[PASSED] Commend King HEM

[Pichtonia]

I'm so incredibly happy for HEM to be proposed for such an honour, he very much deserves it. In a bit more than a month, actually, we will celebrate Europeia's 14th birthday. To me, it also serves as a reminder of the incredible work that HEM has done, and as a testament to the role he has played as founder - and leader - of Europeia.

Tirelessly and to this date, HEM challenges us to seek progress for our region, even (especially!) if that means thinking outside the box. Commend HEM cites his time as Grand Admiral, but I think HEM maybe more than any other Europeian also manages to drive change from outside of any office. Personally, I feel that HEM has also inspired us Europeians (certainly myself!) to be better players and better persons. The way he treats everyone with respect, how he will embrace members especially if they are down, and make way for folks to be welcomed in Europeia, is, I think, one of the main reasons our community has lasted this long and become such a beacon of democracy and tolerance.

I can't wait to vote for this commend.

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

As a note to the PfS’ statement, I think it’s a bit understandable why some would take an Against stance, though I’d implore people to look beyond gameplay alignment. As the PfS’ charter states - we should support Commendations for nations who have made significant contributions to region building. And HEM has done just that.

In this case, our recommendation is based on more than just "raider bad". There are two clauses of the resolution, explicitly highlighted in the recommendation, that move things beyond that point and actually celebrate raiding in the text of the proposal.

Your recommendation also calls HEM the founder of a raider region, which is quite clearly bullshit.

[Honeydewistania]

This proposal is quite well-written—especially for a new author. The earlier concerns I had were well-addressed.

The work that HEM has done in founding Europeia—one of the most prominent UCRs, if not the most prominent, has been astounding and should be a guiding model for founders everywhere.

Full support.

It’s good to see a good quality proposal in the SC chamber again

>.>

[Kuriko]

In this case, our recommendation is based on more than just "raider bad". There are two clauses of the resolution, explicitly highlighted in the recommendation, that move things beyond that point and actually celebrate raiding in the text of the proposal.

Your recommendation also calls HEM the founder of a raider region, which is quite clearly bullshit.

I'm sorry, can you please name the last region Europeia defended as a defender-oriented operation and not an operation to support a treatied ally? Oh wait, you can't do that because they don't defend at all. In order to be considered independent you need to play both sides of the line, not just one side. Europeia only plays the raider side of the coin, ergo making them a raider region hiding behind a professed independent ideology in order to get others to work with them. King HEM was the founder of Europeia when it had an imperialist ideology, and is still founder now.

[Ambrella]

In order to be considered independent you need to play both sides of the line, not just one side.

Hi there! Thanks for your interest in Commend HEM. I just wanted to take a moment to direct you to the Independent Manifesto, the foundation of the Independent ideology, which explicitly states that being Independent is not about playing both sides.

Identity

I. An Independent region is characterized by its emphasis on a strong and vibrant internal community and a political system that encourages stability, participation and growth. Regional life and identity are driven primarily by the political and cultural elements of the region, and not by a focus on military activity for its own sake.

II. An Independent region rejects the Raider/Defender dichotomy and does not take a position in the middle of the spectrum. An Independent region instead identifies separate, more complex and nuanced, interests for their community, which do not fit in the Raider/Defender dichotomy, such as: maximizing regional activity and stability; increasing the region’s influence and impact in the interregional stage; developing strong ties with like-minded communities and regions; and protecting the sovereignty of friendly and aligned regions.

Furthermore, HEM has spent the past 14+ years developing a vibrant community in Europeia that goes far beyond any military or political ideology. While Independence is certainly an important part of his accomplishments, it is but one on a long list.

I don't expect your support, but I do want to be sure we're not using falsehoods to detract from the meat of the proposal and the deservingness of the nominee.

[Greater Cesnica]

"Our nation wholly supports this commendation."

[HumanSanity]

I just wanted to take a moment to direct you to the Independent Manifesto, the foundation of the Independent ideology, which explicitly states that being Independent is not about playing both sides.

Respectfully, you're proving the point of the recommendation right here.

You have answered the idea that Europeia is Independent and not raider by pointing out that Independentism does not require you to "play both sides" and therefore Europeia can be de facto raider and still be Independent. Even if we buy this distinction, King HEM's contributions to the Europeian Republican Navy, which are highlighted in the Commendation and indicted in the voting recommendation, are certainly raiding actions, and therefore are not Commendable by the Security Council. It is worth noting as well the recommendation is specific to the way Europeia has chosen to practice its Independent alignment.

