Sega Hardlight, the U.K., based studio that worked on games like Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, wanted to virtue signal and showcase to their support for IDAHOBIT. No, it’s not an International House of Pancakes special breakfast for hobbits from The Lord of the Rings, it stands for: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia!
The tweet went out on May 17th, 2019, featuring Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow and Tails carrying the Pride flag. You can view the tweet below.
sonikku sez trans rights pic.twitter.com/GRgmYQxjIY
— LisWhoIs (@LisWhoIs) May 17, 2019
Given the fandom that orbits the Sonic property, I was afraid to look too much further through the comments because I’m sure there are tons of furry fetishists hovering around the Sega accounts like sweaty urethras looming over gaping rectums on an all-star gay porno set.
However, a couple of Twitter users did respond by mocking the tweet.
Cringe
— Swozzie (@swozzie) May 17, 2019
This is just a big joke right?
R I G H T ? !
— Staple Bite (@EternalHeather) May 17, 2019
But obviously, since it’s Twitter the majority of the users were praising and thanking Sega Hardlight for the tweet.
This isn’t the first time that Sega tried courting the LGBTQ community on social media, though. Back in April of 2019 the official Sega of Japan promoted the company’s initiative to raise awareness and support for LGBTQ.
LGBTの認知度の高まりに合わせ、職場環境の改善に動く企業として、セガサミーホールディングスが紹介されています。
” LGBT活用、企業動く：日本経済新聞 https://t.co/64jiwPAoNc ”
— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) April 2, 2019
Previous to that the official Sonic the Hedgehog account promoted some fanart back in 2015 featuring Sonic running across a rainbow with the hashtag #LoveWins.
It’s not an explicit endorsement of the LGBTQ community, but the rainbow walkway and the hashtag was enough to bring out the typical gay furries to show support for the tweet, which is par the course for all things Sonic-related.
Congrats, America. Today, we’re celebrating with a second Fan Art Friday, by SupremeSonrio. #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/aRY26obvkm
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) June 26, 2015
Of course, it’s still not quite possible to criticize or outright reject Sega’s pronouncement without getting dogpiled by the usual suspects. These kind of endorsements, especially in today’s environment, usually sees people who criticize these kinds of virtue signaling antics getting overwhelmed with people shouting them down with all sorts of names, such as “bigot” or “homophobe” or “transphobe”.
It’s a one-way street of thought, especially since it’s completely fine to criticize, condemn, and even outright call for violence against straight cis people. We’ve seen as much with certain hashtags that some people use. If the situation was reversed and a hashtag was made in the opposite direction with similar tweets like the ones in the link, there would be social media rioting.
Heck, back in 2017 Markus “Notch” Persson tried proving a point by jokingly rephrasing a tweet someone had made about shooting heterosexuals who were against Pride. And that triggered journalists and SJWs something fierce, so much so that in combination with other tweets Microsoft and Mojang uninvited him from the Minecraft 10th anniversary event even though he created the freaking game!
Notch would later delete the tweet, but not before a bunch of “game journalists” would drag the Minecraft creator through the mud with a variety of hit-pieces.
But this is all par the course in today’s climate where certain ideas and groups are allowed to be viciously attacked and castigated while other groups aren’t. Just the same, some ideas can be broadcast and celebrated while others can’t. For instance, anyone who isn’t down on their knees, eyes wide, and mouths open for Sega Hardlight’s latest tweet will feel the full wrath of the Twitterati. Believe it.
(Thanks for the news tips Animatic, Rala Cloft, Liksop and TheManWithPants)
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