming he didn't do anything wrong.   The only claims I'm making are those that are already known within the industry and that he himself has bragged about (at least those that won't land him in prison).  But considering it's known within the industry that he is a known sexual harasser I find it amazing the first thing people jump on is saying he did nothing wrong or the MeToo movement is going too far.  

What's more likely the truth?  He did nothing because we on the forums just say he did nothing? Or he did something because he admits it and many others in the industry over the decades have also stated it?

So what has he admitted? Wearing a suggestive shirt and naming projects after women?