to:	[email protected]
date:	Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 10:14 PM
subject:	RE: Good Game

Hey there Grumps,

You can call me Alex. Or Hulex. Whatever. I couldn't find any other e-mail addresses, so this is the best I could find.

I have some important thoughts to share on your new Youtube Red series: Good Game. First off, I've been a big fan of The Grumps for a long time. I was a fan of Arin's animations, and I've been following Grumps since before and after the days of Jon. I realize that not everyone is perfect. We all make mistakes here and there, but generally The Grumps have been, overall, really good about trying to do the right thing and own up when they mess up.

That being said: Good Game is really bad.

I don't just mean the writing. Because, yeah, the writing is bad. The show is overwritten, overproduced, and tries too hard. It doesn't feel organic. But that's not my primary complaint.

I made it about 15 minutes into the first episode. Some dude addresses a girl "sweetie", who retorts, sarcastically(?) "oh hey, you used my actual name!", to which the dude replies, "Oh, I'm sorry, are you triggered?"

Maybe you're not aware. The whole "triggered" thing has become a meme of sorts, people generally use it mistakenly to associate it with "angry" or "upset". They don't realize it comes from the concept of triggers for people who suffer from conditions such as PTSD, which is why "trigger warnings" are put on potentially triggering material. So, to joke about this, something that's easy to do, as it's low-hanging fruit is, for lack of a better term, super mega shitty.

This made me go full stop. Up until this point I was giving the show a chance. I wasn't a fan of the writing, and I honestly didn't laugh once up until this point. Now I just felt extremely alienated. As a fan. As someone who was expecting and hoping for something better.

And then, it's immediately followed up with a quip about how "the crippled kids" get to play or whatever. Holy fucking shit. Are you serious.

I don't care what the subtext is, or the "characters" that are being "written" here. You can write a character that's an asshole without casually throwing around ableism and encouraging toxic language and behavior towards already marginalized individuals. I don't want to go on a tirade about how these kind of "jokes" normalize behavior and terms as permissible because it's "only a joke bro", or whatever, because I'm trying to keep this brief.

This is supposed to be premium content or whatever. Money went into making this. And, as such, you're asking for money for people to watch and enjoy this, after the first episode. I'm hoping that you take these words to heart, since you are now officially selling something, and I'm not just here to complain about something you provide for free. This is legit damaging for you. I was ready to go all in on YouTube Red solely for this show. Now, I'm just beyond disappointed. I'm not getting Youtube Red, and I'm not financially supporting this show. I will continue to watch Game Grumps, or buy a shirt, or see you guys live. But this? This sucks.

I don't expect this letter to change or improve anything. But I also know I'm not alone in the way I feel about this. I can say without a doubt at least a solid 20 or so of my friends agree with me on this. I know there are more that are afraid to speak for fear of mockery, threats, and harassment. Just look at the YouTube comments, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Again, I expect nothing to change from my letter. I just couldn't in good faith let this go without saying my full piece, in a current day and age where silence is acceptance and complacency is the status quo.

You're all very talented people. You can do a lot better.

Hulex