GamerGate

I’m doing this while the thoughts are as prime as they’ll be.

GamerGate: A possible conclusion to a war that only really hit the public scene three years ago, with the mockery that was Anita Sarkeesian’s arrival on the scene. Two (more) definitive lines were drawn in the community; Those that were with her, and those who were against her. The two camps as I’ll say. Ever since (and even before) that day, the divide has been growing, with the questions amounting, the lies, deceit, all of it fueling the eventual breakdown of a passive aggressive co-existence of sorts.

What started with typical corruption in journalism has spread into something much more beautiful and dangerous. It’s funny to think this all started with Zoe Quinn, someone so irrelevant now, as to make this all seem impossible, and yet here it is.

What we have now is a hot war of Public Opinion, *on* Public Opinion. It doesn’t really matter what the truth of the situation is, what matters is what people think of it, the same sort of reaction people will get from watching the news regarding what went down in Ferguson, or the mess that was the Trayvon Martin case, or perhaps something more relatable, political campaign ads. It’s never about the context of the situation unless it suits whoever’s pointing it out, “Don’t look at what I’ve done wrong, look at them and what they’ve done wrong.” A simple, yet meaningless diversion to change the subject to more favorable context in order to win public opinion. This can be done with any subject in nearly any situation, whether it be racism, sexism, anything to suit your narrative and paint your opponents as what are usually regarded as “bad people”, “scum”, “cretin”. It doesn’t matter if they are what they are, all that matters is if those who listen believe it.

It doesn’t end in simple public opinion. Bluntly put, regardless that their methods and motives are dubious, regardless that they’ve been exposed to lie and manipulate for their narrative and agenda, despite all that, those of the more “Social Justice” oriented side of the issue still maintain some pitiful form of following. They can’t openly respond to their attackers, lest they lose all credibility all together, even among their followers. No, for them it’s the distraction, demonizing your opponents as to draw attention to them rather than your own misdoings. This is exactly what we’re seeing occur from both camps, the primary difference being that those in favor of GamerGate lack the mirage of the moral high ground and that of a leader. They’ve no one to redirect attention from, and are, for lack of a better words, lacking of a follower driven motive. They’re not doing this because they’ve been told what to think by their leader, they’re doing this because they’ve seen the absurdities coming from the other side, whether it be just now or from the past. Their view was skewed to begin with, and rightfully so.

Now for the dangerous part. Who’ll win a war of public opinion if one side has its claws in the media? It shouldn’t be that hard to guess. With that power at their disposal, they’ll win in the longrun, no matter how great of a defeat they suffer now.

It’s only amplified by their follower’s zealotry, even if in the extreme fringe. They don’t care about what the facts of the situation are, they’re only their to soak up what their cult leader’s spew at them, because that’s what it looks like: A fucking cult. With slogans like “Listen and Believe” and their inane demands to “watch Anita’s videos” or agree with them unconditionally on the subject at hand, without sparing a second to hear their opponents, they certainly act like it. These people are taking mere words with little weight behind them for the truth, something of which I just can’t fucking sit by and let happen. These people are fucking dangerous muppets and I’m not gonna let them delude themselves into this jaded view of the situation.