#BIGBAD
BOYCOTT
UPDATE:
We have accepted Big Bad Con's response to our demands. They have put out a pro-Palestine values statement, retracted anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine censorship, and committed to consulting with relevant groups in the TTRPG space over the next year. Though the statement is not as strong as we would have liked, we accept it in good faith as a demonstration of effort on the part of Big Bad's staff. We have given Big Bad our feedback on the statement and hope they will amend it to be more firmly anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine.Since the boycott demands have been met, the #BigBadBoycott will not move forward on Oct. 1st. As per the terms of the boycott, we will not be hosting an alternative convention.At the same time, we understand that Big Bad's leadership has acted and failed to act in ways that have been harmful to the community, especially to people of colour (PoC). Many have expressed a loss of trust in Big Bad Con as a space as it currently stands. We have expressed as much to the staff and have suggested courses of action they can take to do the long, hard work of appropriately stewarding a space for PoC. It is our hope that, over the next year, we will see Big Bad's leadership do that work.We leave the rest of this website up for archival purposes.
We, as professionals and hobbyists in the TTRPG space, are pledging to boycott Big Bad Con 2024 in solidarity with a free Palestine. We are taking a firm stand against the normalization of genocidal views within our spaces.
Poster by Kaitlin Bruder
Poster by Krime
Why Big Bad Con?
You can read our demand letter here, including a full account of relevant correspondence and a list of current signatories.
Big Bad Con (BBC) organizers and staff are tacitly supporting Zionist ideologies. They have censored anti-Zionist language from event programming. When asked about such censorship in email correspondence, BBC organizers and staff have been unwilling to stand for anti-Zionism. Instead, they have used marginalized attendees as a shield to justify their inaction. At present, BBC organizers have expressed a desire to change, but have stopped short of taking an anti-Zionist stance. We believe that public pressure from the TTRPG space is necessary to push BBC to fully commit to anti-Zionism.
Our demands are simple. We demand that Big Bad Con:
1. Make a public values statement indicating that Big Bad Con is an anti-Zionist space. This statement cannot equivocate both sides, but rather must stand firmly for the decolonization of Palestine.2. Allow all events to include anti-Zionist language in their programming, including event descriptions.3. Commit to consulting with Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and anti-Zionist Jews within the TTRPG space to determine what actions the community would like to see from Big Bad Con in supporting them/us in 2025 and beyond.
If Big Bad Con is unwilling to meet our demands by October 1, 2024, we will boycott the convention in solidarity with a free Palestine.
Counter-events
If Big Bad Con is unwilling to meet our demands, we will run counter-events. More information will be posted in early October 2024!
Poster by Chiara Acu
Frequently
asked
questions
I want to support the boycott, but I am a Scholarship Recipient and/or a Special Guest and I'm concerned about returning the money I received. What do I do?
Thank you for wanting to stand in solidarity with Palestine! Big Bad Con staff have confirmed that they will not be asking for refunds in the event of a boycott. We look forward to your pledge!
Why does it matter that Big Bad Con removed anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine language?
Zionism is a "settler-colonial political movement that calls for establishing a Jewish nation-state in Palestine with a Jewish majority." It is an inherently racist and violent ideology that requires engaging in ethnic cleansing and genocide to enact.
Zionists and those in support of the genocide of Palestinians seek to limit the language we can use in the fight for Palestinian liberation. This is best exemplified by the United States' attempts to make the phrase "from the river to the sea" illegal by falsely linking it to antisemitism. By censoring anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine language multiple times, Big Bad Con has tacitly supported Zionism.
Refusing to stand publicly for anti-Zionism and a free Palestine signals to Zionists that they are welcome at Big Bad Con. This potentially places Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims in the same space as those who champion their deaths. This also puts anti-Zionists Jews in the same space as those who invalidate their Jewishness. The convention's silence actively puts multiple groups of people at risk of harm.
How does the boycott help Palestine?