However, I think this quote proves quite clearly why the development of Independentism, which the Commendation lists as a good thing, is in fact insidious:

Your recommendation also calls HEM the founder of a raider region, which is quite clearly bullshit.

Whenever someone points out that Europeia is raider, there is a way to avoid that argument. Europeia isn't raider, Europeia is Independent. This is why the recommendation reads:

Second, the Commendation credits King HEM for developing the ideology of Independentism, which, as practiced by Europeia, is a smokescreen for wanton disregard for the autonomy of other regions. Hiding these dangerous and destructive practices under an faux ideology of regional interests is readily apparent when Europeia has not engaged in any liberations or defenses of non-allies in recent memory. The proposal explicitly has the Security Council validate this dangerous propaganda lie which only furthers the agenda of those who oppose the common cause of regional sovereignty by lending international legitimacy to their efforts.

Europeia is only not raider in name only. Furthermore, even if we accept this distinction, the Europeian Republican Navy's actions--on balance--massively favor one "side" and certainly go against the idea of regional sovereignty and self-determination.

Furthermore, HEM has spent the past 14+ years developing a vibrant community in Europeia that goes far beyond any military or political ideology.

A lot of communities in NS are vibrant, and that is certainly meant to be celebrated. But Commendations and Condemnations are inherently political, and giving a bright shiny coat of paint to Europeia, and to King HEM specifically, and to this draft of this Commend especially, furthers the interests of those who oppose regional sovereignty. I think you'd have more of an argument here if you hadn't deliberately included the two clauses outlined in the recommendation, but you did.

Of course, it could also be said for defenders specifically there is good reason to oppose this using Europeia's own logic. After all, Europeia's voting recommendation for Commend Kuriko 2.0 read:

It is well-written and describes these achievements truthfully. However, due to ideological differences between the target's ideology and Europeia and problems that have arisen in foreign relations due to that, the Ministry recommends a vote AGAINST this resolution.

Kuriko has done an awful lot of work building vibrant communities in The Hole To Hide In, 10000 Islands, the Rejected Realms, and elsewhere. And your regional interest was a good enough reason to simply recommend a vote Against. That's fine, but you'll forgive us for doing the exact same thing.

I don't expect your support, but I do want to be sure we're not using falsehoods to detract from the meat of the proposal and the deservingness of the nominee.

You'll forgive me for calling out the thinly veiled lie which hides the practices HEM sanctions and perpetuates.

[Gatchina]

I am inclined to agree with the esteemed Ambassador HumanSanity and the Secretary-General. The people of Krasnaya will not support this.

[Ambrella]

I just wanted to take a moment to direct you to the Independent Manifesto, the foundation of the Independent ideology, which explicitly states that being Independent is not about playing both sides.

Respectfully, you're proving the point of the recommendation right here.

You have answered the idea that Europeia is Independent and not raider by pointing out that Independentism does not require you to "play both sides" and therefore Europeia can be de facto raider and still be Independent. Even if we buy this distinction, King HEM's contributions to the Europeian Republican Navy, which are highlighted in the Commendation and indicted in the voting recommendation, are certainly raiding actions, and therefore are not Commendable by the Security Council. It is worth noting as well the recommendation is specific to the way Europeia has chosen to practice its Independent alignment.

However, I think this quote proves quite clearly why the development of Independentism, which the Commendation lists as a good thing, is in fact insidious:

Your recommendation also calls HEM the founder of a raider region, which is quite clearly bullshit.

Whenever someone points out that Europeia is raider, there is a way to avoid that argument. Europeia isn't raider, Europeia is Independent. This is why the recommendation reads:

Second, the Commendation credits King HEM for developing the ideology of Independentism, which, as practiced by Europeia, is a smokescreen for wanton disregard for the autonomy of other regions. Hiding these dangerous and destructive practices under an faux ideology of regional interests is readily apparent when Europeia has not engaged in any liberations or defenses of non-allies in recent memory. The proposal explicitly has the Security Council validate this dangerous propaganda lie which only furthers the agenda of those who oppose the common cause of regional sovereignty by lending international legitimacy to their efforts.

Europeia is only not raider in name only. Furthermore, even if we accept this distinction, the Europeian Republican Navy's actions--on balance--massively favor one "side" and certainly go against the idea of regional sovereignty and self-determination.

