Some people like myself just don't want to deal with social or political issues in games at all, and like games to be an escape from this stuff. It isn't so much that it being in the game is a bother, but more so the discussion of it. Oddly, I rarely ever care what's in the game itself, so if I end up playing as a girl, a black person, or a pink bunny, it really doesn't matter to me. The problem is when people like me want to go discuss it, we either get plunged on a forum that is racist and sexist, or on a forums that seek to find offense in anything or demand progress in everything. Everything has to become a 'we need to discuss' or a demand of inclusiveness, and it's exhausting.
I'd always prefer to play as Sonic and I wouldn't care if Mega Man had black skin, I also have played probably hundreds of games starring women, I literally do not care who or what I play as, and just prefer to discuss the game for what it is. You used to be able to do that but it really is hard to find a happy middle these days. People are becoming obsessed with defending their horrible ways while others are becoming obsessed with their progressive ways, one is better than the other but it's emotionally exhausting for sure.
When you put Mario under the gun because he rescues a princess, you need to take a step back in my mind and look at what you're doing. Not everything needs to be 'progressive', if it SHOULD be then by all means, games that allows selections or customization as example, should always be pressed on this stuff. I just wonder if the people who always obsess over these issues, are they really happy people in their daily lives, or are they like the guy I ran into the other day who was on a date while yelling about 'that bitch AOC!!' during his entire dinner, that just seems like a miserable way to live, to never be able to just extract joy out of something without worrying about what it isn't doing.
