Imagine if I actually had the power all these doofuses think I have? 
All. Day. Long.
Like, I'm just here wondering do all these super duper hardcore my-favourite-game-ever-is last of us not remember that there are queer characters in it? Lololol.
This. is. still. going. on. 🤦🏻♀️
It's like their entire self worth & personal identities are based upon their relationship to corporate media properties. And additionally they have a twisted impression of what those media properties represent. ie. reinforcing their dreams of status quo white male power fantasies
So that dangerous combination leads them to feel personally attacked and legitimately harmed when it doesn't look and feel exactly like they expected. ie. literally catering to their personal sense of right/wrong, who stories should be about, who is worth valuing
And because they have convinced themselves that they are literally being oppressed (because a media property dared to tell stories about anyone other than white men) they must defend themselves and their sacred way of life by attacking their "enemies" and taking down the villains
In this case, since to them I'm symbolically representative of destroying their way of life (ie. educating and encouraging folks to be more critical about representations in games) they have nowhere else to deal with their feelings so they target me.
And you can easily see the mental gymnastics they go through to convince themselves and others to jump on this bandwagon. It's those conspiracy theory ms paint red line drawings.
The creator of the game they are mad at has said in the past that he found value in my work (as did so many other game creators but that doesn't matter here). Therefore I personally ruined the game.
And honestly I'm putting aside that they haven't even played the game yet and have been hyped through all the years of released teasers. They just wanna be mad. They are sad. They probably hate themselves. And hate their lives and believe that gives them license to hurt others.
PS. Above I said "catering to their personal sense of right/wrong, who stories should be about, who is worth valuing" and the smarter of those harassers will say, 'yes but isn't that exactly what you do?'
Certainly! But guess what, my vision of a media landscape is inclusive and open and welcoming. And I share that vision through education with folks who are interested in hearing it. I'm not harassing or dogpiling people who disagree with me.
Sometimes I'm sad for these people. That they have convinced themselves that ghostbusters, or star wars, or last of us is all they have.
But then I'm more sad for me that I've had to be the punching bag for men who refuse to deal with their own feelings for eight years now.
But then I'm more sad for me that I've had to be the punching bag for men who refuse to deal with their own feelings for eight years now.
Deeper analysis of all this is the desperate clinging to privileges that are bestowed upon them via our systems of patriarchy and white supremacy and their fear of losing the fiction that they are actually superior but that's another thread for another bout of insomnia.
