A Statement About JewWario and Gamergate

Yesterday I saw a Gamergate supporter say something cruel to me on Twitter. His Twitter avatar also had a Wario hat symbol, which many of my followers have as a tribute to Justin “JewWario” Carmical, who was a late friend and colleague of mine. I got offended because Justin was one of the friendliest, most kind-hearted men I have ever met, and I responded on Twitter by saying that any Gamergate supporter who had his symbol on their avatar should remove it because Justin would not want to be associated with it.



It was dashed off and I did not think it would offend anyone, largely because I think Gamergate is a movement borne from harassment and I do not think he would want to be involved with harassment. However, I think I greatly underestimated how prominent I have become in the Gamergate controversy, and people accused me of exploiting his death for my cause. I will say this: I forget sometimes that not everyone agrees that Gamergate is a harassment cause. I think these people are deeply misguided, but I do believe that for at least some their disagreement with me is sincere, and I should have kept that in mind.



To people accusing me of weaponizing my late friend for my cause, that was not my intention. It was something I tossed off first thing after waking up after being offended by something someone said to me. I want to make clear: I have very strong opinions about how my friend would feel about the controversy and so does anyone who knew him, but I do not speak for Justin. I do not speak for my friends or my colleagues. I speak for myself only. The most regretful part of this for me is that I had just vowed to speak on the topic a lot less for the same reason that many others choose to not talk about Gamergate: for fear of blowback hitting not only myself but the people I care about.



I and everyone who knew him can attest to Justin's character, but I never intended for my statements to be used as a way to convince anyone for or against the controversy. To those who took it that way, that’s my fault for being careless, and I apologize. Again, I only speak for myself, and I vow to be more careful about how I use my public platform in the future.



Sincerely,

Todd



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