Captain of the Cutie Crew | Proud founding member of the @SeaofThieves Bilge Rats Stream Team and of @ThePrideBrigade AA | my views are mine | she/her/hers
Hi everyone
I've been travelling this last week so I have not been aware of what's been going on in the SoT community until last night. I wanted to be the best informed that I could before sharing a statement and I also wanted to be able to sit down and give this situation the time & attention it needs.
First and foremost, my heart was absolutely broken reading about this horrible situation. I fully stand with the victims (and I stand with any other victim that has not felt able to speak up). I also want to highlight the bravery it takes to even share your story with ONE person, let alone the entire internet. By doing so, that is the first step to making a change and protecting so many other children, and that is something to be incredibly proud of.
I do not wish to make this situation about me (and neither should anyone else), however as someone who spent many years working to support countless victims of CSA and grooming in the UK and advocating for survivors, I wanted to share a few things that I feel are important and relevant as I've been seeing some absolutely wild takes online surrounding this conversation.
It is NEVER the responsibility of a CHILD to protect themselves. We, as adults, have a duty of care and responsibility when interacting with children ESPECIALLY when we have a position of power. By carrying the title of "boatswain" or "SoT Partner" or even simply being a content creator, we already have a power imbalance and a lot of people do look up to us, including children. This is such an important responsibility to have and should NEVER be used to manipulate others. Whilst I definitely think parents should try their best to educate their children about online safety, I do not believe it's right to put any blame towards them. This is just blame shifting.
Sea of Thieves is a game that does have children in the playerbase and that is always something to consider. I've seen comments trying to defend this situation saying age doesn't matter within gaming. Do I ever come across kids when playing SoT? All the time! They are allowed to enjoy SoT/gaming just as much as I am. But I do not, or never would even consider inviting them to a voice chat, sail with them regularly, create a friendship with them or even have a private DM with them. ESPECIALLY if I know their age. That just crosses so many lines.
I also want to make it clear that I do not believe in silence when it comes to this matter. So often cases like this get swept under the rug or never reported in the first place. I am glad to see so many people speaking out, making statements & having these conversations no matter how difficult it is. People have a right to talk about this, to share their outrage and to condemn the actions of abusers. My content majority of the time focuses on good vibes & having fun, but I will never hesitate to speak out when needed and highlight the importance of this topic. I never take my platform for granted and I have always wished to use it for good, so I will continue to do this and fight for the changes that we want to see.
I know a lot of others have spoken in detail about the laws in the UK and how companies have to go through investigations "unbiased" and cannot comment online about ongoing cases (@BehavingBeardly worded this perfectly in his post). So, like a lot of other partners, I am watching and eager to see what happens and hopeful to see a change that is so desperately needed going forward. Right now, I do not plan to step down as SoT partner, as I said I would rather use my position to fight for change and use my platform to advocate for good. Going forward, I believe anyone who has any form of platform or association with Rare needs to be fully vetted and background checked.
Stop fighting each other or using this situation to promote your hatred towards other community members and instead direct your anger where it's needed and continue to spread awareness and keep each other safe. We are stronger together.
Lastly, I will be doing a charity stream at some point in the next few weeks to raise money for @barnardos which is a charity dedicated to supporting children and families affected by CSA & Grooming.
Buckle up, long post:
Ya'll know i try to always see all sides of a situation, however i really see only one side to this, and there is absolutely no wiggle room in how wrong it is.
First: I know a lot of people are afraid to talk about this- either because they're newly partner or want to be partner. This is a major problem. Being afraid to state an opinion for fear of being blacklisted by the community managers is in itself- A PROBLEM, and should be eye opening to anyone who is afraid of respectfully voicing an opinion on an open platform. I really hope Rare see's this an puts new guidelines in place. (I'm sure partners are told to not talk about certain things- especially when it comes to fueling drama (makes sense), but this is not simply drama.) And I- as someone whose application hasn't been closed or accepted yet, am going to talk about it.
At this point it is a legal issue, rare stated on discord that they are now doing an internal investigation, and they can't talk about it. (that I feel is valid) when dealing with something legal, you're really not suppose to show your side of things on the internet. As long as the investigation is happening, and rare is considering what the qualification process is for these esteemed roles- okay. Again- if anyone at rare reads this: It is NOT okay if any content creator feels uncomfortable voicing an opinion for speaking on an issue because of how to community managers tend to react/handle things. Especially in regard to something involving genuine concern for the CHILDREN in the community.
