The Real Problem (Written by: Boy With The Blue Hat)

Pardon any spelling/grammatical errors in here, it's longer than my average rant.



Over the past year there has been a bit of a murmur on the internet, maybe you’ve heard of it. You might have actually participated in it. Whether or not you’ve been directly, or indirectly, affected by it, there is a lot to learn from #GamerGate.



However, this rant isn’t about #Gamergate or their “arch-nemeses” the SJW “hate-mob.” This is about the third party in this equation, and it is from this third party that almost all of the problems have come. This third party has doxed, it has threatened, it has swatted, it has done absolutely despicable things in the name of….well not really in the name of anything.



This third party is Anonymous.



No, not the mask wearing hacker nonsense.

No, not the question-mark-for-a-head-guy.

Not ANONYMOUSE.

No.



This is about Anonymous, the guise which many hide behind on the internet in order to shield themselves from repercussions. Hopefully by the end of this rant, I’ll have convinced some people that the GamerGate-rs and SJWs aren’t really on opposite sides of any war. That gamers aren’t to blame for any of this, and that neither are these supposed “SJWs.” Feminists have rallied around a fight that they thought was against a systemic form of misogyny, when in reality they were trying to nail the figurative Jell-O to the figurative tree.



In case you have lived under a bridge for the past er…decade. (And even some bridges have wi-fi these days) Anonymous (capitalized) is an idea that someone can “say” something or “do” something (quotes because usually this just means posting things on the web, but we’ll get to the other stuff later) with a guise of complete anonymity. No one knows who they are or what they are about. They can go to one internet forum and be a racist, but no one will know it is them. They can go to another and submit false medical information with the purposes of getting someone to harm themselves. They could also go to a self-help forum and make up a story about themselves overcoming adversity to inspire others, because anonymity doesn’t have to be a terrible thing.



However lately, it has, it really has.



You see, the basis for accusations against #GamerGate and the SJW “feminazi” regime have come from just a few places. There was the Twitter account that tweeted threats at Zoe Quinn, or the other random one at Brianna Wu. There were posts on places like 4Chan from one person who decided that they didn’t like these people, or perhaps they just wanted to stir the pot.

Stir indeed, because whether or not these threats and posts were from random people or the victims themselves, these were all made under the guise of Anonymous.



Then how has #GamerGate come under fire? You may be asking. Why have people pointed to #GG and said that it is a hate-mob rallying against women in tech and video games? If I take one look at the places where the followers of the #GG movement convene and talk about issues, threats and plans to harass these people never come up. I mean they never, ever come up. It’s like these people don’t have any interest in threatening, doxing, or otherwise harassing any individuals at all. That’s because they don’t. Well, why all the accusations then?



It is much easier to point to something solid, something that can be nailed down as an enemy, then to point at Anonymous and say it is the problem. It was much easier for games journalists to point to the “gamer” culture and say they are sexist and racist, then to point at Anonymous and say it is. Why? Well, Anonymous doesn’t have to answer for its actions (keep that in mind, Anonymous is both one person, and a great deal of people over the internet.) Anonymous doesn’t answer to anyone, and doesn’t care. It doesn’t care if you’re a feminist or an MRA, it doesn’t care if you play games or play tennis. Anonymous doesn’t exist to push an agenda, write a narrative, or publish rants on the internet…heh.



Anonymous exists to give people an outlet. Imagine a place like 4chan where you have to sign up for an account. You have to put your real name your address, your phone number….essentially imagine 4Chan has the same requirements as something like Facebook. The content hosted there might still be of an…unnerving nature, but maybe this exposure would cause the posts to be a bit cleaner. People wouldn’t be able to go on there and submit posts threatening to rape and kill people without consequence, we would know who they are and where they live!



So, where are we now…oh yes, #GG the “hate group.” You see, these accusations are simply a mis-targeting, Anonymous has done things such as dox and harass people, because they have no consequence for doing so, they don’t think that it matters if someone posts something like “I’m going to rape and kill you, you faggot cunt” because either they aren’t going to actually do it, or no one will know who they are so who cares? #GG has never harassed anyone. They have never threatened doxing, rape, death, upon anyone or anything….except maybe cronyism in the games industry.



Onto the “SJW HATE MOB GRRRR” that #GG seems to hate so much. This road goes both ways, there are some people who legitimately think they have been harassed by “gamers” (though I’m not sure why that tag has been applied, I mean come on my mother games on her Wii at home and she’s an aging accountant who knows nearly nothing about the gaming movement as a whole.) These people have among them, you guessed it, Anonymous. These Anons are there for a different reason though, they are there to fake victimization for attention, or perhaps strike up another match to throw on the fire that is this raging third wave feminist movement. I think at this point it is fairly simple to call these people what they are: Trolls.



Let’s be honest, Anita Sarkeesian can say whatever she wants about video games because she has become essentially, a video games critic. She limits herself to a very niche aspect, that is sexism in video-games but a critic she still is. However what a lot of people seem to be forgetting is that the video games industry is a business, and in the world we live in people will do some pretty nasty things to make a buck. If the business thinks that busty women and damsels in distress will sell units, then that’s what we will get. If the business thinks that women as sex objects and maybe even men as sex objects will make them money then that is what they will make, that is what they will sell, and that is what consumers will buy. Clearly there is a following that thinks games are too “male-oriented” and how that surprises anyone is beyond me. (And let’s be honest here, not many things are beyond me, but what do I know I’m just a boy in a blue hat….or something, I was trying to sound cool here but I’ve pretty much stuffed that.) Of COURSE games are male-oriented, until not too recently it was a very male dominated space, and now that gaming has become a mainstream hobby that is accessible to all ages and sexes and races, there are new opportunities opening up for developers to reach new audiences.



