This little fact surprised me.
Gen Con is currently Indianapolis Convention Center’s largest annual convention, bringing the city tens of millions of dollars in revenue. It was originally held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in the late 1960s and organized by none other than Gary Gygax, the father of modern role-playing games. Since then the event has morphed into a four-day event combining tabletop miniatures, board games, video games and live-action role-playing games. It regularly creates in excess of $50 million in revenue for the city of Indianapolis.
Impressive. D&D nerds have clout nowadays.
Which is why it’s really good to see the organizers of GenCon rising to the occasion and insisting that they will pull the convention from Indianapolis if they insist on executing a controversial bill that would allow discrimination in the name of religion. Back in the late 70s when I played D&D, we were just a bunch of despised weirdos — but now we’re all growed up and have some economic muscle.
It looks like discrimination is going to be the law of the land in the primitive, backward state of Indiana, so maybe GenCon will be looking for a new home. I wonder if the Minneapolis Convention Center has the capacity? I wouldn’t mind having it right here in my back yard, especially since it would be full of diverse and open-minded nerds, my people.
Sadly, GenCon is contracted to their current location through 2020, and (while I haven’t read the contract) there doesn’t seem to be an escape clause to get either party out of the contract early.
Then again, they could claim that it would violate their religious beliefs to support a state that has legalized bigotry, perhaps that would exempt them from any punishments for violation of contract…
@#1
Big contracts like these are usually settled years in advance, so I suspect the convention center is hoping to get this contract renewed fairly soon. Even if Gen Con is locked in for the next 5 years, there still would be a gaping hole in the center’s future budget plans.
Argh! So many Ads! Good God, but the Indy Star website is slow as all hell.
I thought the Supreme Court had basically said “no” to laws like this? Also, wouldn’t protecting LGB people from discrimination count as a “compelling interest”?
It doesn’t surprise me the least. I know the kind of money I spent at Cons. Con, hotel, food.
I mean, I just went to an academic congress and when we had a little time off we did some touristing. As did everybody else. Wherever you went you saw the congress badges and heard Spanish.
I’d love to see GenCon move somewhere with cheaper hotels. I used to go there every year, but several years ago I had to stop when I went back to school: I couldn’t afford the cost anymore (and now that I’m back out of school it’ll be a little while before I can get the time off work to attend).
@5: When/if Gencon leaves, the hotels will become cheaper. It’s not a matter of the hotel pricing, they raise their prices as high as the market will bear.
I promise you, hotel room prices will raise comparably no matter where GenCon went. It could go to Fairbanks and the room prices would skyrocket as a result.
GenCon, please don’t go to Fairbanks. It’s cold there.
I used to go to Gen Con back when it was a local Milwaukee convention (Ah! Those were the days!) when I could just hop into my car, spend the day gaming, and be in my own bed at day’s end. When it moved to Indy, it no longer was an event I, and most of my other underemployed gamer fiends, could justify spending money on. However, a few smaller local conventions have filled in the void nicely. In fact, I’m going to one this weekend! (i.e. Gary Con in Lake Geneva).
In the meantime, I guess we get to find out which is more important to Indianapolis’ business community: the chance at losing $50 million or a state government that pander’s to the Bible-humpers.
(On the other hand it could go pear shaped. The Chick-Fil-A debacle showed us that there are millions of bigoted rednecks out there willing to patronize an openly bigoted business in response to a boycott.)
As native Hoosier I’m not surprised by that law. That kind of attitude was a big part of why I emigrated to another part of the country. I haven’t played D&D since the late 70’s myself but it’s nice to see nerds standing up for the equality of all potential attendees.
I wonder if contracts can be broken if the host state can no longer insure equality for all of the attending conventioneers?
it is beginning to look that as religion is not compatible with reason it is also not compatible with the US Constitution specifically those in this instance equality of all people. The arrogance of the ignorant and small minded is just amazing. Compounding that is the unequal implementation of the legal decision to equate corporations as people.
In thinking about the results of such a law on services it might be good to remember of the effects of “The Market” may have on the effects of discrimination.
