#NoConfederate: Game of Thrones shares limelight with protest

Last week, HBO announced a new series to be headed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss. Currently dubbed Confederate, the show is set to tell the story of a United States that never outlawed slavery.

The announcement was widely criticised — largely because many don’t believe such a sensitive topic should be entertained by two white creators.

Last night, #OscarsSoWhite creator @ReignofApril started a new hashtag — #NoConfederate — to protest the continuation of the show, and got it trending in the top three worldwide while Game of Thrones aired.

We did it!!! We trended #1 nationwide & #2 worldwide for most of the hour. THIS is the power of social media, @HBO, & we say #NoConfederate

— April (@ReignOfApril) July 31, 2017

Most used the tag to outline why Confederate wasn’t a good idea.

Why @HBO‘s “Confederate” series should never see the light of day – a thread. #NoConfederate

— Torraine Walker (@TorraineWalker) July 31, 2017

#NoConfederate because the terror of white supremacy is a reality for POC. This shouldn’t even have to be a hashtag in 2017.

— Jay Coles (@mrjaycoles) July 31, 2017

#NoConfederate ’cause this hashtag already has brought a swarm of white supremacists to my mentions, these people don’t need encouragement.

— watch killjoys 🚀 (@colectivovacio) July 31, 2017

Criticism quickly swarmed in, with many using The Man in the High Castle (which depicts a world in which Germany won World War II) as a counterargument.

Why didn’t #NoNazi trend when Amazon announced they were doing THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE? Oh right, no one cared. #NoConfederate

— Matt Jarbo (@mundanematt) July 31, 2017

If you enjoy Man In The High Castle doesn’t that make you a hypocrite for boycotting #Confederate?

— 3BlackGeeks (@3BlackGeeks) July 28, 2017

Let’s get this straight. Man in the High Castle has nothing to do with this. KKK is still recruiting, Nazi Germany is dead. #NoConfederate

— Brandt Brickell (@brandt_brickell) July 31, 2017

Guys before you start, don’t compare The Man in The High Castle to Confederate. It’s not even close to the same thing for a bunch of reasons

— Jermaine Spradley (@MrSpradley) July 19, 2017

And some users took to the hashtag to propose other alternative history stories HBO could produce.

A good Alt-history would be Black Wall Street Massacre didn’t happen and it grew to provide reparations across the nation. #NoConfederate

— #JayPetty2K17 (@Jay00789) July 31, 2017

Series where Malcom & MLK weren’t killed but allowed to continue their respective works. The effect on the landscape of USA. #NoConfederate

— Mz Stewart (@LydiasLyfe) July 31, 2017

I would love to see an alt-history where the transatlantic slave trade never happened. #NoConfederate

— #JayPetty2K17 (@Jay00789) July 31, 2017

HBO released a statement indicating it had no plans to cull the project just yet.

“We have faith that [writers] Nichelle, Dan, David and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity,” it wrote. “The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”

Edited to include HBO’s statement.

Featured image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0, resized)