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 this document up for archival purposes.

What is the #BigBadBoycott?

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.

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 with Esther and Hamnah, 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.

For a detailed account of the events, including receipts, click here.

The liberation of all people is connected. No one is free until we all are. Allowing Zionism to exist and flourish within our spaces, especially our beloved community spaces, is dangerous, and we must push back on its normalization wherever it is found.

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.

We invite you to join the #BigBadBoycott!

It is only by engaging in collective action that we can push for change within our communities. We are stronger together and so, we invite you to join us in standing in solidarity with Palestine. To officially join the boycott, please fill out this form.

By signing on to our demand letter, you are committing to

• Cancelling events
• Refusing to vend
• Refusing to volunteer/work
• Refusing to attend

if Big Bad Con does not meet our demands by October 1, 2024. We hope that Big Bad Con will stand firmly and publicly for its supposed values before the deadline and that a boycott is ultimately not necessary.

In the event of a boycott, you do not have to cancel hotel bookings or flights if you do not want to. For those who still wish to travel to San Francisco, we will be hosting counter-programming with a shortened schedule of events. Stay tuned for more information!

Boycott Signatories Include:

Total Signatories: 717 (& counting! I’m slow to catch up with the support!)

+132 unlisted supporters unaffiliated with Big Bad Con

A Detailed Timeline with Receipts

Screenshots [S#] and transcripts [T#] of all email correspondence are provided.

Mid-May 2024: Esther was approached about being on a panel on Jewishness and TTRPGs. As part of the panel pitch, all panelists were asked to sign onto a statement opposing the genocide in Palestine that would be published in the panel description. The statement originally included the phrases “anti-Zionist” and “from the river to the sea”. [Edit for clarity: The Jewish panel organizer drafted the statement. All members of the panel agreed to and were comfortable with the statement.]

Mid-July 2024: The panel organizer messaged Esther to let her know that Big Bad Con staff communicated that while they are okay with the panelists discussing anti-Zionism as a personal position on the panel, they asked for the removal of the phrases “anti-Zionist” and “from the river to the sea” from the event description. The censorship was communicated as for the purpose of avoiding potential conflict. The panel organizer communicated that the statement was passed around to Big Bad Con staff and donors, and that some expressed discomfort with the censored language.

Early August 2024: Since Esther and Hamnah were discussing another TTRPG organizing project, Esther decided to share this information with Hamnah. They both agreed that it was extremely concerning that anti-Zionist language was censored and that there may be Zionists on Big Bad Con’s staff and donors. Hamnah offered to email BBC to inquire about the situation, which Esther agreed to.

Tuesday, August 6: Hamnah emailed Ash Cheshire, one of the Co-Stewards of Big Bad Con, and CCed Esther [S1, T1]. In the email, Hamnah introduced themself, summarized what Esther told them, and expressed their concern. He also asked for clarification on BBC’s stance on Zionism.

Tuesday, August 13: Having not received a response from Big Bad Con, Hamnah emailed Eric, the Logistics and Hotel Coordinator, and CCed Ash and Esther [S2, T2]. The email was a copy of the one sent to Ash. Esther sent a follow-up email to everyone in the chain [S3, T3]. In the follow-up, Esther explained why zhe is concerned about BBC’s stance and preemptively offered solutions to potential reasons why the convention may be refusing to stand in solidarity with Palestine.

Friday, August 16: Ash emailed Hamnah and Esther separately. In their response to Hamnah, they communicated that the issue was under review by the Community Coordinators, but that the response may not be shared publicly [S4, T4]. Meanwhile, in faer response to Esther, fae communicated that the Big Bad Con staff had met with the panel organizer to clarify miscommunications and that they’d like to meet with Esther to do the same [S5, T5]. Sean Nittner, a former Steward of Big Bad Con, was CCed in this email.

Tuesday, August 20: Esther and Hamnah responded to Ash. Esther agreed to a meeting and made two requests: (1) that Hamnah be included in the meeting; and (2) that the meeting be recorded, both for posterity and as a disability accommodation [S6, T6]. Meanwhile, Hamnah asked for clarification when she could expect an answer to her original questions [S7, T7].

Friday, August 23: Nathan Black, one of the Community Coordinators of Big Bad Con, emailed Hamnah and Esther, and Ash also responded to Esther. In Nathan’s email, he clarified that the decision to censor anti-Zionist language was an internal decision from Big Bad Con’s staff [S8, T8]. He also explained that BBC is unwilling to speak publicly on Palestine, claiming it to be a risk to marginalized attendees of the convention. Notably, he called anti-Zionist language “inflammatory” and specified that BBC is donating to a “non-partisan” charity. Ash and Sean were also CCed in this email.

Meanwhile, Ash repeated Nathan’s clarification regarding staff and donors, as well as the claim regarding risk to marginalized attendees [S9, T9]. Fae further explained that Big Bad Con’s staff had already had a meeting to discuss a pro-Palestine statement and had decided against it to avoid “retaliatory action”. They expressed a lack of desire to meet, but left the offer on the table should Esther still want it. Ash agreed to Hamnah’s participation in the meeting, but declined the request to record the meeting. Instead, fae offered meeting minutes as a compromise.

Sunday, August 25: Hamnah and Esther responded to Nathan, CCing Ash and Sean. Esther also responded to Ash regarding their meeting offer. In their separate emails, Hamnah and Esther explained why Big Bad Con’s response thus far has been concerning and standing tacitly with Zionism [S10, T10]. They also explained how BBC is failing its marginalized attendees, all while using these groups — to which both Hamnah and Esther belong — as shields for inaction [S11, T11]. Finally, they made their demands of the convention and stated that they would go public should BBC be unwilling to meet them.

Meanwhile, Esther confirmed with Ash and Sean that zhe would still like a meeting [S12, T12].

Monday, August 26: Ash responded to Esther retracting faer offer of a meeting [S13, T13]. Nathan responded to Hamnah and Esther noting that the Community Coordinators will review their responses and that it may take some time for them to get back to them [S14, T14].

Tuesday, September 3: Esther emailed Nathan to inquire when the Big Bad Con staff would be responding to demands made [S15, T15]. She also reiterated that this would be made public should BBC be unable to do so in a timely manner.

Saturday, September 7: andi, a member of Big Bad Con’s Community Coordinator team, emailed Esther. Notably, Sean had been removed from the email. In their email, they expressed BBC’s desire to change, but stated that they would not agree to the demands at this time and cited timing as an obstacle for this unwillingness [S16, T16]. Esther responded to andi’s email expressing her disappointment at BBC’s unwillingness to oppose Zionism [S17, T17]. Zhe also highlighted how BBC’s response throughout this situation has inspired distrust with convention leadership.

