Everyone has seen a reference to Gamergate by now. And if you’re like most adults, you’ve clicked past it. Maybe you googled the term out of sheer curiosity, but really, who cares about a controversy surrounding video games? What are we, 12?

What lot of folks don’t understand about Gamergate is that it’s an amazing microcosm of what’s occurring in modern American society as a whole.

At its core, Gamergate is about the ethics of journalism. Gaming journalism in particular, but the principles being discussed go far beyond games. In fact, the controversy has become increasingly complicated since its start a few months ago, but I’m just going to explain the basics.

Sometime over this past summer, it became evident that popular video game journalists were friends with, sleeping with and even living with individuals they were writing about – game developers. This, understandably, upset the gaming community. These journalists were the same people critiquing games, reviewing games – telling consumers what to buy. They have a big influence over the success or failure of a game. Obviously, personal relationships with industry professionals who journalists are covering are going to greatly impact their objectivity.

Gamers began hurling insults at these journalists, the developers with whom they were rumored to be in relations with and the industry in general.

The industry responded with insults of its own. Insults that conservatives are likely very familiar with. Consumers were labeled as misogynistic, sexist, archaic white male pigs. They were painted as the stereotypical 18 – 30 year old virgin living in mommy’s basement.

Do these insults sound familiar to you? As an unapologetic conservative, they do to me.

This is a problem. What we have here is an attempt by lefist thugs to silence consumers who have legitimate free market concerns. And the media is largely supporting it. One journalist went as far as to call gamers “worse than ISIS.”

It’s not okay that an industry dominated by millennials believes it’s perfectly alright to accuse an entire class of people of being sexist with absolutely no proof. But it’s how they were raised. Everyone is a special snowflake, unless you’re a white male, of course. Or – someone who enjoys a hobby perceived to be largely supported by white males.

It’s not okay that an entire generation of people have been taught that if they simply play the misogynist or racist card – even with no evidence – their opponents will back down. It’s not okay that these accusations have been widely accepted.

Unfortunately, it seems that this is the cultural climate in which we now live.

It’s not okay, but it’s happening.