The Scratching That Itch series is where I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.
It’s now been five years since I started the Scratching That Itch series, and as is my yearly tradition, I’m taking stock of our progress towards racial justice. Oh boy. Donald Trump, despite being a convicted felon and a racist piece of shit, is president of the United States again. He immediately decided that any efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion are now illegal. He also appointed a tech billionaire, who openly made a nazi salute on stage and on live television, to randomly shut down federal programs and government offices. Now they’re mad at each other and fighting on social media like toddlers. Government funding for research is being slashed or held up in red tape. Non-white people are being quietly erased from historical records. Trump’s administration has started trade wars, despite not knowing how trade works. Because they are idiots. U.S. Citizens are being rounded up and deported to foreign prisons, immigrants are being illegally arrested, and when the public protested these actions in Los Angeles (good!) the administration sent in the National Guard and Marines. I knew we would face backlash in the fight for racial justice, but I didn’t think we’d have literal fascists put in charge.
And that’s just what’s happening in America. Elsewhere, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, as does Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The Israeli military just seized a ship bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, because they want the Palestinians to starve to death. It’s bad out there, folks. We can’t stop fighting back against racists, against bigots, against fascists. Stay strong. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
I also randomly picked and wrote about 29 games and game-related things from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. That’s four more than last year, and the first time that the pace has actually gone up. I hope that means I’ve reached a sustainable pace for the series moving forward. This brings our total number of selections to 217, over 12% of the entire bundle. Read on for some of my favorite picks from year five below.