I think this is where one of my main fundamental points comes in (if you can call it that.) People like Anita aren’t out to take away certain types of video games and characters (I mean come ON) that would be an absolutely ridiculous battle to try and fight. These companies have been, and still are, making lots of money selling sexy women and damsels in distress to men and boys all over the world, why would they stop now? No, Anita is trying to make a point that there are women in the audience now, a lot of them, and some of them like things that aren’t really represented in the industry. Well they are, but not a large scale. Businesses like Anita because she is pointing out more people they can sell their shit to, and feminists like her because she’s a woman who seems to be fighting against the male dominated space of gaming, but what she is really fighting against at this point is a….you know what, I was tempted to say cadre of internet trolls there but I don’t think that is an accurate description.

A movement is something that is done uniformly, with cohesion. #GG is moving to dispel cronyism and a low-effort form of sponsored games journalism that leads to: misleading reviews, hidden agenda advertising among other things. The uh…feminists? They are moving to get more women into video games because they think that will create more games that are tailored towards women, which is great.



Anonymous is not a movement. It has no cohesion. Trolls don’t care about what other trolls are doing, because those other trolls are potential victims for a personality that just wants to get a laugh or cause some pain for a laugh, whatever is easiest. They will create a blank Twitter account and then use that account to tweet threats at a woman in tech because they know that soon their tweets will be all over the internet. They know that soon enough there will be people at each other’s throats over something they put literally no effort into. With a few keystrokes trolls have started a culture war that has no end.

Seriously, how is this all supposed to end? I would say that #GG has done its initial job, journalists are starting to use disclosure to show their relationships. Big name outlets are starting to update ethics policies and show people they have a vested interest in being honest. So in a sense #GG has accomplished the initial goal, so why are they still fighting? Well if they were to go away maybe some of those practices would return in full, since they are still going on in isolated places today.

The other side? Well, they wanted women in video games, they wanted to be heard, and they have been. Game developers are making games for this new audience. Look at Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, a game with no combat or traditional kinds of systems like that, it is a narrative driven interactive experience that this new audience seems to like, and seems to want more of. Now we have other examples of things like Sunset, where the developer made what is essentially the same type of game but no one bought it, well a few people bought it, but not enough to keep the company in the video game business.



That is the free market right there folks, and the only reason why none of this stuff bothers me. Honestly, if you thought for one second that all these new voices were going to make EA stop making Dragon Age, or Treyarch make a CoD game that is all women and has no gunfights or zombies, you’re an insane person, please seek help.



So.. where is the end? How does this war end? If someone can give me a realistic expectation for how this all ends, then please, I’m all ears. Right now though, it seems like this gamer culture war exists solely as the playing field for trolls, it is a place that is almost too easy to get the typical reaction a troll seeks (Which if you haven’t caught on, is ANY REACTION AT ALL THAT ACKNOWLDEGES THEIR PRESENCE.) These trolls are here for “the lulz.” They are here for the toppest of keks, the most epic of breads.



So uh…where was I? Oh yeah, Anonymous.



Please people, wake up. Stop fighting each other because you really are just having your strings pulled by some Anon somewhere on the internet. Someone somewhere is having the biggest laugh every day when they pull up the news, or Reddit, or Youtube, and see the latest post or video about the EVIL GAMERGATOR PATRIARCHY, or the HORRIBLE TWISTED SJW CENSORSHIP BRIGADE, because in reality they are both of those things. They are the driving force behind them, and continuing to placate these people will not end well for anyone.



Please, stop the meta-meta-meta in-fighting. I liked Community too, it was nuts, but this level of meta is starting to make my head spin.



I wonder if any of this will make sense to anyone. I wonder if anyone will reach these last few words at all. I mean if my conjecture is to be believed then some Anonymous will probably come along and poke holes in it (not that it is hole-free, I guess) and say I’m an idiot or a sexist or a rape-apologist question mark? I never understood that, rape-apologist, people seriously believe that defending rape is a stance that needs to be challenged? I mean come on, anyone on that side is probably just….trolling.

The internet is a great place, and simultaneously one of the worst places on the planet. It has the potential for communication, idea proliferation, and evolution of our culture in ways never seen before.

It also has the potential to get people killed by sending cops to places where they are expecting guns. It also has the potential to ruin lives by exposing them to a broad audience, like magnifying an ant one hot summer day.



Maybe we can all just get along?



The idea that there is a few people around the internet who are laughing at the state of our culture saddens me greatly, because they are the real enemies. They managed to turn everyone against each other, and the internet did the rest. Radicalization of beliefs, fire and pitchforks, internet points. I….lost where I was going with this one.



Maybe we should take a step back for a second and acknowledge that we may be fighting the wrong way. We may need to turn and face the real monster on the internet: Anonymity. Without it, none of this would have happened. There never would have been threats against these people. There never would have been a muddying of the picture surrounding #GG. There never would have been an “SJW hate-mob.”



Not saying I don’t enjoy it myself, anonymity is nice, it allows me to publish rants like this and no matter the reaction I know that my real-life being will be the same, and that my personal life will not change, and I’ll still get up and go to work tomorrow morning.



So uh…stop fighting, and go back to playing some video games. Is anyone else excited for Fallout 4? I’m really excited for Fallout 4.



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