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Thoughts and Actions on our current world…

Salutations Potterworld Community,

In the last several months, we have seen protests surfacing in every US state and around the world. Many people, including us, feel the pain and anger over racial and social injustice in society, and the inequality is clear – change is overdue.

This world has a long history of racism. Humans love to group together, and then love to create division between groups unlike themselves. It is so ironic how people need each other but still try to separate each other when those “other people” don’t look like themselves. The things happening in the world are not new, they are stark examples of the ongoing struggles for equality and justice all around the world. Like many of you, I have struggled with processing these tragedies and thinking about what Potterworld and I can do to help.

When I created Potterworld, I knew from the beginning that I did not want to make Potterworld a social platform for me, or anyone to use as a place to soapbox social issues, religion, politics, or the like. The reason why we always “measure twice and cut once” when it comes to addressing things like this is because of this reason - which is my own stance on things. I want Potterworld to be a place of acceptance for ALL people no matter their background, no matter their beliefs. I want to make sure, especially during these times, that at a minimum, our Black friends and team members deserve to feel safe whether they are playing on Potterworld or helping to staff our server. We want to again commit to our rule of not accepting slurs in any form on the server. More than ever, we are making sure that we are committed to not only racial equality but all forms of social, political and belief equality as well.

I know many of you are affected in different ways. I am personally overwhelmed, angry, sad, frustrated, disappointed, and struggle to see justice in the world. I want to help – and I know you all do too – but we don’t always know the best way to do that. The Head Staff and I will continue to look for ways to support, grow, and champion the right for everyone to be equal in this world. It is a core belief of mine that we are all equal and should be treated so.

I have made it my obligation as a citizen of the world to continue to educate myself about the traumas others have endured as well as work for change to help eradicate these experiences. In these trying times, we can’t let COVID-19 or anything else stop us from working to be better individuals and better overall as a collective. Now is the time for us to show compassion, support, and work for change in the society. Change begins with each of us:

- Educate Yourself: Right now, it’s super important that we continually expand our understanding of the current situation and the underlying causes and history that have brought us here. I have included some resources that will be a good start.

- Listen and Be There for One Another: Check in on your friends, whether it be on staff or off, and support them. Listen to their stories and experiences. Leave space for our friends affected to share their experiences and feelings.

- Speak Up and Advocate: Commit to action. Speak up and speak out AGAINST hatred, racism, and injustice. If you see it happening on our server, staff or not, help us stop it. It is NOT tolerated on Potterworld in any percentage. Protect everyone’s right to equality.

- Additional Resources for more learning:

- Our Next Steps: Beyond each of us individually finding ways to help make a difference, know that the Potterworld leadership team is committed to making sure that Potterworld is a place of acceptance and equality. Some of you have asked about our silence and why we haven’t shared anything publicly. We are not silent. We all feel strongly about supporting this moment and we want to do it right. We know it is vital that actions should back our words, that is important to me personally, and we know it’s important to you.

These are incredibly difficult times. Be there for each other in whatever way you can.

Thank you Potterworld Community.
Headmaster Droobledore
 

Comments

Joshios

Animorphus
Minecraft IGN: Joshios
Auralock Dark Follower Griffin Phoenix Vampire Werewolf SPEW
#5
I really appreciate your empathy in posting this. What has been going on in the world should never have had happened in the first place, and is completely ridiculous. The color of someone's skin should not define who they are. Thanks for this great post, Droobledore!
 

Kate

Animorphus
Staff
Minecraft IGN: TbhKate_
Auralock Dark Follower Staff Griffin Phoenix Vampire Werewolf SPEW Sr. Game Designer
#6
Thank you Jay for this heartfelt message. I think I can speak for everyone when saying that Potterworld truly is a second home for us, and has always been a place where we can be ourselves unapologetically. I’m very glad that this is being addressed, and that we are making sure everyone continues to feel welcome on our server. :heart:
 

nathan1e

Animorphus
Minecraft IGN: nathan1e
Honeybadger Auralock Dark Follower Phoenix Vampire Werewolf SPEW
#8
I appreciate this post and the meaning behind it. As Kate said, PW is a second home to many of us, so it is extremely good to know that such a second home is accepting to any and all players from all around the world.

With that in mind, there is something I feel I should say. During the last few hours, I wasn't really paying attention to PW while doing some other stuff, watching a few vids on YT, and suddenly this post pops up. I read it with great interest and originally thought that the post was made as an initiative from the HS itself.
That's when I went to look at the #general channel in the PW DC, and found the suggestion thread that seemingly caused this post.

George Floyd was shot on the 25th of May. Around June, something happened in a part of Potterworld's community that very much involved the racism mentioned in this post relating to one of the HS members. I don't think it productive to mention exactly what happened, as I don't wish to unnecessarily discredit the involved person or cause unnecessary drama, but this event is incredibly important in looking at the timeline, since it is only today, on the 21st of August (almost 3 months after George Floyd died) that the decision was made to make this post, based mostly, as much as I can see, on that suggestion.

