Stand against Harassment and Abuse and Death Threats Please

(#)gamergate is a war on women.

The culture of gaming is often saturated with misogyny to a terrifying degree, and gamergate has unveiled it for all to see. This should terrify people, and yet there are people out there that will dismiss the harassment and death threats leveled at women (and any who support them) as just more fanatical attacks on gamers. Or they may claim these women desperate for attention. It’s infuriating their denial of reality, and it’s causing incredibly harm.

Then there’s others who still insist that #gamergate is really about journalism and ethics. Despite the fact that since it’s first inception, the movement has been about shaming and attacking women. Despite the fact the movement has driven women (and their families) from their homes with death threats so severe they had to contact police. Despite the fact that women have been driven out of the gaming industry because of bullying and painful levels of misogyny they endured daily in the workplace. Despite the fact that hundreds if not thousands of women are trying to speak up about the culture of harassment and misogyny within gamer circles, and instead of being heard, they are shamed, harassed, not believed, called fanatics, and given death threats.

And people tell me that gamers just want to be left alone. If that was the case, this war on women wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Everyone has a right to game, but no one has the right to harass, threaten, and destroy the lives of another person. Gamer culture can do better. And first way to do better? Do not support gamergate. Condemn it. Call out the harassment and abuse. Call out any harassment and abuse that you see in any venue within gamer culture. Don’t stand in silence and let it happen. Validate and believe those that speak up about their experiences of harassment and abuse. Do not shame them, but give them a voice and a space to live with dignity and respect within gamer circles. Let those harassers and abusers know that they do not rule gamer culture anymore, and their misogyny and hateful attitudes are not welcome.

Here’s some articles. Be warned, they contain graphic examples of the above mentioned harassment and death threats:

List of videos and links to articles in big name sites like New York Times, PBS News Hour, CBS, ect: http://www.themarysue.com/gamergate-nyt/
Here is the New York Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/technology/gamergate-women-video-game-threats-anita-sarkeesian.html?ref=video-games&_r=0

This interview explains why gamergate is happening and is is perhaps the most brilliant analysis of it I’ve seen yet: http://www.themarysue.com/brianna-wu-msnbc-interview/

http://wehuntedthemammoth.com/2014/10/11/in-a-series-of-brilliant-furious-tweets-zoe-quinn-tears-apart-the-myth-that-gamergate-has-moved-beyond-harassment-of-women/

That makes three women: http://wehuntedthemammoth.com/2014/10/11/yet-another-woman-in-gaming-has-been-driven-from-her-home-by-death-threats/

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/10/11/my-thoughts-this-morning-on-gamergate/

Fuuuuuu…..: http://wehuntedthemammoth.com/2014/10/14/anita-sarkeesian-cancels-talk-at-utah-state-after-receiving-threat-of-another-montreal-massacre/

[UPDATED] Major Video Game Associations Condemn #Gamergate’s Harassment Of Women

The irony here. Gamergate is the bullies, and yet adobe and these other companies are siding with the bullies and then using doublespeak to claim those that call out the bullies out are engaging in bullying. Ugh: http://www.themarysue.com/adobe-mercedes-benz-are-latest-to-pull-ads-at-the-behest-of-gamergate/

For the record, that review everyone in gamergate claims exists because of Zoe Quinn’s brief relationship with that journalist doesn’t even exist: http://www.themarysue.com/zoe-quinn-on-msnbc/

A great deconstruction of the gamergate “ethics” argument: http://www.themarysue.com/joss-whedon-reddit-gamergate/

Yes, gamergate should piss us all off: http://www.themarysue.com/chris-kluwe-gamergate/

The man who started it all does not regret his actions: http://www.themarysue.com/eron-gjoni-gamergate-interview

Great Analysis: http://defeatingthedragons.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/can-video-games-turn-us-into-misogynists/

How you can speak up and combat this: http://thenerdsofcolor.org/2014/10/22/dont-be-silent-things-you-can-do-about-gamergate/

Good article and analysis: https://medium.com/@upstreamism/to-fair-minded-proponents-of-gamergate-7f3ce77301bb

Reasons why we should stop supporting gamergate: http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/8/6919179/stop-supporting-gamergate

Felicia Day spoke up and was doxxed: http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/10/23/3583347/felicia-day-gamergate/

Felicia Day’s words on this issue: http://thisfeliciaday.tumblr.com/post/100700417809/the-only-thing-i-have-to-say-about-gamer-gate

Fantastic analysis about gamergate’s policing of the gamer identity: http://feministing.com/2014/10/23/empire-of-dirt-how-gamergates-misogynistic-policing-of-gamer-identity-degrades-the-whole-gaming-community/

More analysis (includes a lot of links to evidence to support the essay): http://www.firstpersonscholar.com/we-will-force-gaming-to-be-free/

More great analysis: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/16/of-gamers-gates-and-disco-demolition-the-roots-of-reactionary-rage.html

A Summary of Gamergate (satirical website but it hit damn close to truth): http://www.clickhole.com/article/summary-gamergate-movement-we-will-immediately-cha-1241

Anita Sarkeesian on Colbert Report: http://www.themarysue.com/watch-anita-sarkeesian-colbert-segment/

Brianna Wu Sets Up a Legal Defense Fund for the targets of gamergate: http://www.themarysue.com/gamergate-defense-fund/

Mythbuster’s Adam Savage: http://www.themarysue.com/adam-savage-gamergate/

Standing in the Firing Squad: Interview with Brianna Wu about Gamergate and how to move forward from here: http://feministing.com/2014/11/06/standing-in-the-firing-squad-an-interview-with-brianna-wu/

At this moment in time, these assholes in gamergate have now sullied the word throughout the nation. Who will people think of when gamers are mentioned? They are going to think of people who send terrifying death threats about mass killing feminists and anyone who agrees with them. They will think of people so incensed that women exist in the gaming industry that they drive them from their homes with death threats and attempt to destroy them professionally. They will think of the harassment campaigns against women and anyone who supports women in gaming. This is the message gamer culture is sending out into the world. This is a tearing people down message, and it has nothing to do with journalism ethics, no matter what the harassers and abusers may claim. The evidence is overwhelming. Gamergate is a hate-filled war on women.

As this has been super triggering for me, I haven’t posted on any of my blogs. I also waited to post this for fear I’d be the next target if any gamergate person even got a whiff of this post. I’m still terrified to post it, but at the same time, I know the terror of death threats and I don’t want that fear to have power over me anymore. The death threats I received happened because I looked too gender neutral in public. In the end, it doesn’t matter the source. Death threats shouldn’t happen and any movement that engages in it needs to wake up and look hard at themselves. Maybe they should consider if their movement is actually building people up or if it’s tearing them down, and if it’s tearing people down, then either abandon ship and start anew or clean house.

EDIT 10/22: added three more articles. EDIT 10/23: added two more articles. EDIT 10/25: added two more articles. EDIT 11/1: added two more articles. EDIT 11/10: Added one last article.