It is a week of depressing subjects

I've been avoiding #Gamergate for the same reason I avoided Ebola - just thinking about it makes me sad and angry. But at least Ebola is a virus - it doesn't have a malicious intent. #Gamergate is bringing out some of the worst stuff humanity has to offer. I suppose it's not surprising for something that's started with some guys revenge/hate posts about his ex-girlfriend sex life. But what I really mind is people pretending it's really about journalistic integrity. It's a little like insisting Civil War wasn't about slavery. The fact that you found something non-despicable to be part of your cause doesn't make up for all the really shitty things it's all about. Pretending that it was always fight for media objectivity while ignoring the harassment is being accomplice to the whole thing. Even if you never sent death/rape threats to any women you participate in their abuse by legitimating the people who do. Still the guy who started it all has no regrets and Intel made me glad was always AMD. At least the industry itself seems pretty against it.

The whole thing got bad enough and big enough that it has been picked up by major news outlets so you probably also have heard something about it. But it unfortunately doesn't stop the abuse. And the hate machine keeps spinning - making sure to find people they can rail up to throw another attack on anyone who disagree. Especially, a woman voicing an opinion they don't like. There always seem to be another woman forced out of her home by death and/or rape threats that are specific enough to get police involved, cancelled public appearances due to shooting threats and relentless spewing of vitriol. I wish they could all just laugh it off like John Scalzi but men don't seem to get the same level of abuse. Even though anyone accused of being SJW - social justice warrior - gets trashed no one is as hated as feminists (because women with opinions ruin everything and misandry). Even though these attacks also mean that the message of the subjects of these attacks gets to more people due to the extra publicity (which comes with the extra special dose of conspiracy theories about how the abuse is self made for publicity). Not that they wouldn't prefer to live their lives in peace. I don't know if I could withstand the level of abuse that Anita Sarkeesian has experienced. Maybe I should make this friends only...

Here Anita's XOXO talk about what she experienced