Several Palestinians have expressed that the international community's silence on the genocide is experienced as betrayal and abandonment. Many Palestinians have urged the international community to speak up, stand in solidarity with them, and to do whatever we can to help end the genocide as quickly as possible. We follow their lead. Palestinians have told us that our voices matter to them and so we refuse to be silent.
The least that we can do is express our firm and unwavering support for Palestine. This is especially true for an American-based organization such as Big Bad Con during a time when the United States is not only complicit, but also actively participating in the genocide.
Speaking up is merely the first step, but a crucial one. We are not likely to find the bravery to engage in more direct action, such as donating to mutual aid, participating in BDS, or blockading arms factories if we cannot stand in solidarity with Palestinians first. The fight for Palestinian liberation occurs on many battlegrounds. Language is one of them and is no less important than the others.
Why are you boycotting Big Bad Con and not other, larger conventions in the TTRPG space?
Big Bad Con's Community Standards state that they are committed to welcoming marginalized people and to fostering a culture of respect, support, and kindness. They also explicitly state that feedback is welcome and that they are committed to improving.
Big Bad Con sets itself apart from other, larger conventions in the TTRPG space by explicitly uplifting and supporting marginalized people, especially people of colour. The convention has grown due to these commitments and the support of its marginalized attendees.
However, Big Bad Con is not immune to making mistakes and has made one here. Censoring anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine language violates the convention's own Community Standards. As such, we are calling Big Bad Con in from a place of love and care for a beloved community space. We want to continue supporting the convention, but to do so, we must hold the convention to its own standards. It is not enough to say that Big Bad Con uplifts and supports marginalized people. The convention must act on those principles as well.
Won't Big Bad Con lose their non-profit status if they make a pro-Palestine statement?
There are several American non-profit organizations that have made pro-Palestine statements without losing their status. Big Bad Con has conceded that this is not an issue.
Are you accusing all of the Big Bad Con staff of being Zionists and anti-Palestine?
No, we are not making accusations regarding individuals on Big Bad Con's staff. People are capable of taking action that aligns with Zionism without identifying as Zionists or being against a free Palestine. In this case, the censorship of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine language is an action that is aligned with Zionism. Thus, Big Bad Con's staff have tacitly supported Zionism, regardless of their intentions. We are focusing on the staff's actions and the consequences of those actions, rather than on them as individuals.
Furthermore, the original question regarding who on staff and/or donors identifies as a Zionist was posed based on the information we had received that some on Big Bad Con's staff and/or donors had identified themselves as such. We were not levying unfounded accusations, but rather were attempting to gain clarity on the situation. When the staff clarified that this information was miscommunicated to us, we did not press the issue further.
Why did the boycott need to happen at all instead of handling the issue privately?
We attempted to handle the issue privately with Big Bad Con's staff for over a month. During this time, we offered education and solutions to potential obstacles. However, we were ignored, sidelined, and given excuses as to why the convention was unwilling to stand in solidarity with Palestine.
Due to the disappointing response via email, we warned the Big Bad Con staff two weeks in advance that we would go public with this information should they not be willing to meet our demands. We were met with continued resistance.
It became clear that Big Bad Con was not willing to change its stance without further pressure. We feel that the broader TTRPG space has a right to know that a convention that positions itself as a safer space for marginalized people is refusing to deliver on its promise. We also feel that, with our combined voices, we can demonstrate to Big Bad Con that its attendees care about this issue and encourage the convention to act on its stated values.
Boycotts are a form of protest that target an organization's money and reputation to push for change. These are the languages that institutions speak and Big Bad Con is no different. Big Bad Con is, at the end of the day, an organization with stated values, and that comes with a level of responsibility to its community. Thus far, the convention has failed to uphold that responsibility. If the convention was unwilling to engage with us in earnest when we appealed to the moral and safety issues at hand, then perhaps they will be motivated to hear us when their continued longevity is in question.
Poster by Parusha Naidoo