Responce to GGDunGood
In response to
Original post
For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to try explaining what I
mean with respect to your post but not necessarily try to go
point-to-point. I've been wanting to write up a detailed
"GamerGate" piece for a while. When (if?) I do I'll let you know.
Now, on to business.
When I talk about how no one is listening, I mean that this
conflagration has attained the status of a self feeding frenzy.
Each "side" has dug in and nothing anyone says will change their
position. GamerGate has become an identity. "We are GamerGate!"
This can be easily seen by the fact that people are numbering
themselves. And it's not just them. We've got feminists, both
right-wing & left-wing fanatics, Mens Rights Advocates,
Socialists, and a bunch of other wing nuts who have nothing to do
with video games all using this as fodder to advance their
causes. Once an issue becomes an identity, anyone not part of
that identity is making a personal attack on its members. Add on
the conspiracy angle and it's game over for rational
discussion.
When I say that there are no sides to this, no such thing as an
"anti" GamerGate position, I'm referring to the fact that
GamerGate is not a binary issue. There are multiple, mostly
disparate issues being crammed together that should be addressed
separately. Instead they're being used as attack vectors against
positions that have nothing at all related to them. This makes it
easy to both attack the "other side" and to show that said "other
side" is being irrational.
There is one thing interesting in your Medium post I'd like to
address. You said,
The problem of the “SJW Movement” is the problem
most movements run into, which is simply….humans get
together, an ideology gets formed and, as is almost always the
case, it gets out of control and goes off the rails.
I completely agree with this statement. However, if
you replace "SJW" with "GamerGate" it is equally true. But when
you're a part of a "movement" it's impossible to recognize this
fact. Just look at the US Congress for an excellent example. None
of the political parties, or even factions within the parties,
will believe anything anyone not a part of their identity says.
And should one of them say something that conflicts with their
ideology, they are automatically seen as either a troll planted
from outside or one who has been swallowed by the conspiracy. For
instance, it's been proven beyond a doubt that GamerGate has
doxxed the hell out of people. Just as it's been proven that
GamerGate sympathizers have been doxxed. Yet each "side" refuses
to believe the other. Back in the beginning I showed one
GamerGate supporter proof that both the "ethics" angle and
#NotYourShield were originally started by the 4chan maggots to
hide behind while they set about trying to get Zoe Quinn to
commit suicide. The GamerGate supporter said she simply would not
believe anything I showed her. It's the same with the "rad fems"
saying there's no ethics problems at all with game journalism.
Doesn't matter how much independent evidence they're shown.
This is why I say there's no pro- or anti- sides. Why I say no
one is listening. It's not about ethics or attacks or SJW's or
misogynists any more. It's about the "Us vs Them" identities. As
long as this exists, there will never be a "solution" to the
"problem."
And gaming will suffer because of it.