So as much as I appreciate this post as I felt that this really needed to be said from the PW heads, I sincerely hope that in the future, if a post like this is made again, it is made as an initiviative of the heads rather than based on a suggestion from a member of the community, in order to show very clearly that the heads are involved in what keeps the community busy.
 

Llama

Animorphus
Minecraft IGN: iSpitLikeALlama
Auralock Griffin Werewolf
#11
I appreciate this post and the meaning behind it. As Kate said, PW is a second home to many of us, so it is extremely good to know that such a second home is accepting to any and all players from all around the world.

With that in mind, there is something I feel I should say. During the last few hours, I wasn't really paying attention to PW while doing some other stuff, watching a few vids on YT, and suddenly this post pops up. I read it with great interest and originally thought that the post was made as an initiative from the HS itself.
That's when I went to look at the #general channel in the PW DC, and found the suggestion thread that seemingly caused this post.

George Floyd was shot on the 25th of May. Around June, something happened in a part of Potterworld's community that very much involved the racism mentioned in this post relating to one of the HS members. I don't think it productive to mention exactly what happened, as I don't wish to unnecessarily discredit the involved person or cause unnecessary drama, but this event is incredibly important in looking at the timeline, since it is only today, on the 21st of August (almost 3 months after George Floyd died) that the decision was made to make this post, based mostly, as much as I can see, on that suggestion.

So as much as I appreciate this post as I felt that this really needed to be said from the PW heads, I sincerely hope that in the future, if a post like this is made again, it is made as an initiviative of the heads rather than based on a suggestion from a member of the community, in order to show very clearly that the heads are involved in what keeps the community busy.
I completely agree with this. I believe it is amazing that something is being said at all, but it needs to be earlier. I’m not sure if something is being said in staff channels, but something should be said to the entire community. I brought up the death of George Floyd about two a half months ago, asking Potterworld to address it, but nothing was done. The fact that it took three months and a group of mostly non staff members for this issue to be addressed, is ridiculous. I know you all leave a busy life, and I appreciate any post at all, but I believe these types of posts should be made earlier, without player initiative to do it.
 

Sirje_Wildmoon

Notable Magician
Minecraft IGN: AstralFae
Dark Follower Serpent
#13
Idk if I'm technically allowed to post this,

I was , rather ironically, banned for mistakenly saying something that was misconstrued as racist... which is devastating as racist is the last thing I'd ever really want to be, trust me. (even if Estonians do have a dark humour, I should have never toed that line)

But even if I cannot play, and am waiting and hoping that it will be realized it was nothing more than a mistake I'm likely to never make again, it is wonderful to see that this server is so defensive and will stand up to things like this, wether this was a post caused by community inutiative or by staff's own choices, that shouldn't matter, but honestly, if it was caused by the Potterworld community, than that's just a testament to show how great a community this server has.

Skin color doesn't matter, the language you speak, the place you call home, or the place you came from, even the beliefs you hold, nothing matters because we are simply human, humans that are under threat, be it from the depressing violence in the world, or be it even from Covid, etc, and now more than ever people need to realize this so we can overcome and rebuild, but as it stands, the world is currently an insanely scary place and I can only wish for safety atm.

Violence against one another is never the answer, and as the Dalai Lama says, Love and Compassion are a necessity that everyone deserves, not a luxury for the few, as without them, humanity will not survive. <3

I suggest adding sites to the post that can also help with mental health as well, as it's a given that these sorts of things, experiencing racism and such, and generally the state of the world in 2020 is bound to have a toll on mental health.

I suggest maybe a site like BetterHelp, perhaps the Samaritans or TheCalmZone among other possible sites or helplines.

Also, back on the topic of BLM, there's the Support #BlackLivesMatter site, where people are able to donate to various BLM charities/protests etc if they wish. link here


( and no, before anyone assumes so, I'm not just saying all this because I think "oh it'll show blah blah blah" about my ban, I understand what I said, even if I didn't mean it in the way it was thought, was wrong to say. We make mistakes, I'm paying the price atm for my mistake. Moral is don't be a butt. But honestly? I've scarcely seen genuinely butt-ish people on this server, one of the reasons I love it so much. I can only say I hope to see y'all again soon but that's not up to me. But regardless, I genuinely post this only out of passion on the subject (if that's the right phrase to use, possibly not. But I hope it's understood) )

Stay safe everyone <3
 

Aspasia

Animorphus
Drooble's Order
Minecraft IGN: ShatterdHeart
Auralock Dark Follower Phoenix Serpent Vampire Werewolf Jr. Builder SPEW Drooble's Order
#16
Thank you for making a statement about the issues around the world. :heart:(y)