Friday, September 20: Kristine, Big Bad Con’s Social Media & Community Coordinator, emailed an update to Esther and Hamnah, CCing Sean. In her email, she shared BBC’s working draft of an anti-genocide statement. Notably, the statement did not meet the conditions of the first demand. Kristine also shared that BBC was unwilling to meet the second demand, citing safety concerns and a “plurality of meanings” for the phrases in question [S18, T18]. However, BBC would let the panel that originally sparked communications return its values statement to its original state, as it linked to an external document with the censored phrases. Finally, she expressed that BBC was working on meeting the third demand. She also offered a meeting between BBC staff and the boycott organizers, including consenting to recording the meeting.

Saturday, September 21: Hamnah responded to Kristine’s email, CCing Sean, informing them that Esther was observing Shabbat and that they would not be able to respond to the updates until the day after [S19, T19]. He also expressed regrets that Monday would be too soon to meet as a result, but that they would be open to meeting afterwards. Kristine responded, indicating that a meeting after Monday is okay, as both her and Sean were keeping their schedules open for it [S20, T20].

Sunday, September 22: Hamnah responded to BBC’s update, expressing their and Esther’s disappointment in the convention’s choice to double down on censorship of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine language [S21, T21]. They explained that BBC’s majority-white leadership was failing to engage in good allyship and continuing to capitulate to Zionism. Hamnah informed BBC staff that the boycott organizers would only be willing to meet if such censorship was retracted.

Monday, September 23: Kristine replied, indicating that Big Bad’s staff is meeting to discuss next steps [S22, T22].

Wednesday, September 25: Sean emailed Esther and Hamnah to ask whether the panel organizer could be looped into communications [S23, T23]. Esther responded, indicating that this was okay if it pertained to the panel and not the boycott [S24, T24].

Friday, September 27: Sean emailed Esther and Hamnah Big Bad Con’s final response to the boycott demands [S25, T25]. This included a public values statement regarding Palestine, retraction of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine censorship, and a commitment to consult with relevant groups in the TTRPG space on how to do better moving forward.

Saturday, September 28: Esther responded to Sean’s email. Zhe confirmed that Big Bad’s response meets the boycott demands and thus, the boycott will not move forward [S26, T26]. She also provided feedback on the statement and other actions Big Bad can take to make this year’s convention better. Hamnah also responded to Sean’s email [S27, T27]. They added that many in the TTRPG space are no longer comfortable with Big Bad and urged the staff to take the next year to make a concerted effort to truly live into their values, especially as it pertains to issues of race.

Transcripts of Emails

Tuesday August 6 [from Hamnah to Ash]:

Hullo, Ash!

I'm emailing as a TTRPG professional who intends to attend Big Bad Con this year and a Scholarship Recipient. I have received troubling news from Esther, another Scholarship Recipient (CCed here), that one of the panels they are on was asked to remove anti-zionist language from its event description due to the presence of zionist staff and/or donors at Big Bad. I find this news troubling, given that zionists are currently participating in and supporting a genocide in Palestine. It would be beyond disappointing to learn that Big Bad is refusing to stand against genocide and is, in fact, supporting this genocide by siding with zionists. I hope that Big Bad does not make the same mistake that Gen Con made.

Can you please confirm the following?

• Who amongst Big Bad Con's staff and/or donors identifies as a zionist?
• Does Big Bad Con openly and publicly hold anti-zionist values and support a free Palestine?

Please feel free to include in our email chain whomever among Bid Bad staff is relevant to address this concern. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)

Tuesday, August 13 [from Hamnah to Eric]:

Hullo, Eric! I’m resending an email I sent to Ash (CCed here) a week ago, as I have not yet received a reply. This is an urgent and serious matter, and I would appreciate a prompt reply.

I'm emailing as a TTRPG professional who intends to attend Big Bad Con this year and a Scholarship Recipient. I have received troubling news from Esther, another Scholarship Recipient (CCed here), that one of the panels they are on was asked to remove anti-zionist language from its event description due to the presence of zionist staff and/or donors at Big Bad. I find this news troubling, given that zionists are currently participating in and supporting a genocide in Palestine. It would be beyond disappointing to learn that Big Bad is refusing to stand against genocide and is, in fact, supporting this genocide by siding with zionists. I hope that Big Bad does not make the same mistake that Gen Con made.

Can you please confirm the following?

• Who amongst Big Bad Con's staff and/or donors identifies as a zionist?
• Does Big Bad Con openly and publicly hold anti-zionist values and support a free Palestine?

Please feel free to include in our email chain whomever among Bid Bad staff is relevant to address this concern. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)

Tuesday, August 13 [from Esther to Ash and Eric]:

Hello Ash and Eric,

I wanted to follow up on Hamnah's messages from today and last week, as this is a matter of great concern and interest to me as a Con attendee, panel host, partial scholarship recipient, and anti-zionist Jew. I realize you are likely very busy and appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to our queries.

To give a bit of context for my inquiries: I was asked to speak on a panel on the ways Jewish identity influences game design. Given the ongoing genocide being perpetuated in occupied Palestine by Zionists, and the unfortunate conflation of Zionism with Jewishness, the panel organizer thought it wise to craft a statement for con attendees clarifying our opposition to genocide and Zionist ideologies as panelists. As an anti-Zionist Jew opposed to genocide and settler colonialism in all its forms, I heartily agreed with this.

I was a little taken aback when the panel organizer followed up with me and let me know that con organizers had asked them to remove the language "Anti-Zionism" and "from the river to the sea" from our statement. The reasons passed along to me were that organizers were concerned about these phrases causing potential conflict, and that Big Bad Con had circulated the statement to the entire staff and some donors and that there were Zionists among staff and donors who took issue with the statement as written. The panel organizer did pass along that we would be welcome to speak on personal alignment with anti-Zionism on the panel, but publishing such alignment in the panel description wouldn't fly.

This brings up several questions for me. Firstly, I'd love to understand this series of events as they unfolded from the perspective of con organizers. If there has been some misunderstanding or miscommunication about what happened that will clarify things, I welcome clarification!

Secondly, I'd like to understand why Big Bad Con takes issue with the language of anti-Zionism and the phrase "from the river to the sea." If this is because major donors identify as Zionist, I am curious as to the exact amount of money it might take to override such concerns for the con; if the primary worry is losing donor money or staff support, I believe there are ways to ameliorate those pressures.

If the concern is around panelists or con attendees receiving online or in-person harassment, perhaps we could discuss ways to interrupt such harassment. As someone who has been on the receiving end of a targeted harassment campaign run by Zionists for my support of Palestine, and as a community organizer of more than a decade who enjoys thinking and strategizing about community defense, I am more than happy to speak with con leadership about strategies to keep folks safer online and in-person without capitulating to pro-genocide, pro-settler colonialist views.

I attended Big Bad Con for the first time last year and had a wonderful time, and I have so deeply appreciated BBC's explicit focus on uplifting BIPOC and other marginalized groups in the ttrpg space. As such, I am gravely concerned about the con's stance on this particular issue. As an anti-Zionist Jew, it is very disheartening to me to learn that the con is accepting money from Zionist donors, and that said donors and staff have such an influence over panels and panel descriptions.

