Media critic Anita Sarkeesian recently bailed on a public speaking engagement at Utah State University after one nutcase — angered by Sarkeesian’s examination of misogyny/sexism in video game culture — promised “the deadliest shooting in American history.” I know, I know the EMP Pop Conference doesn’t get that kind of feedback. Saddened by further attacks on Sarkeesian on social media, former Minnesota Vikings punter and self-described video game enthusiast writes Chris Kluwe writes, “I hope every #Gamergater, picks up a debilitating case of genital warts.” From The Cauldron :
I am a gamer. I’ve had 24-hour LAN parties, fragging people in Duke Nukem and Quake, pounding Mountain Dew to stay awake, WinAMP playlist blasting my favorite songs at high volume. I’ve traded Nintendo Power facts and tips with my friends on the playground, and tried to figure out where the next boss was, or the best strategy to use (complete with horseshit stories from that one friend who just loved making things up and —NO!?—?you cannot save Aeris, goddammit). I’ve been made fun of by the jocks, even when I was on the football team.
Every time I see one of you slackjawed pickletits link me something like “I’m a moderate #Gamergate’r,” or “#Gamergate in sixty seconds YOUTUBE CLIP,” or “Here’s an anecdotal story from this one woman we found that completely negates an entire history of misogyny and abuse of woman, not just in videogaming but in the entirety of human existence so support the REAL GAMERS,” it pisses me the fuck off because you are ruining something I enjoy. When people?—?everyday people who watch the coverage on CNN of Anita Sarkeesian having to cancel a speaking engagement due to death threats?—?think of “gamers,” they are going to think of you, and that irritates me. It enrages me.
You, #Gamergaters, with your bilious Internet rage, you think you’re speaking for some core demographic, some historic legacy, but you’re not. You’re speaking for a lie trapped inside your mind; a lie that one somehow has to be “hardcore” in order to appreciate games; a lie formed by social ineptitude and too much time spent picturing yourself as the only creature that matters in the universe. A lie about male power and privilege, and how dare those women try to ruin your fun? (No matter whose expense you’re having it at). The lie you tell yourselves is one completely incapable of recognizing just how far society has come?—?that equality is important, and that the tech industry has been misogynistic for a very long time, and that we need to change that, and we’re in the process of doing so, despite the mouthvomits you like to pretend are logical trains of thought.