Gamergate

The BBQ Pit
782

Apparently she was the one who chose to cancel, but the legal impossibility of banning concealed-carry weapons from the venue does seem to be the reason why.

Dunno why she couldn’t have gone anyway and given a “virtual speech” broadcast from a more secure room onto screens in the venue. I suppose if the self-declared terrorist perpetrator had really been planning to do a massacre instead of just trying to kill Sarkeesian herself, a “remote lecturing” approach would not have made things significantly safer.

783

I think her choice was stupid, I hate to say. This is a terrorist, and you shouldn’t give in to terrorist demands. Though I do wonder how the fuck there is a law in a school that you can’t have fucking metal detectors. My high school has metal detectors–and we’re out in the boonies and rather pro-gun. Utah colleges are just a school shooting waiting to happen if this is true.

But we also know that these are the same people who have been harassing her before. If they actually followed through with these threats, they’d be caught, and they clearly are doing everything they can not to be caught.

If you want to take precautions, go ahead. Appear from a remote location. Provide armed security. Let everyone know what’s going on so they can decide whether to go (and offer refunds). Simulcast it online for people who would rather stay at home.

Do anything but actually give in to the terrorist(s)'s demands. This won’t stop until these people realize they don’t have any actual power. Right now, they are in control, and they shouldn’t be.

784

So in Utah you can issue a viable threat to kill people and no one can take steps to prevent it. Good thinking.

785

I don’t know what Sarkeesian’s exact reasons were for the cancellation, but bear in mind that the terrorist in question was openly threatening the audience and community as a whole:

This guy is clearly threatening a general attack on women on campus, not just Sarkeesian herself or attendees at her talk. If Sarkeesian did choose to give her talk with extra security precautions for the venue and some nutbag did carry out the threat of shooting up some less protected location, that would be a catastrophic tragedy and I’m sure that many people would hold her partly responsible for it.

Personally, I’m inclined to think that the threat might well be a hoax, some reality-challenged 14-year-old boy’s idea of showing off and looking powerful. But I think it’s very understandable that Sarkeesian doesn’t want to bet her life or the lives of others on that.

A tiny flicker of (very dark) cheer in the gloom over at Sam Machkovech’s Ars Technica blog post on the issue:

:rolleyes: (Full disclosure, I snickered.)

786

Are you insinuating that she made up these threats?

787

Sarkeesian noted that

I don’t see how any allegations of “fabricated threats” can stick in this particular case, anyway, since it was USU officials rather than Sarkeesian who received them.

788

Sarkeesian bribed Quinn to mind control them with her vagina.

789

There’s been some interesting articles about gamergate in the last couple days.

Here’s a discussion about how gamergate is functionally a hate group, by Jennifer Alloway, a social researcher, with reference to a 2004 study by Linda Woolf and Michale Hulsizer called, “Hate Groups for Dummies: How to Build a Successful Hate Group.”

Then there’s a good general overview of the whole, ongoing, vomitous, mess at Vox - good if people ask what’s it all about (Although someone needs to tell Ephraim that he’s not the King Of Deciding Which Games Are Worthy):

fighting

And here’s a piece at Deadspin about how this is the start of a larger culture war battle -

I’ve posted elsewhere that the misogyny inherent in gamergate is being ramped up by rightwing commentators in advance of Hillary’s run for the presidency. Deadspin doesn’t go quite that far but I agree that this is functionally a culture war.


In general, people outside of gaming are noticing that the claims to be about ethics somehow always comes back around to hate campaigns about women. The conversation above, about the relative merits of Sarkeesian's videos? That doesn't really happen in the gamergate circles. Instead, it's a hundred people regurgitating the talking point about Hitman and death threats like the one from earlier today on Chan, about how Anita should be killed like those other troublemakers Malcom X - 

https://twitter.com/frankcifaldi/status/522220253544079360/photo/1
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Which might be considered odd, in that the threatening letter writer had access to their email info. At first, very specific people were warned, all of whom were apparently associated with this event.

“Polygon spoke with USU executive director of public relations and marketing Tim Vitale, who confirmed that the email threat was sent to “five or six” members of the Center for Women and Gender Studies before being more broadly sent to PR, alumni and other campus offices.” Utah State University threatened with school shooting over Sarkeesian appearance (updated) | Polygon

So, it goes first to five or six people directly involved, and then later the public relations department? I dunno, maybe I’m overtired, but I’m just confused by that specificity and that the campus police or security or the Deans office wasn’t apparently in the top list of people this threat was sent to, and that it WASN’T sent to Sarkeesian. If you want to send a death threat to someone, don’t you usually actually send it to them?