Furthermore, HEM has spent the past 14+ years developing a vibrant community in Europeia that goes far beyond any military or political ideology.

A lot of communities in NS are vibrant, and that is certainly meant to be celebrated. But Commendations and Condemnations are inherently political, and giving a bright shiny coat of paint to Europeia, and to King HEM specifically, and to this draft of this Commend especially, furthers the interests of those who oppose regional sovereignty. I think you'd have more of an argument here if you hadn't deliberately included the two clauses outlined in the recommendation, but you did.

Of course, it could also be said for defenders specifically there is good reason to oppose this using Europeia's own logic. After all, Europeia's voting recommendation for Commend Kuriko 2.0 read:

It is well-written and describes these achievements truthfully. However, due to ideological differences between the target's ideology and Europeia and problems that have arisen in foreign relations due to that, the Ministry recommends a vote AGAINST this resolution.

Kuriko has done an awful lot of work building vibrant communities in The Hole To Hide In, 10000 Islands, the Rejected Realms, and elsewhere. And your regional interest was a good enough reason to simply recommend a vote Against. That's fine, but you'll forgive us for doing the exact same thing.

I don't expect your support, but I do want to be sure we're not using falsehoods to detract from the meat of the proposal and the deservingness of the nominee.

You'll forgive me for calling out the thinly veiled lie which hides the practices HEM sanctions and perpetuates.

I'm not really willing to go round and round with you or anyone about the virtues or lack thereof of Independence or raiding in this context where it is not the primary issue at hand. I won't change your mind.

As I said, I don't expect you to support this commendation. I doubt you expected Europeia to support Comment Kuriko. Our statement did, however, say the proposal "is well-written and describes these achievements truthfully" which is much more charitable than you have been here, to say the least. Independence is what it is - we have been clear about that - and I am sorry that you don't like the label. Europeia is, first and foremost, a political and cultural region. Call us insidious or whatever you like, but folks know that isn't true - otherwise, Europeia would not have been commended itself.

HEM's contributions to the game are widespread and overwhelmingly positive. I understand there are inevitable ideological differences. Fortunately, HEM has mentored, befriended, and supported enough people throughout his career that I believe his accomplishments will be recognized by this body despite such differences.

[Pichtonia]

Kuriko has done an awful lot of work building vibrant communities in The Hole To Hide In, 10000 Islands, the Rejected Realms, and elsewhere. And your regional interest was a good enough reason to simply recommend a vote Against. That's fine, but you'll forgive us for doing the exact same thing.

It is hardly the exact same thing, and it's pretty embarrassing to pretend otherwise. You slapped a shoddy recommendation into this thread that reeks of toxicity and bends the truth until it hurts. If you had been half as honest about your motivations as Europeia was with the IFV for Commend Kuriko, you wouldn't sit here arguing.

[Bhang Bhang Duc]

I think this is a quality proposal and will have no problem recommending to my Delegate that TWP supports it.

our recommendation is based on more than just "raider bad"

It obviously isn’t but I appreciate the attempt.

It’s like when somebody drops a particularly loud and obnoxious fart in a very small room. You know they’ve done it, they know they’ve done it, but they deny it all evidence to the contrary.

[Varanius]

I think this is a quality proposal and will have no problem recommending to my Delegate that TWP supports it.

It obviously isn’t but I appreciate the attempt.

It’s like when somebody drops a particularly loud and obnoxious fart in a very small room. You know they’ve done it, they know they’ve done it, but they deny it all evidence to the contrary.

Have to wonder how much more time we’d all have if they just plain admitted it. My farts also don’t usually have over 1000 endorsements, but perhaps that’s something I should work on.

[Sedgistan]

Kuriko has done an awful lot of work building vibrant communities in The Hole To Hide In, 10000 Islands, the Rejected Realms, and elsewhere. And your regional interest was a good enough reason to simply recommend a vote Against. That's fine, but you'll forgive us for doing the exact same thing.

It is hardly the exact same thing, and it's pretty embarrassing to pretend otherwise. You slapped a shoddy recommendation into this thread that reeks of toxicity and bends the truth until it hurts. If you had been half as honest about your motivations as Europeia was with the IFV for Commend Kuriko, you wouldn't sit here arguing.

Non-modly: Underlining is mine. I don't think your use of the word "toxicity" is appropriate for the circumstances. That term is usually reserved for serious OOC issues, and it dilutes its severity when it's used for IC disagreements.