But more than that, I am gravely concerned about the safety and wellbeing of people who will feel profoundly erased and made unsafe by the con allying itself (whether implicitly or explicitly) with Zionists and Zionism. I have confided in one of my partners about this situation; they are a low-income, Muslim, Arab-American budding game designer who also attended the con for the first time last year and had an amazing experience, and have been planning to attend this year as a full scholarship recipient. When I told her about this situation, they were immediately dismayed and concerned about their safety at the con. We discussed the ways in which an institution that accepts money from Zionists and prioritizes the comfort of an ideology which underpins an active genocide is complicit in violence against them and their own Palestinian family members, and many many more people besides. In harboring Zionists on staff and as donors to the con, Big Bad Con IS sending a message to, and inflicting a kind of violence upon, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, anti-Zionist Jews, and everyone else whose values cannot tolerate genocide and whose physical, mental, and emotional safety is threatened by Zionism as a force in the world. I hope that the con will reconsider its position in light of the harms that will come from embracing Zionist support.

Sincerely,

Esther Wallace (she/zhe)

Friday, August 16 [from Ash to Hamnah]:

Hi Hamnah,

Thank you for reaching out with these very important concerns. Thank you also for your patience while we looked into them before responding. I have forwarded your message to our Community Coordinators for review and determination of action. While not all of the Community Coordinators’ decisions are shared publicly, we take your concerns very seriously and they will be given the utmost consideration.

We’ve also heard from Esther and will be responding to her directly.

Sincerely,

~Ash

Ash Cheshire (fae/fem/faer or they/them)

Steward, Big Bad Con

Friday, August 16 [from Ash to Esther]:

Hi Esther,

Thank you for reaching out with these very important concerns. Thank you also for your patience while we looked into them before responding. I've cc'ed Sean Nittner, he is co-steward with me. We have just had a follow-up conversation with [the panel organizer] to clarify our mutual understanding of the points that you raised, because it seems some details of the issues got miscommunicated along the way.

We want to offer to meet with you to talk together, and [the panel organizer] has offered to join that call as well. If that is something that you would like to do, please let me know and I will help us find a time that works for everyone to schedule a call together.

Best,

~Ash

Ash Cheshire (fae/fem/faer or they/them)

Steward, Big Bad Con

Tuesday, August 20 [from Esther to Ash and Sean]:

Hi Ash and Sean,

I very much welcome the chance to have a clarifying chat, thank you for offering! I'd like to make two requests for the meeting:

1) I would like Hamnah to be included in the call since he has been very involved in this discussion with me. Additionally, as a Muslim negatively impacted by the rise of Islamophobia in the wake of Zionist escalation in Palestine, Hamnah would welcome clarification around Big Bad's stance on Palestine.

2) I would like to request to record the meeting, both for posterity and because one of my disabilities includes very debilitating brain fog which affects my cognition and memory, and also affects my ability to fully process conversations in the moment. Recording the meeting would be a huge access help for me in having a reference point to ensure that I understand what is said fully and correctly.

Thanks,

Esther

Tuesday, August 20 [from Hamnah to Ash]:

Hullo, Ash!

Thank you for getting back to me! I appreciate the Community Coordinators being roped in. Can you please confirm when I can expect a response to my initial questions from the Community Coordinators? It is of the utmost importance to myself and many others within the TTRPG industry that our community spaces be staunchly anti-Zionist. Big Bad Con's response is crucial information for determining whether I and others attend the convention or not. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)

Friday, August 23 [from Nathan to Hamnah and Esther]:

Hello Hamnah and Esther,

We appreciate your concerns about Big Bad Con's stance concerning the phrasing around [the panel organizer]’s panel. We want to make it clear that we do not track the political affiliations of any of our attendees, donors or staff and there have not been any demands made on us by any outside groups, individuals, donors, staff or otherwise. As an institution, no matter what our personal beliefs are, we do not want to draw Zionist attention to our public site, and Big Bad Con in general, through easily searchable phrases. We will not risk the safety of our marginalized attendees, staff, or volunteers.

As you know from attending Big Bad Con in years past, we go to great lengths to protect all of our attendees. Through our scholarship program we help women and people from marginalized genders, people of color, disabled, and lgbtqia+ individuals attend the con. Through Big Bad World we encourage and incentivize our attendees to live our community standards of respect, support, and kindness. Our anti-harassment, public health safety, and accessibility policies are all designed to ensure the wellbeing, safety, and inclusion of everyone who attends.

We are committed to taking action in lieu of statements when we can, in allyship with marginalized people. Every year, we have a fundraising run called the Wolf Run, which raises money for a charitable cause of our choosing. This year, we are donating the proceeds of the Wolf Run to Doctors Without Borders, a non-partisan group providing medical aid in Gaza.

To summarize: In the interests of protecting our staff and attendees, we asked that the more inflammatory language in the panel description be removed while keeping the majority of the values statement intact. We have made no other requests to [the panel organizer] or the other panelists, and have published the panel listing on our website with the amended values statement provided to us by [the panel organizer] in preparation to host the panel at our event this year.

Sincerely,

Nathan Black and the Big Bad Con Community Coordinators

Friday, August 23 [from Ash to Esther]:

Hello Esther,

Our community coordinators have just sent their response to you and Hamnah. My co-steward Sean and I wanted to provide some additional clarification on one of your concerns: You mentioned having heard from [the panel organizer] that the values statement was shared with donors, who were the potential source of pushback. As the community coordinator email states, this is inaccurate. In following up with [the panel organizer] after receiving your emails, he was able to clarify for us the source of the misunderstanding:

When we met with [the panel organizer] for the first time to discuss risk management, we mentioned that there had been a previous staff-only discussion about making a public statement about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. While our staff is unanimously anti-genocide, we ultimately agreed that the potential of retaliatory action incited by such a statement was too great of a risk for us to take on behalf of our predominantly marginalized community. We mentioned that discussion to [the panel organizer] as context for our request about moderating the language to reduce that risk. When we followed up with [the panel organizer] after receiving your emails, he clarified for us that he had misremembered and subsequently accidentally misspoke about it to you and the other co-panelists. We're grateful to [the panel organizer] for his integrity and clarity in identifying the miscommunication.

To reiterate the community coordinators' response, the values statement for [the panel organizer] panel was never shared beyond a very limited scope of our staff: the events team who brought it to Sean and myself, and the community coordinators, as part of their response process. We hope that this clarification in addition to the answers in the community coordinator response email addresses your questions and concerns. If so, we would consider the matter settled.

If you would still like to hold a meeting with us we are more than willing to do so. Sean and I would extend a meeting invitation to you, Hamnah, [the panel organizer], and Nathan, our community coordinator representative. To address your access needs for post-meeting reference, we can create a written doc to take notes/memos of the meeting to be shared by all who attend. We are not willing to have the meeting recorded by anyone present, thanks in advance for your understanding.

