Originally published at: New Pet – Urkoala – Gems of War
New Pet: Urskoala To celebrate Australia Day, a new pet has been released, Urskoala. You can get your Urskoala from the daily Pet Rescue for the next 24hrs. Urskoala will only be available from Special Pet Events.
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I love the pet, and I’m all for more Australian pets and troops in the game… But honestly, just “celebrating” Australia Day is a decision that could have had a bit more thought put into it, when it’s also a day that causes a lot of hurt to a lot of people. I wish you’d found a less divisive time and way to celebrate Australia in the game.
Gems of War may not be the place to wade into racial politics, nor will it ever make much of a difference on its own, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be considerate and empathetic and try to do the right thing by marginalised groups of people, even in this fun meaningless little pocket of the world. The fact is, including the Australia Day calendar and pet actually makes a political statement about the day, intended or not.
Salty has acknowledged recently that for many people, Gems of War is their “safe space”. I wonder if Indigenous Australian GoW players would feel that way at the moment, if they logged on to Gems of War today, and read this news post? They may be a small minority, but that’s not a good enough reason to be (unintentionally) exclusionary towards them. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to be a bit more sensitive about commercialising a day that, for some of the most disadvantaged and mistreated people in the country, is a day of mourning rather than celebration.
Some context for those overseas, who may not know why Australia Day is such a divisive topic:
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I have no feelings about Australia as a nation one way or the other.
I just gave a big sigh for ANOTHER cosmetic pet.
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You do realise you dont have to collect this pet. In fact I would suggest if your feelings are so strong about this issue you should boycott the game completely.
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How is this reply even remotely constructive, or even relevant?
Firstly, my post wasn’t about the pet, it was about the context of the pet - an Australia Day event, which many would view as insensitive in light of the fact that the day is also referred to as Invasion Day, i.e. a somber day of mourning. It’s not as if I’m somehow offended by the pet itself and don’t want it, I literally said the opposite straight off the bat. I just don’t think it’s necessary for Australia-themed content to be tied to this day, when society is increasingly recognising the ways in which it excludes the original inhabitants of Australia. People can and did make their own choices about whether to celebrate this week, and that is their right. I don’t begrudge anyone for enjoying themselves, and I’m not attacking anyone who likes Australia Day! But I think that, because the date currently in use is so politically and culturally charged, Australia Day does not belong in Gems of War.
Secondly, I was not attempting to stir up outrage or a boycott, I was trying to offer feedback and explain why I thought there was an issue. Nothing has any chance of changing if I don’t communicate why I think it should change. I have been nothing but civil, there is no reason to be snide and dismissive.
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So your feelings are not strong enough not to boycott the game, or not collect the pet. But they are strong enough to spout your politics on a game forum and not expect anyone to take issue. As for you saying you have been nothing but civil, that is just plain wrong. There are many people who are offended by the views you shared about Australia day, if they are offended YOU offended them not an ingame pet.
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Where have I not been civil? What have I said that was offensive to anyone? Everything I’ve said is either verifiably true, or simply a civilly-stated opinion that does not attack anybody. These are real and divisive issues, that is a fact.
The choice to include an Australia Day event was not intended to be a political statement, but it is political, as it reinforces the status quo on a highly contentious and sensitive subject. Pointing this out is not anti-Australian or anti-Australia Day. Many people believe that we can still celebrate Australia Day, but on a different date that has the support of Indigenous people. But this isn’t a place for that conversation, really, and I’d like to stay relatively on topic to GoW.
The simplest solution, as I have proposed, is for GoW to stay out of politics by not doing Australia Day events in the future. There are other ways and other times to release Australian-themed content that have zero controversy or politics associated with them, solving the problem. Nobody gets hurt. My desired outcome has nothing to do with the pet and nothing to do with boycotting the game so your insistence on these points is insulting and nonsensical.
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Looks nice
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I suggest we also get rid of pets for Christmas, New Year, St Patricks day, Easter, Lunar new year, Halloween and some others which might offend some people. And some of the troops which are stereotypes. Would that satisfy you?
You offended some people on this forum by posting a video which mirrors your views. It should have been deleted or not allowed. You should have thought about other peoples views. You didn’t.
How would you feel if someone here posted a video mocking your long held beliefs? Keep your politics out of our game. If you don’t like it don’t play it.
