A Statement From the Hosts

The hosts of Blue Peg, Pink Peg stand in solidarity with the family of George Floyd and protestors everywhere who are expressing their anger and exhaustion with the system that allowed his murder to happen. We stand, too, with Ahmaud Arbery, and all persons of color who have lost their lives and freedoms to the mechanisms of structural racism that continue to infiltrate the United States and its institutions.

Why is a board game review podcast weighing in on such a fraught event? First, a man was unjustly murdered, and we believe it is the responsibility of all decent people to raise their voices against injustice. Second, the murders of Floyd and Arbery and so many others are not aberrations, but rather the symptoms of systems and attitudes reflective of a country that still bears the shame of slavery, Jim Crow, and unresolved racism. We are citizens of that country, and we believe the only way this infection will be cleaned is to speak with force, honesty, and clarity with as many voices as possible, from every part of society, and that every person or group with a platform on which to speak should. Third, we recognize that our hobby is not immune from many of the same tendencies, attitudes, and prejudices that empower systems of oppression. Just because they are writ small in a niche entertainment does not mean that people are not hurt. Small injustices are still injustices, and vicious machines are built upon the working together of many tiny cogs.

We at Blue Peg, Pink Peg say we are a podcast about board games, relationships, and the interactions between the two. What we have seen in Minneapolis, in Brunswick, Georgia, and in Central Park, New York City, is that for many people of color their relationships with their community, their neighbors, and with law enforcement are not safe ones. The hosts of Blue Peg, Pink Peg are lucky to be in positions of privilege – we are white, straight, abled, middle-class Americans, and as such our relationships are places of refuge, and the games we play are celebrations of that refuge. We have the privilege to assume that we will be welcomed at almost any game table and do not think twice about asking if there is room for one more player.

The men and women of color standing up to assert their humanity in the face of violence and injustice often do not feel welcome at these same tables.

We, like many of our listeners and others across the hobby, are struck with concern and fear over the unrest we are seeing in cities throughout America. But we know our fear at this particular moment in time is nothing compared to the persistent fear felt by millions of people of color every day. It is the least we can do to face this fear and stand in solidarity with those who have suffered and continue to suffer.

We ask for justice, for accountability for the murders of George Floyd and Ahmoud Arbery and so many others. We ask for fundamental change in the systems that allows such death to be commonplace. We condemn the political and law enforcement leaders who are facing this moment with cowardice, and who stoke the fires of rage and divisiveness. We ask that you do the same. #BlackLivesMatter