That's not me expressing a view on HumanSanity's take on the proposal; I'll note I've approved Commend King HEM.

[Pichtonia]

It is hardly the exact same thing, and it's pretty embarrassing to pretend otherwise. You slapped a shoddy recommendation into this thread that reeks of toxicity and bends the truth until it hurts. If you had been half as honest about your motivations as Europeia was with the IFV for Commend Kuriko, you wouldn't sit here arguing.

Non-modly: Underlining is mine. I don't think your use of the word "toxicity" is appropriate for the circumstances. That term is usually reserved for serious OOC issues, and it dilutes its severity when it's used for IC disagreements.

That's not me expressing a view on HumanSanity's take on the proposal; I'll note I've approved Commend King HEM.

Noted, thank you. I'll use different terminology in the future.

[A Bloodred Moon]

Full support. HEM's work in building Europeia and his deeds elsewhere warrant commendation, and the proposal itself is well-written. Good luck with this!

On face, the Security Council proposal Commend King HEM recognizes a nation with significant service to prominent regions in NationStates. However, examination past this shiny verneer reveals a more insidious political purpose of heaping praise upon the founder of a raider region.

Europeia is not a raider region - it is not only one of the largest user-created regions around, it is also a commended and well-established community. That's its Independent military also raids does not make it a raider region. A raider region raids for the purpose of raiding, Europeia raids for their foreign policy objectives, and will also defend if they find it to be in their best interests.

The proposal credits King HEM with building the raiding regions of Europeia and The Land of Kings and Emperors. Both of these regions have routinely acted without regard for regional sovereignty--invading regions without the consent of their native residents, often times to "generate activity" without any meaningful foreign policy goal.

Surely it has occurred to you that, whenever Europeia invades a region, they always do this while causing the least harm possible and hardly interfering with the bussiness of the natives? You'd think that is worth mentioning in any recommendation made in good faith. Simply reducing the LKE and Europeia to "raiding regions" is another obvious tell that this recommendation is made purely out of ideological spite and attempts to mislead those who read it.

It would be one thing if the proposal simply credited King HEM for having built Europeia but avoided discussion of their leadership of invasions. However, the proposal actively celebrates King HEM's contributions to raiding.

This is quite obviously false, and I sincerely hope anyone who reads it realises that. There is no way that either TSP or XKI would've recommended a vote in favour or an abstain when it comes to someone who has frequently opposed and pointed out the flaws in your rhetoric. You are using the fact that he contributed (quite impressively so) to building a well-functioning, active military that also raids as an excuse to justify your recommendation.

Second, the Commendation credits King HEM for developing the ideology of Independentism, which, as practiced by Europeia, is a smokescreen for wanton disregard for the autonomy of other regions.

I would hope that the North Pacific especially is paying close attention, though I suppose you included "as practiced by Europeia" to give you some reason to deny it should they ask questions.

It's not disingenuous--it is actively celebrating their leadership of the ERN, during which time they conducted raids.

So, I assume that anyone commended for their work in the North Pacific Army is next on the list? Or the East Pacific? That because their military raided when they were rebuilding it, any and all commendable achievements are worthless?

I'm sorry, can you please name the last region Europeia defended as a defender-oriented operation and not an operation to support a treatied ally? Oh wait, you can't do that because they don't defend at all.

There have been several instances where Europeia came to the aid of treatied allies or diplomatic partners. The East Pacific is one example. If your region arbitrarily defends regions it has no bussiness with just to please defenders, your region is the very opposite of what being "independent" means.

Europeia is only not raider in name only. Furthermore, even if we accept this distinction, the Europeian Republican Navy's actions--on balance--massively favor one "side" and certainly go against the idea of regional sovereignty and self-determination.

Isn't it self-determination to decide what is in your region's interest? XKI is attempting to police Europeia on it's decision to conduct raids, which are always kept professional and with minimal harm. You talking about self-determination in the same breath as you tell others what they can and cannot do, and what is and is not virtuous, is frankly laughable.

Kuriko has done an awful lot of work building vibrant communities in The Hole To Hide In, 10000 Islands, the Rejected Realms, and elsewhere. And your regional interest was a good enough reason to simply recommend a vote Against. That's fine, but you'll forgive us for doing the exact same thing.

Yeah, I wonder why Europeia wasn't jumping up and down in excitement to vote for an individual so friendly to their region, as demonstrated in the post I quoted above, with all the veiled "you're just disgusting raiders" and the de facto "you don't please XKI enough to be considered independent". You yourself said commendations are inherently political, and one only needs to look in this thread to see how XKI and Kuriko view Europeia politically.

