CRIT Awards Nominations are OPEN! Unless You're Jewish or Support Israel's Right to Exist

There’s a huge gaming convention called Gen Con that occurs every year in Indianapolis. A mecca for gaming nerds, it’s also the home of gaming awards, among them the CRIT awards. ~ AR15.COM

This was in the “code of conduct” section for this year’s CRIT awards:

1.5. Individuals who identify as Zionists, promote Zionist material, or engage in activities that without a doubt support Zionism are not eligible for nomination.

https://www.critawards.org/criteria-and-code-of-conduct?_EqJ0t4TAmLn5_hqKoDoc8zXZJ6emXa8yS3xrl2KXOESl4J8M_aem_bu73mHqcWOIVIwIqyr8x_g

Tony Katz:

The WWE news is just fantastic. Pro wrestling returning to Indianapolis. WrestleMania. Royal Rumble. Summer Slam. That happening over the next eight years. This is the place to do it. This is the place to do it… And if you’re not a participant, if you’re not a viewer from wrestling’s not your thing, I could appreciate that. That’s not my thing. The money is my thing. The seeing economic growth is my thing and seeing people excited, absolutely fantastic and they are. This is good stuff, in a very, very good way. You build the city for these kinds of events. You want these kinds of events.

Source: WWE / Getty

Tony continues:

Thrilled to see it, happy to see it. It’s like Gen Con. Right. You might not be somebody who plays games the way the people at Gen. Con do, but I love that they come. But I have a question. For Gen Con. Because Gen Con has certainly enjoyed Indianapolis and understood the value of Indianapolis and there’s been questions as Indianapolis big enough to handle the growing convention and you know they utilized their leverage always made sense to me in Indianapolis has risen to the challenge and of course has been the conversation about more hotels and things like that. But then somebody sent me something about the crit awards. I’m like, I don’t know. I have no idea what the Crit awards are. At all I don’t know what the this this this is. Well, there are awards that are given. In the world of TTRPG, a tabletop role-playing games… There are these awards that this group I guess puts out to people who have created games and the Crit awards voting is open. You know, “we’re gonna hand out the awards at Gen Con and they write we at the CRIT, “the Crit awards want to be very clear in our stance and address an updated portion in our code of conduct for clarity. This is what they put out on social media. Individuals who identify as Zionists, promote Zionist material, or engage in activities that without a doubt support Zionism are not eligible for nomination. Wow, this, this is, this is the place you decide, Hey, you know, we, we, we like gamers and we like gaming and, and we like when people create games. But for clarity, no Jews. What do? What are they doing? Why? What is what’s wrong with you? Ohh, wait, we clearly know what’s wrong with you.

Tony continues:

But then they put out another post: “Due to recent events and the attention that we have received. It is with an extremely heavy heart and much disappointment that the Crit Awards will be unable to return to Gen Con for its 2024 event due to safety concerns.” Would you shut it? Safety concerns? You announce no dirty Jews welcome and then people go what the hell is wrong with you and you’re like ohh “our safety is threatened.” What nonsense. What nonsense is this?

Tony continues:

Now I have a question. For Gen Con, because I don’t blame Gen Con for this cause I don’t think that that’s how they’re connected. So, that’s first. I’d like to get an understanding from Gen Con about how these things are connected. I will ask the question how in the world could Gen Con allow a group like this to be associated with them? You would never allow a group that said this about gay people. or black people. You would never allow it. You had questions about Indiana regarding abortion. You would never, ever, ever allow this in any other context.

Photo of attractive funny guy wear plaid shirt asking you call him emtpy space isolated pink color background

Source: Deagreez / Getty

What is the plan here? And I do believe that some. Definitions. Some explanation is necessary. And so much so that if Gen Con believes it could be silent over this, I wonder whether we should have an open hand and open arms for Gen Con. I understand what they bring to the city. I understand how much it matters. But some things matter more, don’t they? I’m told that Indiana welcomes all that. Indy welcomes all. Isn’t that the expression that Mayor Hogsett uses? Indy welcomes all? This doesn’t seem very welcoming. So, it’s it really is up to Gen Con to answer the question, what’s going on here? What is this? And are these people associated with you on the regular and would you allow them to continue to be associated with you? If they’re not willing to answer that, I wonder if we should be welcoming Gen Con to Indianapolis? The city would not do it if they, if this was a conversation about gay people or trans people or black people or women. No, no, the city, county Councilor, Ali Brown and, and, and the rest of them, they’d be up in arms. They’d be outraged. So let’s start with not getting angry with anybody. But getting some understanding and I’d like to hear from Gen Con.

AUTO: MAY 25 IndyCar Series - 103rd Indianapolis 500

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

Tony concludes:

Do they (Gen Con) plan on working with this organization in the future? I think questions need to be answered. And a step further if I may. How come the mayor’s office didn’t ask for clarification here? Maybe they didn’t know about it. It’s possible I only found out about this yesterday, but now they know about it because I was told by Joe Hogsett himself that he listens to this show. He doesn’t come on the show, but he listens. You have a major convention, maybe the major convention associated with a group that says no Jews. Maybe some clarification is necessary. And if they’re going to continue to work with this group, these people who do the CRIT awards C.I.R.T. Is this a convention we want? Is this Indy welcomes all? Because what they’re saying is not all are welcome. Answers are needed. And so, we will ask the mayor’s office what they have to say. Let’s see what they do, let’s see what they say. Let’s see if this city goes silent or actually says there are some things that we don’t do here. And if you’re going to associate with them? Maybe you need to be in Chicago or San Francisco.

Listen to the discussion in full here:

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