One of my first published pieces was an essay on diversity. Having that essay accepted in a contest sponsored by National Public Radio gave me confidence I could write something other people might want to read. After that, I started pushing myself to write articles that weren’t essays on my personal beliefs. Now I write a lot about tabletop gaming and review games, books, and movies. Over ten years ago, when I wrote that essay, I saw how our society was advancing and working toward giving equality to its members. I feel compelled now to revisit and reaffirm my thoughts and feelings on the topic.

I am a white male in his mid-fifties. I try to understand the benefits this has given me. I am proud of who I am and what I have accomplished. That is because I do not represent men. For years I have told people I am me, not men. I do not represent white either. I represent me. I do not claim to speak for any other person about my beliefs. They are mine. They are a standard I’ve given myself to live by and how I choose to treat others.

When I was young, I decided I wanted to be a citizen of the world. I created my own definition of what that means. A citizen of the world is a person who treats all people as equals. They are willing to accept cultural and ethnic differences. Religion is not used as a means of persecution, but as a means to uplift. These are the people who desire and work at making the world a better place for everyone to live.

I’ve applied myself to live by that standard to the best of my ability. Over the years, I have volunteered to help others. I’ve worked with refugees, people relocating from disasters, youth seeking mentoring, and other opportunities of mentoring, teaching, and sharing. This has allowed me to have friends from around the world, of different religions, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. This wide spectrum of friends has benefitted me in understanding the greater world we live in. My friends are members of different races and ethnicities. They practice different religions and have different beliefs. They are LGBTQ+ and they are cis. They are all people. I cherish all of these friendships and I have become a better person for them.

I was raised with the principle of human equality. I still believe all people should be given the same human rights and privileges.

In my writing and publishing I have worked to reflect this ethos and will continue to do so. I will not write or publish work supporting or advancing hatred or bigotry. In the past, I didn’t remove statements left by others on my social media accounts promoting hatred and bigotry. I will no longer do that.

I, as an individual and as Guild Master Gaming, believe in the value of diversity and equality for all people. To facilitate my beliefs, I will continue promoting work from all people except for the following. I will not write articles about works promoting hatred or bigotry. Comments left on areas of my control, that promote hatred, bigotry, injustice, the devaluation of humans, or have a call to action for people to do harm to others or themselves will be removed (be they serious or just “joking”).

Finally, I challenge every person reading this to look at what you are willing to do and what you are willing to support. I challenge you to reflect on your beliefs and see if you are living up to your standards. I challenge you to put hate and bigotry aside in support of others for the greater good of all people.