Business exists to make money there is little profit to be gained by reducing your costumer base by eliminating some arbitrary segment by discrimination.
Those businesses that decide not to discriminate may find themselves with more profit.
I’m reminded of a story I heard about a border town that was having a large and vocal protest about the number of Mexicans in town and most of the retail businesses were refusing to take Mexican Pesos except for pizza shop that advertised in the window they accepted pesos his business had increased since the boycott of pesos had started.
money is money after all.
uncle frogy
@1:
Or, they could claim that the law makes it illegal for their convention to be in that state, so “bye-bye”.
That could make it incontestable to break the contract and move to a different state.
.
re such a law:
It cheered me recently that a similar law, elsewhere, the Senator opposed to it, instead of futily voting against it, proposed an amendment that would require all businesses religiously oppesed to LGBT customers, post a sign, saying “LGBT customers forbidden”. Strategy is getting a vile law to turn on itself, instead of fighting it directly.
Gotta put it out there though, I hate it when pejoratives like nerd, geek, etc. are freely used to describe people who are into fantasy, sci-fi, computers and the like. Some may think those terms have been reclaimed, but others remember when they were strictly insults and don’t particularly enjoy the association.
George Takei: Indiana Anti-Gay Bill Will Cause Gamer Mass Exodus
Gencon covers gaming of many stripes these days, not just tabletop RPGS. Also, many long term contracts such as these include clauses that allow no-penalty cancellation if the local laws and regulations change in such a way as to make the event illegal or financially untenable. Not sure if that’s the case here.
Ugh! I just untangled myself from a firefight on FB. A certain game industry figure posted his support for GenCon letter. At first the posts were supportative, then the fundies libertarians appeared to shriek about how GenCon is trying to drive Christians from the tabletop hobby, how this bill actually ‘protects” minorities by allowing them not to cater to bigots if they so choose, and the usual rants about Christian persecution, free markets and the rights of business owners, and how “you have the right to be an asshole” if the market allows it.
Yes, they used the term “social justice” as a pejorative.
Related to this story:
Leaders of Disciples of Christ Church sent a letter to Governor Mike Pence, expressing their disapproval of the law:
Akira McKenzie:
There’s a shop at West End that states that they refuse to serve homophobic, racist, arseholses.
The most disgusting thing is that the Governor is going to sign the bill on Thursday morning in a “private ceremony”. I also heard a rumor that the governors phone number went down yesterday. He’s obviously getting some pushback so he’s hiding. What a coward!
This article from last March indicates that quite a few states have “protections” for people to use to discriminate. I notice Minnesota is one of them (based on judicial decisions) so you might want to check it out before you plan any big events.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/03/01/where-in-the-u-s-are-there-heightened-protections-for-religious-freedom/
While that’s true, the price still varies from city to city and Indianapolis is not a city with cheap hotels.
It’s also not a city with hotels that are extremely convenient to the convention, either: at best you’re looking at 2-3 blocks way. Contrast this with Origins in Columbus, which has a large number of hotels right across the street from the convention center.
I don’t know about GenCon’s contract, but the ones we have for DunDraCon permit us to cancel the following year at the end of the month in which the con is held (that is, the con is held over Presidents Day Weekend in February and we can cancel the following year up to the end of February with no penalties).
If GenCon doesn’t have a way out of future commitments, they’re either getting an awfully good deal from the convention center, or they need a new contracts person who can get proper contingencies written in.
As regards hotel room rates…if the con is promising the sale of a block of rooms as part of the con, they they would be negotiating the rate with at least the main hotel. Call the hotel or check their web site to find out their “normal” rates. If in the hotel, check the back of the door for the “rack rate” (the maximum they’re allowed to charge…which is usually *way* over their normal charges).
Or, perhaps they can use the convention center in either Madison or Milwaukee. Both, especially Madison, are closer than Minneapolis.
Very disappointing. It has been nice hearing many companies around Indy speaking against this law. The mayor also is against it. It is hard to hire the best people when they would have to move somewhere they are legally allowed to be discriminated against.
