The past several days have seen a whirlwind of events unfold. There have been many accusations and misinformation spread everywhere. This statement is meant to clarify the situation and attempt to peacefully lower the temperature of the current debate.
As has been stated by Catalyst Game Labs, their decisions regarding future contracts with a certain author is their own and has been made entirely on consultation with their license holder. I have had no part in the decision making process, nor have I had any influence on these decisions.
Furthermore, there has never been any conspiracy to "cancel" any author in the Battletech universe. Any accusations to the contrary are false. I have individually made my opinions known to various parties regarding this author's content, both publicly and privately. That is the extent to which any interaction has occurred.
Regarding specific allegations that have been made:
I was not "offered" the chance to publish any short story as any kind of inducement to anything. The publication of my story, Roadblock, followed the normal submission and editorial process. Any statements to the contrary are false.
I have never colluded with Mr. Herbert Beas, or any other person, in regards to "cancelling" another author. I have never had any communications with Mr. Beas for the purposes of furthering such a goal, nor has he played any part to my knowledge in this unfolding drama.
Regarding the legal agreement entered into between myself and Mr. Pardoe, the agreement pertained only to the granting of a temporary protection order in exchange for his agreeing to forgo any legal action regarding defamation. There was specifically no admission of any threat by any party, nor any conditions moving forward that I remain silent regarding Mr. Pardoe's views and activities.
I have never been charged or convicted of any crime in relation to Mr. Pardoe. No judge or jury has ever heard a complaint by either party regarding this matter. No court has ruled on this matter beyond the above mentioned legal agreement between the parties.
I support many platforms and content creators in the Battletech community. My financial support for them should in no way be construed as their endorsement of myself or any actions regarding this case. I support them for their content, and their content alone. I have received reports of threats of violence against parties that I support financially in the Battletech community. Let me state clearly, this is wrong. Any threats of violence are wrong, especially those made against third parties who are not connected in any way to this drama. Any and all threats of violence will be handled by Law Enforcement and my attorney.
There has been talk that I have advocated for the removal of Mr. Pardoe's work from the Battletech canon. This is false. I in no way support removing anything that has been published, and I encourage people to continue to support Catalyst Game Labs by purchasing their past and future content.
This entire ordeal has been stressful and ugly beyond belief, and has placed an incredible strain on myself and my family. I would like to thank my family for their support in this matter. I would further like to thank everyone in the community who has offered their support and listened to reason. For every bad actor in this situation, there have been five good ones, and it has raised my faith in the community as a whole overall. The Battletech community is a great one. Do not let it be torn apart by the actions of one man. Support each other, support Catalyst Game Labs, have fun, and roll the dice!
It's all so frustrating. The problem isn't his views (not that they are great, mind you) but that he kept linking them to his position as a Battletech author. Of course that was going to be an issue eventually. I just wish more people could understand that that's the true issue, and if they still want to defend him, defend him for THAT and not all this other stuff.
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ReplyDelete(DAMN LACK OF EDIT FUNCTION!)
DeleteSo, wait. How much of what Pardoe is claiming about you is "real"? Because his "Poor widdle me, who never did ANYTHING wrong!" article suspiciously checked every option on the "Right Wing Rage Generator". That, combined with his claims that "CGL looked at his social media and found nothing with political messages, implied or otherwise" (LOL, right) and his braying that "progressive" authors had written "much more offensive" things makes me disregard pretty much everything he said.
Is this a persona for your written works? Do you post as Bishop Steiner, too? Do you live in Western PA, or South Central?
Really, what I'm getting at, are you really in the Gettysburg area? Because we're a couple miles up 15; if you ever want to sit in a 200 year old tavern and play while drinking PA rye whiskey, talking shit to each other, and watching 2-4 guys suck at grade-school math, you're welcome at our table.
And what I *wanted* to edit in, was that you should be able to see my email as the blog owner, so hit us up if you wanna game with us. I'm also, well, myself, on most of the Btech Facebook groups, so you can find us there, too. We're always looking for new players, and it's great when we don't have to teach (because we also suck at teaching, after a few drinks.)
That goes for anyone else in the area--our table's always open, the only rules are that you've showered this month, and you don't turn into a giant douche after a few drinks.
I am not a 40-year old male living in his grandfathers basement. How much of what is Faith McClosky is real is a private matter. I am open about who I present to the world, and I am totally authentic to myself.
DeleteI am not Bishop Steiner. I am in no way connected to Bishop Steiner. Ben is a very real person who, to the best of my knowledge, lives in Mexico.
I live in south-central Pennsylvania in the Gettysburg area. I am originally from Massachusetts and am a transplant to PA.
I appreciate your offer to game together, but at this point, my safety comes first. The exact details of my identity remain private for security and safety reasons, I hope you can understand that.
I'm also not going to litigate every single point of what Blaine has said. Suffice it to say, he is playing very fast and loose with the truth and the facts, and using it to his own ends. I can only relate so much for legal reasons, and unfortunately that means that Blaine gets to spin the narrative to his own ends. Take that into consideration.
Completely understandable! Hopefully the furor will die down quickly. It usually does, as people move on to the next attention-grabber.
DeleteBlaine's piece clearly bears little resemblance to reality. I was honestly just stoked at the thought of other players in the area--we're trying to build up a player base around here; hopefully get some events at the local mall (and possibly at our site as well.)
Nonetheless, it was unfair of me to pry, and particularly unwise during the current mess, so I apologize.