BUNGIE, Leading Video Game Developer, Censors (recently retired) Editor-in-Chief of Mainstream News Website. Why?

Please investigate the credible accusations against the SPLC before sending them money for a year.

I have thought this over carefully and at the risk of personal attack for speaking out, I am forced to do so.

My name is Wolff Bachner. I speak as the recently retired Editor in Chief of a mainstream news website, who has knowledge of the accusations against the SPLC for several years through sources and reporting. I will  be happy to send you my credentials to verify my identity if you wish. I have over 45 years as a working journalist, and in my opinion, the information available on the issues at the SPLC merits a review by Bungie before asking players to make donations. (I will gladly share my credentials privately with Bungie if they wish to reach out me.) 

I am not talking about the SPLC’s work as an organization monitoring what they have termed extremism, hate speech and hate groups.

I am addressing the credible allegations against the SPLC internal racist treatment of minority employees and the harassment of female employees that have been coming to light since the early 2000’s, including coverage by the NY Times and other mainstream news organizations.

Internal misconduct at the SPLC even led to the forced resignation of the founder of the SPLC, Morris Dees.

I will share links to several of the investigative articles on the subject. Hopefully Bungie will investigate and carefully reconsider their one year donation to the SPLC of money raised from contributions of Destiny players. Surely, there are better places to donate without the stigma attached to the SPLC.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/us/morris-dees-leaves-splc.html

https://www.alreporter.com/2019/03/15/splc-fires-founder-morris-dees-internal-emails-highlight-issues-with-harassment-discrimination/

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-reckoning-of-morris-dees-and-the-southern-poverty-law-center

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/years-of-turmoil-and-complaints-led-the-southern-poverty-law-center-to-fire-its-founder-morris-dees/2019/04/05/58717bfc-50fa-11e9-8d28-f5149e5a2fda_story.html

https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/109266/documents/HHRG-116-JU00-20190409-SD022.pdf

I recently posted a detailed comment about Bungie’s plan to send player donations to the SPLC for a year. I will post the original comment and all my sources at the bottom of this message.

You may not be aware of this, but there are many investigative articles from credible sources, including the NY Times, and the Washington Post, that uncovered serious internal misconduct at the SPLC that had nothing to do with their mission on hate groups. This involved racial bias against minority employees of the SPLC and harassment of female SPLC employees. This misconduct even led to the forced resignation of the founder of the SPLC, Morris Dees.

I hope you will reply to me. This is a serious issue and I hope you will make the effort to consider what I am writing and hear me out.