This community RARELY agrees on anything. I think we see today that we all agree that there is absolutely no space in this community for people who prey on or harm children, much less them being put influential place of power. As a mother I am disgusted that this person was promoted to boatswain after last years warnings from the community. (not to mention the hypocrisy in not only letting the pig picture slide, but banning people with funny harmless boat names for being slightly sexually themed.)
This is bigger than twitter drama- this is a horrible crime that not only deserves jailtime, but will effect the victims for years to come. My heart goes out to these children and I hope their parents are aware and getting them the resources they need.
Back in my early days in sot i was reached out to by a PI regarding my main duo and close friend. He told me/showed me my duo was preying on a fake decoy 16 year old in the game/discord. While i was shocked- that info was enough for me to block him and help the PI however i could. It took me awhile to recover from the fact that this close friend who knew so much about me was actually a predator. Freaked out, grossed out, and thankful the decoys were not really 16 year old girls. He was even using my name to put me down in order to gain these "girls" favor. Disgusting. Dead to me. (it's really that easy)
It could literally be anyone. I'm not going to assume that the team knew what bruno was doing (I would assume they didn't know), but red flags were raised last year- and for me that'd be enough to cut ties with someone. Because so many "shitters" are blacklisted, blocked, or ignored in the space- people trying to warn or call this person out went either disregarded, shoved aside, or ignored. Again- this is a problem. Get rid of Favoritism, get rid of blacklisting on opinions or emotions in a professional environment, and please require PR training.
If you are in your 30's you should know better than to entertain close relationships with kids- Innocent or not- Kids should not have close relationships with strangers on the internet twice their age. Period.
Parents: check your kids games and make sure comms are off. Trust your kids and don't overdue privacy- but maybe have more open conversations about discord and some monitoring of dms. Have conversations and warnings about grooming. This is dangerous and will effect them for the rest of their life.
If you wanted me to say something on what's gone on, here it is. We should shift our focus to helping the victims. It's not what we can't do, but what we can do that matters.
Following the unforgivable, we have a fundraiser to raise money for the Child Rescue Coalition
This charity helps rescue children from sexual abuse by building technology for law enforcement to track, arrest and prosecute child predators
Donate here: https://t.co/6xBc8TTGR6
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@WezzyCruze could not #BeMorePirate if he tried!! He was also an excellent co-caster for Capture the Flag and was the genius behind all of my hype videos. He gives so much to the SoT community and asks for nothing back… he embodies the sentiment “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
In the spirit of #BeMorePirate, I hosted "Hero For Hire 4". 12 hours, 12 different crews, all to help with commendations, bring enjoyment and laughs to the seas, and showcase the importance of community in the #SeaofThieves space, all done live on Twitch.
Blue Hat Heist video: https://t.co/T9SWMMzu2d
As part of a #BeMorePirate I worked with infamous pirates on the #SeaOfThieves to steal their funny blue hats.
This two month project was a blast to film, and thank you to everyone who helped pull it together!
#SlimeyHeist
If anyone deserves the funny blue hat, it’s @WezzyCruze. He exemplifies what it means to #BeMorePirate with his community event every Community Weekend, as well as all around being an excellent human and member of the SoT community. #Wezzy4BlueHat
I second this nomination wholeheartedly!! Wez is such a gift to the SoT community and deserves the recognition for his contributions every Community Weekend. He was also an excellent cohost during my Capture the Flag charity event!
HAPPY COMMUNITY WEEKEND!
I NOMINATE the following for the funny blue hat
@WezzyCruze - always willing to help on the seas from volunteering for charity events as well as his Hero 4 Hire helping pirates finish coms this community weekend.
Long overdue
#BeMorePirate
Ahoy Pirates!
Going to be taking part in this Amazing Event!
Thank you @Inside_Again For The Invite! And Lets have some fun Tomorrow!!!
Lets just see what i can get my Greedy Little Fingers on :)
#SeaOfThieves
#HeroForHire is coming (back) to #SeaOfThieves!
It's time to #BeMorePirate... again!
This is my fourth "Hero" event in @SeaOfThieves, and we had a blast last time. I can't wait to see who signs up this time!
12 hours - 12 different crews - 1 EPIC day! All done LIVE on Twitch!