Popular modding site Nexus Mods has banned the user who removed the Pride flags in the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man, sparking an outcry that the site has actively disengaged from.
The original mod was called “Non-Newtonian New York,” and replaced the in-game Pride flags dotted around New York City with US flags.
As today’s announcement from Nexus Mods explains, “In regards to the replacement of Pride flags in this game, or any game, our policy is thus: we are for inclusivity, we are for diversity. If we think someone is uploading a mod on our site with the intent to deliberately be against inclusivity and/or diversity then we will take action against it.”
Expressing pride for your background or a characteristic you have is not a political statement. It’s only a political statement when you’re attempting to influence a decision to be made for or by a political party.
I wasn’t arguing that it’s removal was a political statement either. I simply stated that it’s not the same as advertising a politician in a game, because that is political statement.