I also read the email threat, and it was definitely written by a very well educated individual. It’s also weird to me that the only bad thing they say about Sarkeesian specifically is to call her a “craven little whore” near the end. You’d expect more bile, more anger, more something. But it’s not. It’s extremely dry and almost clinical.

Here’s an image of the email:
http://www.standard.net/.media/1/2014/10/14/f43adaf9-0a46-46d6-9026-cc0f0acf8df0.jpg

Then there’s this line in it: “Women like Sarkeesian want to punish us for even fantasizing about being men.” Which struck me as odd. I’m a man, and I don’t think I’ve ever fantasized about being a man. It’d be like fantasizing about being right handed if you’re right handed. To me, it’s just a really odd thing to write. I dunno, I’m just naturally cynical and suspicious I guess, but I’d expect a threat to feel more, threatening? This read like a school announcement for the PTA or something.

"There will be a speaker at such and such a time at such and such location followed by a lunch of Brussels sprouts and chicken divan… " That’s how it feels to me. No passion, no punch, no rage. At all.

BTW, I’m not saying I think Sarkeesian wrote it. It’s just a head scratcher to me. Also not completely sure this belongs in gamergate thread simply because gamergate isn’t mentioned anywhere in the threat or related story. I can see why people might link the two, but it could be someone who has an issue with her for completely unrelated reasons. Not taking sides.

Regards,
-Bouncer-
PS: Extraordinarily tired this evening so forgive spelling mistakes etc etc.

791

OR … It could be the same people who’ve been sending her death threats and bomb threats and talking publicly about killing her for the last two months? The Gamergate people are the ones who made this about Sarkeesian and are also the ones who won’t shut up about her. I think it’s naive or disingenuous to pretend like the Gamergate crowd have no connection to the hate campaign aimed at silencing Sarkeesian and other womens’ voices.

792

Oh, and -
Here’s another recent article from Vice -

It discusses the escalation of threats of violence directed at women from the Gamergate crew. It also talks about the attempts to whitewash the threats by suggesting that the women are doing it for attention or as ‘false flag’ operations. I mean sure, we can imagine all sorts of scenarios about why the people making online death threats couldn’t possibly be connected to the actual death threats - but Occam’s Razor is just sitting right there, giving us the serious side eye.

793

Why would gamers not be well-educated? I think the threat sounds fake because the person who wrote it has no intention of carrying it out. It’s easy to type out a bunch of words. Then she cancels her talk.

I wish she hadn’t cancelled but I can see why she did. It’s a bit rough to say she shouldn’t give in to terrorism, when it’s not your life that’s being threatened. But people can bluff and bluff, and nothing will happen to them, because threatening emails just aren’t a big enough deal to go after.

794

I dunno, dude. Reminded me of this chucklefuck.

795

I am pretty sure the “fantasizing about being men” is “playing video games”. He’s fixating on video games as the last bastion of masculinity , and she’s coming for them. It makes her the thought police.

796

…reminds me of this guy:

I’ve actually noticed the tone of the gamergate crowd had gotten significantly angrier and more defensive over the last few days, especially after the recent broadcast on MSNBC. A couple of weeks ago I thought that eventually things would blow over. I’m not so sure now. At the moment they are trying to convince themselves they are a “consumer revolt.” They most certainly are revolting. I just hope things calm down before someone does something really stupid.

797

Your post seems like standard CT “just asking questions.”

798

Too late…

Throughout this whole thing (as well as before gamergate) it is frequently noted that these women are receiving threats. What I wonder is how seriously such threats are to be taken?

Anyone who has spent any time playing online knows that threats are commonplace and people get downright vile. Basically it is The Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory at work. I see nothing that suggests it is targeted at women in particular. I see this behavior all the time. Hell, go read some YouTube comments to see what I mean.

Do not get me wrong, it is vile behavior and pathetic but it is also nothing new and par for the course.

So, are these women getting “special” treatment in this regard? Are people actually following through with their threats against these women? Or is it the usual smack talking bullshit that is part and parcel of the gamer community? (I really do not know)

All that said I suppose no matter how unlikely it is that this threat to Ms. Sarkeesian is real it is necessary to proceed as if it was real. I hope the FBI gets involved and finds these people. Maybe if a few people get sent to federal prison for a ten years such behavior might end.

799

It’s a self-reinforcing social interaction: scorn Sarkeesian, get praise that encourages the next guy to scorn her even harder…

It’s a circle for jerks.

800

Sure but is this unique, or at least lopsided, towards women?

In Sarkessian’s case she is a lightning rod. Male or female being a critic as she is will attract extra attention but I am not persuaded it is misogyny towards Sarkeesian that motivates them on the whole.

To me it is an example of Hanlon’s Razor:

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

801

So it’s more logical to assume that explicitly misogynistic behavior is result of stupidity only and has nothing to do with misogyny?