So, this is the section at issue, I think:
The recurring international controversy over the persecution of homosexuals is a clever media manipulation designed to keep the focus on Sharia law, away from the true inner workings of the republic. While homosexuals are indeed held in detention facilities for days, and humiliated, starved, tortured, and eventually fed upon and killed, this is not the point. The point is to distract from the truth of what Chechnya has become. That said, even among the Kindred [vampires of the Camarilla] any kind of “homosexual behavior” is punished harshly. ... There is unfortunately nothing we can do for our brothers and sisters in Chechnya who suffer under this — interference is ill-advised at this point, but should any Kindred (or even kine [mortals]) seek asylum within regnums under our control, granting it may win allies to our side who are not just well-trained in combat and thankful to us, but also knowledgeable in the ways of a people who might already be preparing to attack us.
I'm not seeing anything in there making light of the persecution of homosexuals. I'm not seeing anything in their infantilizing the struggle or the killings. I think you would be hard-pressed to find anything in this section that contradicts known truths: (1) that homosexuals are persecuted; (2) that homosexuals are being imprisoned, tortured, and killed; and (3) the truth is not getting to the mainstream media about this.
It will be exceedingly difficult for White Wolf to get back to its previous narrative style of creating a fictional context for modern events, and even more so if it wants to avoid controversy. Frankly, I don't know how else White Wolf could have described the situation. If it provided an "explanation" for the turmoil in the Middle East, would that automatically impugn the dignity and deaths of those who have been killed there? If it provided an "explanation" for why Trump got elected, would that automatically be a "political statement"?
I don't even think this is in bad taste.
This is what everyone who wanted to resurrect the line wanted.
People blasted the New World of Darkness' openness and lack of context. White Wolf went in the other direction, and are being blasted for providing fictional explanations for real-life events.
I'm getting too old for this shit.