Best,

~Ash

Sunday, August 25 [from Hamnah to Nathan]:

Hullo, Nathan! I apologize in advance for the length of this email, but it is important.

Thank you for your response. While I understand the intention behind Big Bad Con’s actions, I must express my disappointment and concern. This response does not inspire confidence in me, but rather further makes me question Big Bad’s commitment to anti-Zionism. To help you understand why Big Bad’s actions are aligned with Zionists, I will break down the insidious negative consequences below:

Firstly, this is about more than just the phrasing of [the panel organizer]’s panel. This is about Big Bad’s stance on Zionism overall, which has manifested in the way [the panel organizer]’s panel has been mishandled. I think it important to keep that in mind as we continue this discussion.

I appreciate the clarification that [the panel organizer] misspoke and that donors did not ask for the removal of anti-Zionist language. However, I will note that those in charge of organizing Big Bad (i.e., staff) are responsible for that decision and that is still concerning. Calling anti-Zionist language “inflammatory” and having it removed from event programming is actively capitulating to Zionists. Whether the organizers intended to or not, the consequence is that you have become complicit in perpetuating Zionist values. It is only Zionists that take issue with the word “anti-Zionist” and phrases such as “from the river to the sea”, which are clear calls for the end of Israel’s settler-colonial occupation of Palestine.

I am further concerned about Big Bad’s claim to be committed to protecting the safety of their attendees, especially their marginalized ones, while actively creating a space in which Zionists are welcome. It is unacceptable and actively dangerous for Big Bad to not only remain silent about a genocide, but also to actively remove anti-genocidal language from their programming. Silence is complicity. This silence only communicates to Zionists that they are welcome at Big Bad and thus, actively places Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims in the same spaces as those championing their genocide. Furthermore, Big Bad’s silence communicates to Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims that you do not care about their/our safety. As a Muslim who has experienced an increase in Islamophobia in the wake of Israel’s escalation of its genocide, Big Bad’s actions do not keep me safe. They do not protect me.

Big Bad’s stance on Palestine is similar to claiming that it is too dangerous to be firmly and publicly anti-racist because you are worried about Nazis showing up to the convention. However, this is not an excuse for remaining silent on issues of racism, just as “safety concerns” are not an acceptable excuse for remaining silent on the genocide of Palestinians. It is instead your responsibility to hold your values firmly and publicly while putting infrastructure in place to protect marginalized attendees in case bigots show up to cause trouble. Quite frankly, the fact that Big Bad doesn’t already have such infrastructure in place is concerning, as it shows that the convention is not prepared to handle such cases. It is already a possibility that bigots may show up to Big Bad to harass attendees, as the convention markets itself as a space that actively champions marginalized people in the industry, especially people of colour. The fact that Big Bad has not considered this possibility betrays that the convention does not truly care about the safety of its attendees. I highly recommend that you take up Esther on her previously stated offer to utilize her years of experience studying and organizing community defense to address this glaring gap.

Overall, the way Big Bad has handled this issue is disappointing and insidious. It is telling that no one has confirmed to either Esther or myself that Big Bad is an anti-Zionist space. Instead, we have been met with excuses for why complicity and silence are okay. I find this insulting given that Big Bad has grown the way it has in large part due to the support of marginalized people in the industry. Big Bad positions itself as a safer community space and many of us, myself included, have championed it as such. However, this demonstrates to me that Big Bad does not truly stand for its stated values and I cannot, in good conscience, uplift a dishonest space.

There is still time for Big Bad to correct its mistakes. Esther and I have three demands that we would like Big Bad to meet ASAP:

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.

Allow all events to include anti-Zionist language in their programming, including event descriptions.

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.

We hope that Big Bad will stand for what it claims to believe in. If you cannot do so, we feel that we must go public with this information. If Big Bad is making decisions aligned with Zionism and is unable to create a safer space for marginalized attendees, we feel that the community has a right to know and to make an informed decision about their attendance at the convention.

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)

Sunday, August 25 [from Esther to Nathan]:

Hello Nathan,

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate you getting back to us.

After reading and sitting with the Community Coordinators’ response to us, I am left with lingering questions and concerns.

While I’m relieved to hear there weren’t any demands made by Zionist donors in this particular instance, it is still extremely concerning that this request came from Big Bad Con staff at all. The idea that “from the river to the sea” and “anti-Zionist” are inflammatory statements is ultimately a Zionist framework, and one which has been used to muzzle pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide testimony sharing, activism, protest, and more.

I understand the con’s position on this is that you don’t want to risk the safety of marginalized people who attend and staff the con. From where I am as a person embodying multiple marginalizations, we already live in a world where our safety is inherently at risk. While I understand why the con is cautious about adding more risk to that pile, I think this hesitance is ultimately an excuse rooted in a false binary of safety vs. danger. In an era of escalating backlash against marginalized people, the con is already vulnerable to right-wing (and other) attacks due to its particular focus on marginalized people. As an attendee, I hope there are community defense plans in play other than those publicly available on the website, especially because publicly available plans involve calling law enforcement (a system filled with individuals proven to be unreliable, violent to the groups the con is trying to protect, and often likely allied with the very people doing harm.)

As I said in my initial email to Ash and Eric, I have been the subject of harassment campaigns, from right-wing people in ttrpg spaces to coordinated Zionist trolls who oppose my efforts to support Palestinian liberation and self-determination. It’s not fun to say the least, and of course there are serious impacts. And: typically those campaigns are targeted to posts on social media rather than web pages and events at the scope and reach of Big Bad Con’s. I offer again: there are community defense strategies I would love to discuss with folks if you need a more serious strategy to protect con attendees from harm both online and in person. And if not with me and Hamnah, I encourage you in the strongest possible terms to begin the process of developing such strategies with someone who has expertise in this matter.

You emphasize to us that the con is committed to allyship and taking action instead of making a statement. I think this is also rooted in a false idea that words and statements lack power. While it is of course critical to back up our words with our actions, taking a clear stance on creating an anti-Zionist space is an action that signals the con’s intent to protect marginalized people, both in our space and outside it.

I’m curious as to whether the con is willing to expand its allyship and supportive actions, in this case and others. I am curious why it is so important that a “non-partisan” charity be the focus of support this year. I’m sure that attendees could also raise significant, directly impactful funds for the individual funding drives of Palestinians trying to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Is something like that on the table as a consideration? What is the con doing to uplift Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim participants, and how specifically do the policies and positions you’ve articulated here keep folks in these groups – all of which are facing increased violence in the wake of the escalation of genocide in Palestine – safer and supported?

