A few weeks ago, Limited Run Games fired their community manager, Kara Lynne. The reason? Six years ago, she Tweeted concern about trans-identified biological males exploiting their trans identities to use women’s bathrooms.
In early January 2023, a trans activist, Jonathan Blank, AKA Purple Tinker, discovered her Tweet and began Tweeting at Limited Run Games, calling for Kara Lynne to be fired. Within days, Limited Run Games fired her.
Shortly after firing her, they posted a Tweet stating, “LRG respects all personal opinions, however, we remain committed to supporting an inclusive culture. Upon investigating a situation, an employee was terminated. Our goal as a company is to continue to foster a positive and safe environment for everyone.”
Firing an employee for expressing one personal opinion six years ago hardly inculcates an “inclusive culture” or a “positive and safe environment for everyone.”
Over the past several years, the video game industry has faced accusations of fomenting an unwelcoming culture for women. To be sure, we can’t assume that all video game companies treat women unfairly. But, firing a woman for expressing concern about biological men using a women’s restroom does little to change the industry’s reputation.
Fortunately, Kara Lynne seems to be landing on her feet. In a recent interview, she said that the ratio of positive to negative Twitter attacks was “90 to 10,” and there are “hundreds of DMs for support and maybe 50 attacks” in her private messages.
Also, the New Tolerance Campaign, an organization that holds institutions accountable when they engage in phony tolerance, launched a campaign on her behalf that has received hundreds of signatures in just a few short days.
Limited Run Games firing Kara Lynne for expressing one opinion six years ago is an example of cancel culture and woke social justice run amok. But hopefully, the support she has received from a diverse group of YouTubers, Twitter followers, and media is a harbinger of good things for thought diversity and free expression.