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This is… just not true? I didn’t post “a video which mirrors my views”. I posted a link to an educational page on the SBS website - the SBS is a government-funded public broadcaster in Australia. I didn’t even see a video on the page, so I’m not sure to what you’re referring here. I only intended it as a brief explainer of the issues to any non-Australians who might be curious about what I was talking about, it was never intended to push an agenda.
I have also not mocked anyone’s beliefs, nor did the educational resource I linked. I would appreciate not having false accusations made about me. And as to whether it’s possible to keep politics out of GoW - sorry to disappoint you, but pretty much everything is political. The inclusion of an Australia Day event inserted politics into GoW. I did not. I only responded to the politics that are now present. I have repeatedly said that I think the best approach is to not have any unnecessarily politics in Gems of War, and that is why I’ve given the feedback I have.
Finally, I’m not impressed by whoever is abusing the reporting system in an attempt to remove posts that they personally dislike. We can disagree with each other without someone attempting to forcibly silence me. I happened to do a search through the forum history, and there have previously been discussions about the appropriateness of events/sales around certain holidays. These were allowed by mods at the time. Having such a discussion again is not outside the scope of this forum and there is no reason to shut it down.
I have nothing else to say about this issue, especially while there is absolutely no civility on one side of it. I suggest waiting until tomorrow morning and letting Salty decide what behaviour is reasonable here.
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FYI I have not downvoted or reported your posts to shut down your views.
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I’ve been in Australia for nearly 30 years and have never heard any one call it anything other than Australia Day. I have a friend who is a Radio DJ on an Aboriginal radio station (Koori Radio) that has never called it anything other than Australia Day. The reality is that some people want to make an issue out of almost everything. Because it generates conflict and that is what they thrive on. And we, as in the general populace, get influenced by what is promoted through media and advertising. And the ‘News’ is a very effective marketing and advertising medium. That being said, hope you all had a great Australia day.
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I lived in Mississippi for 18 years and know people who never celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and instead state they are proudly celebrating Robert E. Lee’s birthday. They could also spend 30 minutes informing you about how the Civil War was not about slavery, but we were better off when it was an institution, and how every problem we have today can be traced to the idea that we should not be able to subjugate an entire race of people.
So what I’m saying is, “Anecdotal evidence and pointing to your One Ethnic Friend who doesn’t care” doesn’t really forward the discussion. People make issues out of shit because for decades and, in some cases, centuries, it’s been socially unacceptable to call out bullshit and the only way to stop bullshit is to call it out. Part of it being “socially unacceptable” is if you do call it out, the masses who don’t care much about anything so long as they have a paycheck will ridicule and mock you for giving a shit about something other than trying to get a job promotion.
So yeah, it’s a thing worth discussing, unlike your argument.
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I have no political feelings about Australia.
I generally find complaining about holidays that are decades or more old to be quite pointless. Even more so when it’s little more than a handwavy excuse for a token item in a lighthearted game.
I can not find anything offensive or hateful in Evelyns posts or anything else that makes it worth flagging. At a skim reading of the article it looks more informative with suggestions rather than a hard call for action. A bit political (and do suspect not contrary to Evelyns opinion), but nothing major.
I DO take issue with UKresistance’s post which I find unnecessarily aggressive and personal.
Can we now all get back to playing the game, commenting on the artwork and mechanics etc please?
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I agree, as I don’t feel this is exactly a koality conversation about the pet.
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So anyway - why is this post titled Urkoala if the pet name is Urskoala? 
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Because of a typo, I guess?
Because of well… oh… hmmm… urrr… KOALA!
Alternatively, this is the Ur-Koala!
Or: “No, you are koala!”
Given the catastrophic fires in Australia and the millions of animals that have been killed how appropriate to be rescuing a Koala on Australia Day.
An on line game forum is NOT the place for political views or statements of any type. Ever.
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UR - KO - ALA
Aka “you’re knocking out God”
- Anything can be offensive if an individual chooses to perceive it that way.
Instead of knocking out God I see Koala as super high little mini bear exclusive to Australia. Which makes me smile. We should remember history in hopes of never repeating a mistake. - History shouldn’t be used as a weapon to divide folks nor to make others feel bad during holidays. There’s more than enough non-holiday…days a year to put folks down during.
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