Allistair Pinsof trans FAQ

FAQ on Allistair Pinsof and trans*

I hope this clarifies the facts behind the events that took place on May 13. The harm to the trans* community, game community, journalists, and myself must end. In the very least, I wish the harm is based on facts.

Is it wrong to out the identity of a trans person?

Yes. It puts their safety at risk, physically and mentally.

Did you out a trans* person?

No. The truth was out for a month, but I gathered the information and confirmed. I took the information that was on Reddit, NeoGAF, and Indie Stone forum, and shared my conclusion on Twitter. This was the wrong thing to do.

See (1), (2), (3)

Do you regret your action?

Absolutely. It has done damage to the trans* community in a way I never imagined. My career is ruined and my life is in tatters, some may say rightfully so.

Why would you do this?

I know now how foolish my actions are, but I still have clarity on why I did what I did then.

This trans* individual held a charity for a false goal and false explanation. After a suicide attempt and a letter that didn’t explain the truth, I became worried at the harm that would be done to IndieGoGo, Twitch, and legitimate charities (some of which we ignored after her’s, in reaction). I saw death threats and calls for boycotts the next day (see here for one example: http://i.imgur.com/voFCYY9.jpg). I was aware of how my actions would affect the trans* individual, but thought it was in the greater good to protect honest charities to be harmed. This was an overreaction. If I knew how this would affect the trans* community-at-large, I’d have known what I was doing was wrong.

The action I took was due to a lack of information on the trans* community and emotions clouding my judgement.

How do you know her?

After confirming the truth behind her IGG project (that it was to fund an SRS surgery, as many comments in April already knew), I wanted to continue to help her and find the verbal and financial support that would let her have the surgery she wanted. I did this as an individual, not a journalist. There were no plans for a story by me, at any outlet. Though, I wanted her to come out on her own terms in a welcoming community.

Why would you lie and cover up for her?

I hid the truth from readers and others, as I made initial plans for her to come out with the truth and identity on her own terms. Since IGG backers were refunded, I thought it the greater good to help her.

Is it true that you prevented her from suicide on April 10?

Yes, along with the help of two other good-hearted people in the game journalist community. Though, I was never sure if her claims were serious since it was all through text -- this was someone who had lied about several other serious subjects hours before. After her broadcasted suicide attempt on May 13, I think it was real. The combination of this act and her revealing her mental illnesses, I knew I needed to walk away. I called her school, made sure she was in good hands, and walked away with no plans to tell the truth. But I did [see above].

Where is she now?

In a hospital, I’m told. I like to tell myself that her identity being only ever used online will make her safer, but that may not be the case. She complained about poor treatment at her last hospital visit, following the suicide I prevented. I hope this one is different.

Did Destructoid fire you?

Right now, I’m on temporarily leave. There are other guilty parties involved but I see no good in speaking further, now. At the end of the day, Destructoid is a business and my actions have hurt business. Staff remain kind people (just see how they handled this) and they know everything I’ve done I did because I thought I was helping people, the trans* individual and then IGG/charities. But my actions have hurt people, now. The trans* community is hurt and they want to hurt Destructoid and me, understandably.

My future?

Not sure. This has ruined my career as a game journalist. I hope the facts above help me somewhat in starting on a new path. People should know why I did what I did and the full truth, not some misinformation that I’ve seen -- coming from someone who refused to send support or link to the trans* individual’s new support group ran by the Gamers Against Bigotry.

Journalists will continue to paint me as an unethical bigot and trans* community will continue to hate me for my action. I’m afraid the truth above won’t suffice, since a bloodlust is already out there and I’ve been marked as a bad guy.

I’m a journalist who made a bad choice with good intentions. I wish I had someone stronger to lean on in my weaker moments, as I let her lean on me during her’s. Learn from this, journalists.

How do I make this better?

The only thing I can see having an immediate effect is me getting back in touch with her. If I publicly apologized to her for tweeting her identity and if she publicly apologized for putting IGG indirectly in harm’s way, I think real strong positive progress can be made in calming both sides of the community. I’m working on that.

How can you make this better?

Trans*: There will be lots of bigots that attack you, but not all of them are hopeless. Send them to some sites that will help them understand the trans* community better. I wish someone had done that to me, so I could have been less ignorant on how I discussed things at first.

Journalists: Study this as a case on why not to get emotionally involved in a subject. Have a news room that invites open discussion on ethical dilemmas. I expect Destructoid will make great strides in this, in reaction.

Haters: Stop saying it’s okay to out a trans* because of (blank). It’s not. Maybe in some bizarre reality where a time bomb in Time Square is going to go off it’d be okay, but outing someone because they conducted a scam a month before is not a good reason to out anyone. It is also not why I did what I did [see above].

Everyone: This was a power keg waiting to go off. Help clean the pieces instead of causing more damage.

Send support to the trans* individual at sam@gamersagainstbigotry.org Let her know that you’d donate to a charity for her SRS.