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

Your recommendation also calls HEM the founder of a raider region, which is quite clearly bullshit.

I'm sorry, can you please name the last region Europeia defended as a defender-oriented operation and not an operation to support a treatied ally? Oh wait, you can't do that because they don't defend at all. In order to be considered independent you need to play both sides of the line, not just one side. Europeia only plays the raider side of the coin, ergo making them a raider region hiding behind a professed independent ideology in order to get others to work with them. King HEM was the founder of Europeia when it had an imperialist ideology, and is still founder now.

A region does not have to do both to be considered independent. A region can do one as little or as much as it likes and can still be independent. You, frankly, either intentionally misunderstand independent ideology or are ignorant about it. Either way, calling Europeia a raider region, and calling HEM the founder of a raider region, is not a statement based in fact. That's way your recommendation is bullshit. XKI doesn't get to decide who is independent and who isn't.

[Kuriko]

I'm sorry, can you please name the last region Europeia defended as a defender-oriented operation and not an operation to support a treatied ally? Oh wait, you can't do that because they don't defend at all. In order to be considered independent you need to play both sides of the line, not just one side. Europeia only plays the raider side of the coin, ergo making them a raider region hiding behind a professed independent ideology in order to get others to work with them. King HEM was the founder of Europeia when it had an imperialist ideology, and is still founder now.

A region does not have to do both to be considered independent. A region can do one as little or as much as it likes and can still be independent. You, frankly, either intentionally misunderstand independent ideology or are ignorant about it. Either way, calling Europeia a raider region, and calling HEM the founder of a raider region, is not a statement based in fact. That's way your recommendation is bullshit. XKI doesn't get to decide who is independent and who isn't.

Europeia is a raider region, full stop. There's nothing independent about what they do if they only do raider operations. They don't care about regional sovereignty, nor do they care about other communities. It all stems from the regional founder, HEM, who created the community of Europeia and had the region go through its imperialist phase and now it's so-called "independent" phase which is just really a smokescreen for it actually being a pure raider phase.

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

A region does not have to do both to be considered independent. A region can do one as little or as much as it likes and can still be independent. You, frankly, either intentionally misunderstand independent ideology or are ignorant about it. Either way, calling Europeia a raider region, and calling HEM the founder of a raider region, is not a statement based in fact. That's way your recommendation is bullshit. XKI doesn't get to decide who is independent and who isn't.

Europeia is a raider region, full stop.

This is where you lost the last iota of credibility you had.

[Hulldom]

A region does not have to do both to be considered independent. A region can do one as little or as much as it likes and can still be independent. You, frankly, either intentionally misunderstand independent ideology or are ignorant about it. Either way, calling Europeia a raider region, and calling HEM the founder of a raider region, is not a statement based in fact. That's way your recommendation is bullshit. XKI doesn't get to decide who is independent and who isn't.

Europeia is a raider region, full stop. There's nothing independent about what they do if they only do raider operations. They don't care about regional sovereignty, nor do they care about other communities. It all stems from the regional founder, HEM, who created the community of Europeia and had the region go through its imperialist phase and now it's so-called "independent" phase which is just really a smokescreen for it actually being a pure raider phase.

Even so. I think spinning this proposal to be all about where HEM stands on the matter of R/D is irrelevant, especially when the proposal makes no reference to R/D besides HEM having served as the head of Europeia's Republican Navy.

To put it nicely, this is a *much different situation* than something like with Twobagger-where that resolution explicitly mentioned his R/D exploits, this does nothing of the sort.

And I must also say, enshrining the whole "raiders can't be commended for region-building because they're raiders" is not a principle anyone wants to set, largely because there are those of us who transparently see through this bull and would actively apply the same principle to defenders' commendations as well.

[Numero Capitan]

I don't support the voting recommendation Against this proposal for the reasons given. Just because a region active in military gameplay has largely focused on one side of r/d historically doesn't mean that HEM has been individually responsible for that unbalanced contribution. ERN materials and recruitment are very neutral in their delivery, they celebrate defensive operations and liberations (Feudal Japan) that the ERN has participated in and they emphasise the role of the ERN in furthering Europeia's interests and demonstrating its power abroad. They don't promote raiding for raiding's sake in any form. Shunning and labelling Europeia for its past raiding activities is rather misguided.

