Scrabble owners Hasbro and North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA) have taken the bold move to ban anti-black 𒈔racial slu𒐪rs from the game.
For the outside world, this seems like a no-brainer, but for many fans of tabletop games and competitive players, this is a controversial move that will send waves throughout the Scrabble community for years to come. Many fear that the censorship is unwarranted and not needed, arguing that the intent behind the usage of these words is not motivated by hatred but by the scoring of points. The argument that such words are contained within the English language isn't carrying much weight either, especially given the fact that racial slurs have not been apart of the official Scrabble Dictionary since 1994.
The problem at hand has centered around competitive play as sanctioned by NASPA. The 192,111 NASPA lexicon of allowed words is different from the Scrabble dictionary designed for home play. This will be a situation mirrored by other governing bodies around the world that organize tournaments and manage their own official lexicon. Technically, Hasbro has no control over any of these lists. The fear, however, is that it is still able to influence and pressurize the bodies to comply. The right to use the name Scrabble is owned by Hasbro and even the remote possib🃏ility of withholding that right is too great to challenge.
According to , Julie Duffy, a spokeswoman for Hasbro, confirmed that NASPA had "agreed to remove slurs from their word list." She also added that Hasbro would be updating the rule booklet contained in retail copies of Scrabble “to make clear that slurs are💜 not permissible in any form of the g﷽ame.” Unfortunately, there seems to be no clear consensus over the motives behind this move.
It is without a doubt that many agree that thꦡis is the r🧜ight course of action. Words of hate -- regardless of whether or not they're used with intent -- still hurt. After all, the pen is mightier than the sword. Surely, anything that can be done to improve the game at home, and in competition, is a benefit to all.
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