Finally, I must return to the framing of “anti-Zionism” and “from the river to the sea” as inflammatory language. This too is a choice, and as I believe Hamnah also said, a capitulation. Having been personally harassed and threatened by Zionists, I deeply understand wanting and needing to keep people safer and supported. And: the way this is being talked about reveals a deeper and troubling framing where the language of liberation itself is the problem, not the actions of those perpetuating harm. In doing this, and in framing the reasoning as being about protecting marginalized people, you are using your marginalized attendees (groups to which Hamnah and I both belong) as a shield for not taking more of a public stand. Have you conducted a process to understand what your community would support in terms of taking a public stance for Palestinian liberation?

This issue is incredibly personal to me as a human being, but more specifically as an anti-Zionist Jew with an Arab Muslim partner. My partner is a full Big Bad scholarship recipient this year, and I’m a partial recipient. We truly loved our experience at the con last year, and have been looking forward to it all year. It pains me that this is a discussion we must have, and I do not believe silence around Zionism truly keeps anyone safe at the con, particularly our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim community members.

I hope that Big Bad Con will meet the three demands presented in Hamnah’s email, which I believe will ultimately invigorate the con’s own values of respect, support, and kindness, inviting us all to create a safer and more supportive community for the most marginalized among us. As articulated in a separate email to Ash, I am very open to meeting to talk about all this, and truly welcome the opportunity to do so.

Sincerely,
Esther

Sunday, August 25 [from Esther to Ash and Sean]:

Hello Ash and Sean,

Thank you very much for this additional clarification. I too appreciate [the panel organizer]’s integrity in clarifying that aspect of miscommunication, and I am relieved that in this instance, there were no outside demands made by donors.

However, as shared in Hamnah’s recent email to Nathan (and my own soon-to-be-sent message), we still have significant concerns. I would welcome the chance for everyone to meet to discuss all of this, and would very much appreciate the written notes/memos accommodation.

Sincerely,

Esther

Monday, August 26 [from Ash to Esther]:

Hello Esther,

I am returning this conversation to our community coordinators. I will be kept updated by my community coordinators, who will continue communicating with you moving forward. We all take these issues very seriously, and will be taking actions to address the concerns that have been raised.

At this point I don't think a meeting with me is necessary. I consider this something for the community coordinators to resolve.

Best,

~Ash

Monday, August 26 [from Nathan to Hamnah and Esther]:

Thank you for getting back to us. We will review as soon as we can, but please bear in mind that we are a volunteer group scattered across a number of timezones, so it may take us a bit.

Thank you for your patience,

Nathan and the BBCCCs

Tuesday, September 3 [from Esther to Nathan]:

Hello Nathan,

I wanted to follow up on this to see where things are in the Big Bad Con team's process and when we may expect to hear an update. Hamnah and I hope the con will be able to provide an affirmative answer to our three demands by September 8th. In the interest of time, we will be making our experiences and demands public during the week of September 9th if we don't receive an answer detailing how the con will commit to:

• Making 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.
• Allowing all events to include anti-Zionist language in their programming, including event descriptions.
• Committing to consult 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.

Sincerely,

Esther Wallace (she/zhe)

Saturday, September 7 [from andi to Esther]:

Hi Esther -

Thanks for following up. Your continued engagement and criticism pushing for Big Bad Con to improve is a gift.

It appears that we are aligned in a desire for change here, and the primary site of conflict is one of tempo and timing. We are unable to provide the requested affirmative answers to your three demands on the timeline you requested.

At this time we are in the early stages of planning how we are going to address your three demands. We’re committed to having next steps before the start of Big Bad Con 2024. We would like to share that with you when that happens. We’ll continue to follow up via email if that works for you?

We anticipate that this response will be dissatisfying to you. No less we are here to engage with you in good faith. Thank you for your generosity as we continue to bring Big Bad Con’s values into practice.

Take care,

- andi and all the rest of the Community Coordinator team

Saturday, September 7 [from Esther to andi]:

Hello andi and all,

Thank you for your response. I appreciate you taking the time to read another long email, but I once again believe it is important to address what you have said at length.

Hamnah’s and my engagement and criticism here is not merely a gift. It is a moral issue and it is work. Both of us have spent many hours attempting to communicate clearly and directly for the sake of this community because we want Big Bad Con to be what it claims to be. As it currently stands, it simply is not.

Frankly, we do not appear to be aligned in our desires for change. However, I agree that the tempo and timing of responses received is indeed a site of conflict. It must be stated that time and tempo are not luxuries Palestinians currently have, nor one Arabs and Muslims are in excess of. (For instance, only yesterday a state representative in Florida referred to murdered peace activist Aysenur Eygi as a “Muslim terrorist.”) We are living in a time of escalating hateful rhetoric and actions against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. This is something that directly impacts people who are planning to attend Big Bad Con.

It has now been over a month since Hammah first brought this issue to the attention of Big Bad Con leadership. Notably, Hamnah received no response for ten days. Embarrassingly, that response did not come until three days after I personally followed up at length with con leadership. Big Bad Con leadership have had ample time to consider our inquiries, requests, and demands. In actuality, our demands are a low threshold for the con to clear. Publicly opposing an ideology that underpins an ongoing genocide is not a revolutionary ask, nor is committing to a process of listening to the concerns and input of Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and anti-zionist Jews in the ttrpg space. These demands are the floor, not the ceiling.

This response is dissatisfying and inadequate, and your commitment to having next steps before the convention comes off as yet another platitude and yet another indication about the lack of forward-thinking and anticipation of community members’ safety concerns. This only engenders further distrust in con leadership. As Hamnah said in an email to Ash on August 20, 19 days ago, Big Bad Con’s response is crucial information for determining whether they and others can attend the convention or not. How can people make informed decisions about whether to spend their time and money on and at this con if you continue to put off directly answering our questions and meeting our demands? The con cannot credibly invoke time and tempo when you have been wasting our time for over a month.

I understand you consider yourselves to be operating in good faith with regards to our inquiries and demands. However, the engagement that has been offered to us makes that difficult to believe from our position.

For instance, it is very telling that Hamnah and I were initially emailed separately about our inquiries, and that Hamnah was told his concerns would be forwarded to the Community Coordinators for “review and determination of action” while I was offered a meeting with con leadership. I do not know why the con chose to handle things in this way, but the impact is felt as a disparity in treatment. This does not inspire confidence that the con is operating in good faith, nor do the long gaps in communication with us.

Hamnah and I have both offered our aid and experience as organizers and as marginalized people out of care for this convention and community. Your responses have been belated, decreasingly helpful, and increasingly full of platitudes. One of your former co-stewards, Sean, has been absent from all email communication with us, though he has been copied on much of this communication. Your other co-steward, Ash, first offered us a meeting, which I accepted. When I accepted this offer again after Hamnah sent in our demands, Ash retracted the offer of a meeting. Again, this does not inspire confidence that con leadership are acting in good faith. How are we to believe that you will make good on any of these offers when your own leaders exhibit tepid commitment to this process?

