No One Should Be Silenced

As a woman in this industry, I've completely stayed out of Gamer Gate. I've encouraged people to be kind to each other and engage in conversation rather than trade insults blindly in the name of one camp or another. Despite my "middle of the road" attitude, it's become obvious to me that my efforts are completely in vain. No one wants to have the conversation and perhaps they never did.



I am a feminist. I've never hid that fact. I believe in true equality for people and mutual respect, something that we honestly don't have yet. I am also a gamer and love gamers. I've met hundreds of you over the past few years and you're all talented, interesting and wonderful people. Very rarely is there a "bad egg", so to speak.



And yet, we've somehow allowed these "bad eggs"; these shitty terrible people lacking in empathy entirely, to become our heroes of justice. We've watched them actively ruin peoples' lives and encourage others to follow suit. These people are not on any side. They've goaded you into a war in which they are praised for their work and thrive in the chaos.



When someone wants to talk about gender issues and progressive attitudes in games, they are actively, violently silenced and told we don't want them here.



When someone actually wants to talk about the issue of ethics, they are brushed aside as an agent of mysogyny.



Every time we tweet or talk about a threat, those shitty bad eggs go "yesss feeeed meeee"



What is so wrong with actually listening to one another and being open to a change of heart? What is so wrong with treating each other like people with opinions?



It's seemed as though my only option was to stay silent OR be harassed and threatened and abused... that's what this has come to. We are literally being silenced by just a blanket attack on anyone who even vaguely disagrees but people are so often silenced for the sake of being comfortable and uninvolved. I can't watch men and women I respect stand up for their beliefs and not stand up for mine.



So what are my beliefs? That NO ONE should be silenced. That EVERYONE has a right to voice their opinion and be part of the conversation and most importantly, that people on both sides are still people and deserve respect.



Stop turning these people into heroes and see them for what they are: villains. This is no longer about anything but hate.



So yes, to everyone I know who has been laughing about the harassment happening to other women in the industry, after this post I'm sure it'll happen to me and if you still find it funny... then I guess my opinion and my life never mattered much to you anyway.



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