A former CEO of a video game software company in the United States has spoken out on the “social terrorism” waged against him by co-workers after he voiced support for the Texas “Heartbeat” Act.
John Gibson was forced out of his job and became suicidal after expressing pro-life support for the Texas “Heartbeat” Act that prohibits abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected in an unborn baby.
Mr Gibson was CEO of Tripwire Interactive, a software company, when he tweeted support for the Act that has since saved thousands of unborn lives, as reported by SPUC.
“Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer”, Mr Gibson tweeted.
But Mr Gibson soon experienced an extreme pro-abortion backlash within his own company, which he had founded and where he had worked for the past 20 years. He was later removed from his own company after Shipwright Studios, a collaborator with Tripwire, announced that: “We cannot in good conscience continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure.”
“Social terrorism”
Speaking on Fox News, Mr Gibson described his ousting as “social terrorism… It is an effort to use fear and intimidation to cause people to change – either hide or pretend that they’re not what they are really, so that they can keep their jobs and keep their status.”
While some co-workers had similar pro-life views, most were “afraid” of speaking up for Mr Gibson. “I had one of the other owners of the company — politically we’re very, very aligned. He thinks cancel culture is bad. He thinks abortion is bad. And he said, ‘Yeah, I don't want to be cancelled next.’”
Following his removal, Mr Gibson felt “crushed… I got depressed. I got, of course, angry, suicidal, not wanting to leave the house”. At one point, he told his wife: “I just want to die because I don’t want to live… I don’t want to live in a world that’s this unjust.”
“Cancel culture is very real”
SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “‘Cancel culture’ is very real and is often used as a weapon of intimidation against pro-lifers who speak out on behalf of the unborn. This is a particularly shocking case that shows the nasty lengths that some people will go to in order to uphold abortion.
“While we may feel compelled to back down in the face of such intolerance, especially in a hostile work environment, it is vital that pro-lifers and people who value free speech stand up for justice, not only for themselves but also the justice denied to unborn children every day in the United States and elsewhere.
“Love is and will always be our rallying cry, in stark contrast to the other side, which can only say, ‘Cancel, Cancel, Cancel.’ But unborn babies need more good men like John Gibsons, not less.”