The con is welcome to send us any updates via email. Of course, we first and foremost welcome an affirmative answer to our demands, but we also welcome more frank communication about what the roadblocks are to meeting said demands, what your internal roadmap is, and more. And, if you wish to offer good faith in more concrete terms, it will be gladly accepted in the form of: Ash, Sean, Nathan, and any other pertinent representatives from the Community Coordinators meeting with Hamnah and myself to discuss clearly and directly the actions you plan to take to meet our demands. I will host the meeting in my personal Zoom room and will record it for posterity and my own access needs.

Once again, I urge the con to act in accordance with your own stated values and accept our demands. I truly believe that it is in the con’s best interests to affirmatively respond to our demands before Hamnah and I make our experiences public on Monday, because I imagine that much attention will become focused on Big Bad Con once we have spoken publicly about this.

Sincerely,

Esther

Friday, September 20 [from Kristine to Esther and Hamnah]:

Hi Hamnah and Esther,

We are reaching out to elaborate on our public updates. We want to start by addressing your three demands:

• 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.
• Allow all events to include anti-Zionist language in their programming, including event descriptions.
• 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.

To the first demand (making a public statement) we are sharing a draft of our statement before releasing it publicly. We ask that you do not share this statement until we make it public: Big Bad Con Anti-Genocide Statement [LINK REDACTED]

Regarding the second demand (allowing events to include anti-Zionist language) we started that work by drafting an event approval policy for reviewing and approving future event submissions. The terms “anti-Zionist” and “from the river to the sea” will not be permitted on our website for the following reasons:

• We have staff, volunteers, attendees, and scholarship recipients who live in countries that can and will deny them access to visa to travel, and potentially endanger their jobs and livelihood if their name appears on a site that uses this language.
• From our research and speaking with consultants we believe that both phrases have a plurality of meanings. While we agree with some interpretations of the phrases, we want to be clear on our stance and the actions we believe should be taken, which will be included in our forthcoming public statement.

We have offered [the panel organizer] the option to restore the panel to the original format. This original format included a link in the panel description to an externally hosted document for the values statement that included the terms “anti-Zionist” and “from the river to the sea”

Regarding the third demand (committing to consult) we’ve worked with multiple consultants to help us draft the current policy and statement. We focused on working with scholars, activists, and thought leaders who have helped other organizations grapple with their presence and actions on the world stage. So far we have met with Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim consultants (listed in our Discord updates) as well as Jewish consultants who do not identify as either Zionist or anti-Zionist, and are still working to meet with Jewish consultants that identify as anti-Zionist as well.

Our work is not finished. After addressing these demands we still have work to do to align our values with our actions. We understand that the policies and decisions we’ve made are imperfect as we’ll continue to revise them as we do this work. We will continue to meet with consultants in the future. We commit as we prepare for Big Bad Con 2025 and beyond to listening to our own community members specifically Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and anti-Zionist Jews, but other demographics as well.

We plan to release our public statement on Tuesday September 24, providing you a window of time to share your feedback with us before then.

We are open to receiving your feedback via email or via a call on Monday. We’re available for a 60-90 minute meeting on 9/23 between 10AM and 5PM Pacific.

If you wish to meet in a call, we are prepared to talk about these agenda items:

• Your feedback on the public statement
• How to make the convention safer for Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and anti-Zionist Jews

If you have additional agenda points that you would like to cover, please send them over no later than one hour before the scheduled call. If you want to discuss the Jews in TTRPGs panel specifically, we will only do so if [the panel organizer] is also included in the call. We will extend an invitation to [the panel organizer] to join the call if you indicate in your agenda items that you want to discuss the panel text in particular. To maintain focus and respect for time constraints, we will only discuss topics on our agreed upon agenda.

We have met with a Palestinian mediator Muna Al-Sheikh (https://www.mpvusa.org/spiritual-counseling) who has offered to mediate during the meeting and is available most of the day on Monday. If you would like Muna to be present, please let us know as soon as possible so we can coordinate with her.

We consent to having the call recorded for accessibility reasons, but we ask that the recording not be shared.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Ash, Kristine, Andi, Nathan, Tomer, and Sean

Big Bad Con Community Coordinators

Saturday, September 21 [from Hamnah to Kristine and Sean]:

Hullo, folks!

Esther is offline for religious observance until Saturday evening (Pacific Time) and will not be able to read any correspondence until tomorrow. We will respond to this message once zhe is back. This does, unfortunately, mean that we won't be able to meet on Monday, as we won't have had enough time to formulate thoughts. Consequently, we will not be able to provide thoughtful feedback on Big Bad Con's statement prior to the planned release date. However, if the staff is still open to meeting with us afterwards, we can include dates and times that we are collectively available in our next response. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)

Saturday, September 21 [from Kristine to Esther and Hamnah]:

Hello Hamnah and Esther!

We understand Monday is too soon of a turnaround time with Esther's religious observance. After you have had time to formulate your collective thoughts, please send along the dates/times for your availability. Sean and I have been keeping our calendars as free as possible to accommodate a meeting. Sean and I are both in the [REDACTED] time zone, [CITY] and [CITY] respectively.

Thanks!

Sunday, September 22 [from Hamnah to Kristine and Sean]:

Hullo, Big Bad Community Coordinators! I apologize again for the length of this email. I have attempted to speak as succinctly as possible.

Esther and I have reviewed your updates and we must express our disappointment in Big Bad Con’s leadership. Up until now, I have allowed Esther, the white boycott organizer, to speak for us when it became clear that Big Bad’s majority-white leadership is unequipped to handle matters of race. However, I am speaking up now because the way in which the convention’s leadership has continued to drop the ball on this issue is worse than I had anticipated. Though some on Big Bad’s staff might not agree, Esther and I have both been patient and measured in our communications with you. I will now speak directly, without softening my words for the sake of being palatable to a white audience. I ask you to read the content of my words and to sit with any knee-jerk defensiveness that you might feel as a result.

First, I will remind you that the inciting incident that sparked communications was Big Bad’s censorship of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian language. Doubling down on this censorship demonstrates that you have not addressed the core issue whatsoever. This is about more than just [the panel organizer]’s panel, especially considering that at least one other instance of such censorship has come to light since then. The convention has not only censored “anti-Zionist” and “from the river to the sea”, but also the phrase “Palestine will be free”. Boycott organizers and signatories, especially people of colour (PoC; many of whom are part of the affected groups), have already spent almost two months educating Big Bad’s staff about why this is an issue. Choosing now to double down on such censorship ignores these community efforts and shows that Big Bad’s majority-white leadership is not prepared to adequately respond to issues of racism.

It is inappropriate for a majority-white leadership to ignore PoC telling you that censorship of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian language not only does not keep us safe, but also puts us in greater danger. To hide behind the safety of international convention attendees as an excuse to engage in such censorship is insulting when many of the boycott signatories are the very people you are claiming to protect. Several of the signatories have identified themselves as members of the Global South and have spoken up about how this does not protect them. Claiming that safety concerns remain the issue is even more insulting when one of Big Bad Con’s Co-Stewards has been missing entirely from this conversation, all while faer friends threaten [SCREENSHOT] Esther and I with physical violence for daring to speak up. Big Bad’s leadership has yet to publicly address this and other, similar sentiments online despite us asking our signatories twice, once via email and once on social media, not to harass you.