HEM has built a dynamic region that has been a key community in the NS world for more than a decade and they deserve fair recognition for that. No-one can deny Europeia's success and significance and even defenders like Improving Wordiness were able to support its Commendation when that was debated in this Security Council. Citizens of Europeia are encouraged to participate in its democratic institutions, festivals, culture, WA activities and radio shows - and none are forced to be militarily active.

To reduce this commend to just r/d is unfair in isolation, but hanging that criticism on HEM's work to improve the effectiveness of the ERN is also a stretch. Had defenders shown more willingness to collaborate with Europeia in the past (rather than actively working against the region and undermining its institutions - including through infiltration) then HEM's work improving the ERN (in the interests of Europeia) might have benefitted the defender community in a greater way also.

[Kuriko]

Europeia is a raider region, full stop.

This is where you lost the last iota of credibility you had.

Europeia lost all credibility it had in my eyes four years ago when they used my region as a jump point, told me that my region means nothing when I asked them to stop, and basically told me to fuck off and they'll do whatever they want. Because of that, I had to move a community of over 100 nations to a new region because I didn't want them to be associated with raiding.

OOC: Okay, now this is out of character. I want it to be known that I'm not against commending HEM. HEM is perhaps one of the greatest players in NS, and he deserves to be commended for his region building capabilities. My arguments are an IC stance, given from my regional standpoint. Please, please, do not conflate my IC arguments against as me being against the proposals when I haven't expressed the fact that I'm against it.

[Makdon]

I don't support the voting recommendation Against this proposal for the reasons given. Just because a region active in military gameplay has largely focused on one side of r/d historically doesn't mean that HEM has been individually responsible for that unbalanced contribution. ERN materials and recruitment are very neutral in their delivery, they celebrate defensive operations and liberations (Feudal Japan) that the ERN has participated in and they emphasise the role of the ERN in furthering Europeia's interests and demonstrating its power abroad. They don't promote raiding for raiding's sake in any form. Shunning and labelling Europeia for its past raiding activities is rather misguided.

HEM has built a dynamic region that has been a key community in the NS world for more than a decade and they deserve fair recognition for that. No-one can deny Europeia's success and significance and even defenders like Improving Wordiness were able to support its Commendation when that was debated in this Security Council. Citizens of Europeia are encouraged to participate in its democratic institutions, festivals, culture, WA activities and radio shows - and none are forced to be militarily active.

To reduce this commend to just r/d is unfair in isolation, but hanging that criticism on HEM's work to improve the effectiveness of the ERN is also a stretch. Had defenders shown more willingness to collaborate with Europeia in the past (rather than actively working against the region and undermining its institutions - including through infiltration) then HEM's work improving the ERN (in the interests of Europeia) might have benefitted the defender community in a greater way also.

I agree strongly with this. HEM's achievements are very broad, and raiding should not preclude them from being recognized. Also, this whole argument about what makes a region raider is rather stupid. It's a region that raids, I'd imagine that's the point of contention, not its ideology. Anyways, it's a shame that R/D politics are getting in the way of such an obviously deserving candidate and proposal.

[LollerLand]

HEM is a highly deserving nominee and people who are arguing against this due to R/D is making themselves look petty. And no, Europeia is not a raider region and even if they were and HEM was its founder, this commendation would be deserved because his contributions to the game goes much beyond the sphere of R/D.

[Kuriko]

HEM is a highly deserving nominee and people who are arguing against this due to R/D is making themselves look petty. And no, Europeia is not a raider region and even if they were and HEM was its founder, this commendation would be deserved because his contributions to the game goes much beyond the sphere of R/D.

How is it petty to talk about someone's R/D if they're involved in R/D and are being commended?

[Westinor]

HEM is a highly deserving nominee and people who are arguing against this due to R/D is making themselves look petty. And no, Europeia is not a raider region and even if they were and HEM was its founder, this commendation would be deserved because his contributions to the game goes much beyond the sphere of R/D.

How is it petty to talk about someone's R/D if they're involved in R/D and are being commended?

Well, the commend hardly focuses on HEM's R/D stance or contributions to the R/D aspect to gameplay. There is a clause that mentions their reform, and that's it - it's not the key point of the proposal, nor are their contributions or commendability reliant on that point. Understandably, most would argue that the PfS' rather outspoken opposition against a proposal that doesn't go anywhere close to glorifying raiding is a bit much.