Thread by @OwenMacdonald8

Honestly the fact Gamers™ are still unironically fuming about Anita Sarkeesian being the architect of the destruction of video games should probably demonstrate just how absent perspective and maturity is from that crowd; as well as their constant need to have a target.

Never mind the fact Sarkeesian did nothing beyond "be a feminist on the internet"... how can someone look at the world around them and seriously dedicate their passion and energy into railing against one person's status within video games?

The environment is being ravaged, healthcare is being destroyed, LGBTQ rights are being carved up, economic deregulation is well underway, the police and military are being boosted, and fascists are on the up... but an entire group of people think one critic is a major concern.

And it's not even as though Sarkeesian has done anything wrong. The ire she provokes stems from false accusations, smears, outright lies and - perhaps most of all - the subtle frustration at the failure of harassment mobs to drive her off the internet. It's beyond sad

Of course, if Gamers™ start recognizing the lack of guilt from Anita, and the wider issues around them, they may ask questions about themselves, the internet groups they're in, and the wider state of the world compared to their own socio-economic beliefs.

Questions like

"Why do our circles focus exclusively on a handful of critics as the main problem with video games?"

"Why are we ignoring social and political problems much larger than our individual industry?"

"Why are our circles so often laced with bigoted language?"

All of which lead to unpleasant and self-revealing answers. Attaching identity to video games makes any criticism of said video games feel like a piercing attack - and all too often the easier option is to bat the criticism away, and instead insist the critic is the problem.

The reluctance to accept the criticism turns into outright loathing of the critics. When said critics are feminists, trying to recognize problems with sexism in the industry, the problem becomes "SJWs trying to ruin video games..." or more subtly, "people making me self-reflect"

This makes many gaming circles that started out as simply "anti-Sarkeesian" the perfect place for far-right normalisation and radicalisation. The idea video games were under attack can be applied to society at large, used to condemn social progress as an assault on culture

A feminist asking questions of society is an attack on men. A BLM supporter wanting anti-racism is anti-white. LGBTQ awareness is a "gay agenda" forced into straight people. Trans people are a "devastation onto science". And the left in general become a threat to the US at large.

You can see this in action by looking at many accounts in these circles. What starts out as discomfort at the idea their favourite video games may be problematic evolves into hostility towards feminism, anger at other social justice groups, and falling further and further right

Any suggestion that the Gamers™ might be openly courting fascists is vehemently opposed - after all, how was Sarkeesian treated in the first place? The absence of awareness blinds them to the people they surround themselves with, only letting them focus on "anti-Gamers"

All this, meanwhile, lets the far right inject their own messages into the groups; anything from subtle ideas about marginalized people to outright bigotry and regression of social liberties, all accepted because of the continued viewing of "sjws" as the problem.

All this is to say that the continued treatment of Sarkeesian as a sledgehammer to video games is part of a wider issue with gaming communities. Pausing their attack on her, even momentarily, risks the deconstruction of the entire belief system they have and exposes the far right

Which is why, despite the plethora of social and political problems around them, ignorance of them - combines with the blind rage poured towards "sjws", no matter how incorrect - gamers™ will still continue down the path, oblivious to whom manipulates their thought process.

To draw us back to the start, perspective and maturity would probably result in major self-reflection from many a Gamer™

Which is why their communities (and the far right presence in many of them) avoid this and direct their energy towards "sjws", notably ppl like Sarkeesian

So when we see people spewing hatred towards her... remember not to take it seriously, and instead view the Gamer™ doing this as part of a wider issue.

Ignorance of the world lets the far right win - focusing on Sarkeesian is merely one tactic applied to a specific group.