Furthermore, claiming that “anti-Zionist” and “from the river to the sea” have a “plurality of meanings” is a Zionist capitulation, whether it is intended as such or not. Anti-Zionism is not anti-semitic and neither is the phrase “from the river to the sea”. Any claims to being both pro-Palestine/anti-genocide and a Zionist are inherent contradictions. I have spoken about this briefly, though other, better resources exist that engage in the same analysis.

To be clear, we are not criticizing your intentions, but rather the impact of your actions. We believe that you are operating with good intentions and with a desire to be good allies. We have engaged in good faith, assuming that this is a conflict of education, not values. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that this is an issue of values. Ally is something you do, not something you are. Right now, I and many other PoC are telling you that Big Bad is failing to engage in good allyship and that the impact of your actions makes you complicit in anti-Palestinian racism. I implore you to sit with that truth and to educate yourselves on what it means to “do some real ally shit.”

The fact that we still have to explain, two months later, why a majority-white leadership hiding behind “safety concerns” is not a cogent reason for censoring calls to resistance to colonization is disappointing to say the least. It is dishonest for Big Bad to put out a pro-Palestine statement while also engaging in such censorship. If a statement is released without also meeting our second demand, it will ring hollow and mean nothing. You cannot simply say that you are pro-Palestine. Your actions must align with those words as well. At this stage, if this is Big Bad’s final decision on the issue of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian language, then Esther and I feel that we are at an impasse. We appreciate your flexibility in scheduling a meeting and are still open to meeting with Big Bad’s staff, but only if such censorship is retracted first. It is a waste of everyone’s time and energy for us to provide our thoughts (both positive and critiques) regarding your statement and consultations if this issue is not resolved first.

We urge Big Bad’s leadership to stop engaging in white paternalism and actively listen to the people you are claiming to protect. As of this email, there are 636 signatories to the boycott, 39% (248) of whom were slated to attend Big Bad Con this year. The rest are folks who attended the convention previously and/or hope to attend in the future. There are an additional 115 signatories within the TTRPG space unaffiliated with the convention. That is a significant portion of not only your community, but also the broader TTRPG space that you are alienating by continuously refusing to take a firm anti-Zionist stance. If you truly believe that your values are aligned with decolonization, then you must act on those values, even when you are uncomfortable doing so. However, if your values do not truly align with decolonization, then we ask that you be honest and direct about that, so your community can act accordingly.

In the interest of transparency with those invested in Big Bad’s response, we will be sharing these communications publicly (without the convention’s statement draft, as requested). There is still a week for you to change course. We hope that you will hear the community in earnest during that time and do what’s right.

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)

Monday, September 23 [from Kristine to Esther and Hamnah]:

Dear Hamnah and Esther,

We have received your reply and will be meeting to discuss our next steps. We will reach out with those as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Kristine

Wednesday, September 25 [from Sean to Esther and Hamnah]:

Hi Hamnah and Esther,

We've been talking to [the panel organizer] with regard to the panel, and shared our plan to continue working on addressing the boycott demands, so we wanted to share those plans with you as well. [The panel organizer] asked if we could send an update by Saturday so you would have time to review our response before the 10/1 deadline, which we're glad to do.

Up till now we've been communicating with you separately from [the panel organizer]. Is it okay with you if we contact all three of you together in the future? We're asking [the panel organizer] the same question.

Sean

Wednesday, September 25 [from Esther to Sean]:

Hello Sean,

Thank you for this update! We are happy to receive group emails about the panel, general status updates, and related questions, but we do want to emphasize that [the panel organizer] is not a boycott organizer and if there are demand-specific communications, we’d ask that those remain directed to me and Hamnah so as not to burden [the panel organizer] with a responsibility we haven’t asked [the panel organizer] to take on.

Please feel welcome to reach out ahead of Saturday if there are questions you have for us or drafts you would like to share, etc. It is truly our hope that we can arrive at a resolution by the deadline!

Esther (she/zhe)

Friday, September 27 [from Sean to Esther and Hamnah]:

Hi Hamnah and Esther,

We acknowledge that our previous attempt to address the demands was insufficient. We took your response seriously and we have been working with staff over the last week to seek further consensus. We revised our response to your demands to meet them more fully.

To update our responses to the demands:

• 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.

Our updated public statement identifies Big Bad Con as an anti-Zionist space. We express our firm support for the decolonization of Palestine. https://www.bigbadcon.com/blog/our-stance-in-support-of-palestinians/

• Allow all events to include anti-Zionist language in their programming, including event descriptions.

We have reached out to the panel host offering to update the panel description with the terms ‘anti-Zionist’ and ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ restored. We have offered to include the full anti-Zionist values statement in the body of the panel description on our site or to return the panel description to its full original format with the values statement linked.  

We have also reached out to the scholarship recipient whose bio we altered and we have offered to restore it in full.

• 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.

We fully commit to continue the work we have begun, consulting with Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and anti-Zionist Jews in the TTRPG community for further input on how our support can improve.

We acknowledge that the deadline of October 1st is right around the corner and so we respectfully submit the public statement along with this message as our official response to the boycott demands.

Sincerely,

Ash, Tomer, Andi, Nathan, Kristine, and Sean

Big Bad Con Community Coordinators

Saturday, September 28 [from Esther to Sean]:

Hello Sean,

Thank you so much for this update. Hamnah and I deeply appreciate the staff revisiting both our demands and your statement and reaching a new consensus.

The con’s statement and willingness to allow use of the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “anti-Zionist” (and similar phrases) in panel descriptions and bios meet both our first and second demands. You have also demonstrated willingness to meet our third demand. At this time, we do not think the boycott needs to move forward and we will apprise our signatories of our decision to accept the con’s commitments in good faith.

Hamnah and I do have a few thoughts to offer regarding the con’s statement and the conditions of the con meeting our second demand. You are of course not obligated to integrate or implement these suggestions, but we hope you will consider doing so.

Re: Demand 2: it’s currently a little unclear whether the con’s new Event Approval Policy might be used in the future to limit uses of “from the river to the sea,” “anti-Zionist,” and “Free Palestine,” or other phrases (“Black Lives Matter” “No TERFS allowed,” etc.). We strongly recommend that the con continue to refine this policy in order to avoid a repeat of the situation this year. We recommend the con do this in collaboration with marginalized people in your community, especially people of color.

With regards to the con’s statement: we very much appreciate your continued efforts to strengthen your vocal commitment to a free Palestine. We were very heartened to see you cite Jewish Voice for Peace as a source in the statement and hope the con will continue to learn from anti-Zionist organizations like JVP as this process moves forward. We are also very excited to see the con’s fundraising efforts with Crips for eSims for Gaza and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund!