@drivenb4u, 11
While I understand your sentiment, I don’t think you’re going to win on this one. The terms have been so thoroughly embraced by the culture that “geek” and “nerd” are probably the most successfully reclaimed pejoratives in modern history (“gay” may have been more thoroughly reclaimed, but if so it’s a narrow lead)
I too remember the days where nerd was used by outsiders entirely to insult, but also (essentially to the beginning of my memory) I recall the nerds I associated with owning the term. I can’t remember when I started referring to myself as a nerd or a geek, but I certainly was owning the term by the time I was in my teens.
I’m still concerned by depictions of nerds in popular culture (stuff like Bing Bang Theory and King of the Nerds make my skin crawl), but in general acceptance of nerds has never been higher. There is still a ways to go, particularly due to the anti-intellectualism that still can be found in many areas of the country, but all in all we’re doing better than we were.
Ok, I think I’m getting off track. My point is that it’s nearly impossible to get people to stop using a term for themselves that they’ve embraced. I understand how you don’t like it, but it’s not going to change.
drivenb4u @ 11:
I’m sorry those words hurt you. Words do have power, and in the case of nerd and geek, they have been happily reclaimed by most. Myself, I’m a neek, and I wear that with pride.
Tami @19
You’re right about the phones…I read the governor turned off the phones. The ACLU then faxed 15k signatures on a petition to veto the bill…which he didn’t do of course.
Meanwhile several groups have threatened to pull out of Indiana including the Disciples of Christ. The NCAA, which has its headquarters in Indy, is “concerned” about the law…
“We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees.”
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/statement-indiana-religious-freedom-bill
I also read that similar bills are pending in other states! Dark days ahead…
Tami @19
You’re right about the phones…I read the governor turned off the phones. The ACLU then faxed 15k signatures on a petition to veto the bill…which he didn’t do of course.
Meanwhile several groups have threatened to pull their conferences/conventions out of Indiana including the Disciples of Christ. The mayor of Indy spoke out against it…the Indy visitors bureau did too. The NCAA, which has its headquarters in Indy, is “concerned” about the law…
“We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees.”
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/statement-indiana-religious-freedom-bill
I also read that similar bills are pending in other states! Dark days ahead…
Sorry for the double posting…internet has been on and off all day…thought it was hung, then I went ahead and added stuff…read the second one.
For anyone with a mind to (and with a Facebook account):
https://www.facebook.com/GovernorMikePence?fref=ts
I just left a comment on his page giving him a piece of my mind.
My girlfriend just got home upset. We moved to Indy for her job. A large marketing company with offices in New York, San Francisco and around the world and was considering building new downtown offices. They sponsored downtown events and zipcars and bike shares and a lot more I don’t know about. Instead they are no longer investing in Indiana. After a stressful day of wondering what that means, she found out her job is safe for now.
This is obvious retaliation for equal marriage.
I just watched the movie Love is Strange, with Alfred Molina and John Lithgow*. They are two elderly gentlemen who marry after being together for almost forty years, and because of this Molina’s character loses his teaching job. This causes a major financial hit, and they must sell their co-op and essentially stay with friends and relatives.
Molina’s character ends up on the couch of a pair of cops (who are also gay). The scene that made this article resonate with me is when Molina really wanted to go to sleep but the cop couple is hosting a Dungeons and Dragons session. It made me smile (and in the commentary the film maker, Ira Sachs, mentioned the idea came from Facebook postings of some of his gay friends about their D&D campaigns). By the way, almost thirty years ago I tried to go to sleep when dear hubby was hosting a D&D campaign, I actually came out in nightgown and robe, turned off the lights and told everyone to go home. (I played briefly in college, but stopped when it interfered with studying… one 20+ year old child still plays with friends every week)
It is a sweet movie, and everyone is so incredibly normal.
* I wondered at first why they were cast, but then I realized that it was because they are both in long marriages. I recognized the looks, the touching and even the conversations that occur in my marriage (which like PZ’s started in 1980). I swear I saw dear hubby’s face in Lithgow when he embraced Molina.