We have a few thoughts on ways in which the statement could be further strengthened:

• “We believe in every person’s right to self-determination, autonomy, and liberty.”
  
  While we agree with the sentiment behind this sentence, “self-determination” is a term that Zionists often use to justify and excuse the colonization of Palestine. In this instance, we would suggest revising the sentence to “We believe in every person’s right to dignity, autonomy, and liberty.”
  
• “We believe in the decolonization of Palestine, which we define as full equal rights for all people who dwell on the land."

This sentence could call for decolonization in stronger terms – as it is, it reads like a two-state solution redefinition of decolonization. Decolonization means land back. Hamnah and I advise at minimum removing the second clause, and ideally, changing the clause to "which we define as sovereignty over the lands returned to Palestinians."

• "We do not condone calls for violence or expulsion of anyone in the region."

This sentence comes across as condemning resistance to oppression that must sometimes necessarily manifest in violence. There are a plurality of approaches to liberation among Palestinian communities, and it’s not for us as non-Palestinians to define the terms and methods of their liberation for them. In other words, it’s not our place to tell Palestinians what steps to take to decolonize their lands. Historically, across the world, social progress has been made in part due to violent arms of  various resistance movements. We would, at the very least, remove this sentence. Ideally, we would change the sentence to "We believe all resistance to oppression is valid and justified."

• "We call for an end of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza"

This sentence invalidates Israel's occupation of Palestine as a whole. The lands we now call "Israel" are part of occupied Palestine. Thus, when we call for the decolonization of Palestine, we mean all of those lands. Hamnah and I would change this sentence to "We call for an end of Israel's occupation of Palestine". This is especially pertinent because the statement cites Jewish Voice for Peace in its opposition to Zionism. It is important to note that JVP actively does not support a two-state solution and does not support Israel as a state. It is inconsistent to cite JVP while using language that suggests anything less than full Palestinian sovereignty over their own lands.

• “Context matters, and we presume the good faith of activists using these phrases. However, the use of these or any other phrase as a call for violence will not be tolerated in the convention space.”

We urge the con to continue to develop more precise understandings of how you will determine when these phrases are deployed as “calls for violence.” At the very least, there should be some assurance for folks who do choose to use these and other liberation-minded phrases that, for instance, they will not be expelled from the con due to another attendee taking offense to the phrases and reporting them as a “call for violence.”

Additionally, Hamnah and I urge the con to continue to reconsider and refine your plans for the safety of your attendees, particularly attendees who signed on to the call for a boycott. The past few weeks have revealed that, as we feared, the con was not prepared to keep marginalized people, especially people of color, safer in con spaces. We are concerned that this will continue to be the case in-person at the con. Hamnah and I will continue to encourage all boycott signatories and other concerned parties in the strongest possible terms to refrain from harassing con staff or attendees who disagree with our position. We ask that the con request the same of your vocal supporters, some of whom have threatened or harassed us and other boycott signatories. We further urge the con to put resources and energy into developing effective, robust anti-carceral safety policies and community defense plans that will ensure all attendees, and particularly people of color, are safer in your spaces.

Hamnah will be sending a follow-up email shortly; I co-sign all of the points they make in that email. There are a few more sentiments I would like to share with con leadership regarding our experiences over the last two months. And: I feel that we could all use a bit of space from this, I realize this has been very exhausting for you all (and us), and I know y’all have a lot of work to complete before the end of October. I would like to take the month to continue reflecting on what I hope to share and will reach back out sometime in early November with further thoughts.

Thank you very much for your continued efforts. Although we realize this has been a challenging process for con staff as individuals and for the con as an organization, it has never been our desire to inflict suffering or judgment on individual staff members. Rather, we have acted out of a desire to see Big Bad Con as an organization live into its own values and truly embody the spirit of inclusiveness and liberatory potential that has made the con a destination for so many marginalized people. Contrary to some reports on social media, it has never been our intention to “see the end of Big Bad Con.” Rather, we hope that the con can emerge from this ongoing process as a stronger, more thoughtful organization that is even more committed to centering the leadership of people of color.

Sincerely,

Esther (she/zhe)

Saturday, September 28 [from Hamnah to Sean]:

Hullo, Sean!

I co-sign everything Esther has shared. I am appreciative of Big Bad meeting the boycott’s demands. I believe that the staff is making a genuine attempt to do better and I hope you will consider making the changes we have suggested to bring the convention’s position on Palestine to a stronger place.

In the spirit of open communication, I would also like to share additional, pertinent sentiments with you for consideration moving forward. You are, of course, not obligated to take the advice I am about to offer, but I hope that you will receive it with the intent that it is shared, namely in the interest of seeing Big Bad truly live into its stated values and mission.

While Big Bad has taken a positive step in meeting the boycott’s demands, the events that have transpired over the past two months have revealed a glaring gap in the convention’s leadership and perspective. I hope that you will treat this as the beginning of the convention’s work, not the end. In particular, the staff’s actions or lack thereof (via our email communications, within the Discord server, and on social media) have demonstrated that the majority-white leadership of Big Bad is ill-equipped to handle matters of race. This limitation in perspective has resulted in a knee-jerk defensiveness and refusal to hear your community expressing concern over actions that directly impact us without significant and repeated public pressure. This extends beyond the convention’s stance on Palestine and into other issues of safety and security, as was revealed over Discord. Big Bad’s limited perspective has disproportionately affected its community members of colour and will continue to do so if significant action is not taken over the next year.

Unfortunately, even though Big Bad has met the boycott’s demands, many people within the TTRPG space are no longer comfortable supporting or attending the convention due to the staff’s actions over the past two months. We wish to see Big Bad truly become a progressive space, to take feedback from its community members seriously upon receipt, and to earn back the trust that has been lost. I offer now my personal thoughts on what the convention can do moving forward to begin that work, though I encourage you to solicit feedback from your broader community as well.

Firstly, I believe it important for Big Bad to issue a public apology to its community members, especially racialized ones, for the harm that staff’s actions have caused. Moving forward with humility, rather than with ego, will be important in demonstrating that the convention understands what its gaps are and is taking seriously the work needed to fill them. Secondly, I think it pertinent to reconsider Big Bad’s leadership team. It is worth considering bringing on more people of colour (PoC) to the team, especially in leadership and decision-making positions, to prevent such events from occurring moving forward. Lastly, I believe it crucial for Big Bad to revisit and refine all of its policies. As they stand, the policies do not keep people safe and can easily be weaponized in service of white supremacy (e.g., definitions of danger and what it means to keep people safe). As part of this work, creating an anti-carceral security response protocol will be important for protecting PoC in your spaces, both online and offline.

These are just some of my ideas on what I believe will help Big Bad prove that it is committed to doing the long, hard work required to steward a space that truly centers and uplifts PoC. I hope that you will take these words to heart as you prepare for next year’s convention.

Sincerely,

Hamnah Shahid (any/all)