Yesterday I wrote about a vile online game in which players were invited to “beat up Anita Sarkeesian,” the feminist cultural critic who’s faced endless harassment because she had the temerity to ask for donations to fund a video project looking at sexist tropes in video games.
The game, which (happily) has been removed from Newgrounds.com, where it was originally posted, was put together by a young Canadian gamer named Bendilin Spurr. On the game’s page, he offered this explanation as to why he created the game:
Anita Sarkeesian has not only scammed thousands of people out of over $160,000, but also uses the excuse that she is a woman to get away with whatever she damn well pleases. Any form of constructive criticism, even from fellow women, is either ignored or labelled to be sexist against her.
She claims to want gender equality in video games, but in reality, she just wants to use the fact that she was born with a vagina to get free money and sympathy from everyone who crosses her path.
That doesn’t really explain much, as asking people for voluntary donations to a video project is a far cry from “scamming,” especially since she’d asked for far less, and that the misogynist backlash to her project began long before she’d collected anywhere near this amount.
It also doesn’t quite explain why Bendilin felt that a Sarkessian-punching game was the best format to make this, er, critique.
Last night, after learning from the comments here that young Bendilin had a profile on Steam and a Twitter account, I decided to peruse both to see if I could find more clues that might explain his foul game.
On his Steam profile, he’s set forth his basic philosophy of life, video games, and how much women suck:
I think it’s just adorable how absolutely no girls are any good at video games, just like how no woman has ever written a good novel. They are nothing but talk and no action, probably because girls are such emotional creatures and base everything they do on their current feelings and then try to rationalize their actions later. How pathetic.
You know what’s priceless? When a gamer girl posts a pic of herself looking as slutty as possible and then throws a fake fit when people talk to her like she’s a whore. What did you think was going to happen, you dumb broad? Lose thirty pounds.
Sadly, these aren’t terribly rare or original opinions for a young male gamer.
Over on Twitter, Bendilin has offered a number of conflicting explanations for why he felt so much hostility for Sarkeesian and her video project that he felt justified in creating a video game devoted to punching her in the face.
There’s the fiscal argument:
There’s the laziness argument:
There’s the rather strange argument that Sarkeesian is not taking the proper time to research the subject, although she has not yet started the project. (Also, one of the reasons she was asking for money was so that she could take the time to research the subject properly.)
The “nuh-uh you’re wrong” argument:
The “she won’t listen to me argument.” Part one: The Lego Incident
And Part 2, in which our hero explains that making a video game about punching someone in the face is a great way to open a dialogue with them:
Naturally, Bendilin, like most misogynists, fervently denies that he’s a misogynist:
Yep, that’s right. The guy whose Steam profile claims that “absolutely no girls are any good at video games” and that “no woman has ever written a good novel,” and who decided to express his criticism for a video project that hasn’t even started by making a video game in which players punch the woman behind it in the face, is angry that anyone might conclude that he hates women.
Well, Bendilin, if you wanted to defend video games and the gaming community at large from charges of sexism, you’ve done a bang-up job of it.
UPDATE: Bendilin is also an artist! Here, Virgil Texas takes a look at Bendilin’s erotically charged Sonic the Hedgehog art.
That last paragraph and the update contained
You don’t. I’ve already conceded that the Civil War did not result in a high number of draftees being killed, because most of the soldiers fighting in the Civil War were volunteers.
But there were a lot of American draftees in both World Wars. So I’m still waiting to see how you came to the conclusion that more draftees were killed in Vietnam than in either World War.
Terrible, disgusting, vile individuals. Have a nice life, Kirbywarp.
Cliff:
He will not rest until we believe his evidence, which he will not bother to provide because he knows we’ll only dismiss it.
Steele:
Oh, you’re in Bizarro-World. It all makes sense now.
op. cit.
Because you know you’re wrong?
Thanks Steele, you too. Don’t let the misandry get you down!
“Terrible, disgusting, vile individuals.”
Also NOT an ad hominem.
“Well, I guess we can’t talk about this, because despite my lack of proof I refuse to entertain the notion that I might be wrong.”
Does this mean Steele’s finally leaving?
Steele, um…not all armies are American armies.
Do you know this?
The deadliest conflict in 20th century history was World War 2’s Eastern Front. Both the Soviet army (and allies) and the German army (and allies) made use of conscription.
The total military dead—I’m excluding wounded and missing; I’m also excluding civilian dead—on both sides, was fifteen million people.
“Firstly, you’re saying female students were explicitly told they were inferior to men by authority figures- figures they were trained to respect, believe and obey?”
This happens FUCKING CONSTANTLY. Not that I expect you to believe me. Or actually give a shit.
You guys flatter me—all my original research is in early modern history and intellectual history. I’m getting everything I know about the Second World War from secondary sources.
VoIP, do your secondary sources rhyme with “boogle”? Because that would kinda shut down my cheerleading thing here (which, btw, is totally a sport).
The deadliest conflict ever was probably the Taiping Rebellion. But only half of the participants in that conflict conscripted. The Taiping rebels were conscripted, but the Imperial Chinese army was not (the ethnic Chinese army at the time didn’t conscript and the ethnic Manchu army seems not to have; rather, military service was quasi-hereditary)
No, they rhyme with “kook,” like our friend Steele here, and…um…panuscripts….in hagazines. Yes, hagazines, that’s it.
Oh dear. VoIP, Cloudiah, Unimaginative, KirbyWarp, et al. You guys seriously win the Noble Prize for Best Troll Beat Down. I would seriuosly buy you all drinks (or cake) if I knew you in person. 🙂
@VoIP:
I’m pretty sure “kook” rhymes with “fluke,” or what Steele believes every case of woman-hatred is.
Well, Google is how he finds information, so why would anyone look anywhere else?
Google and anecdotes, which are very important and can be used to prove many things as long as they’re his anecdotes.
Also other people’s anecdotes can sometimes be used to prove things, as long as you consider the other person’s interpretation of events to be irrelevant. I mean, they were only there at the time, whereas you have a Theory of Misandry.
If I went rock climbing they’d be cragazines
when I’m hunting they’re stagazines
if I’m behind in my schedule they’re lagazines
pack them for delivery we’ve got bagazines
if they bug me they’re nagazines
You’re very sweet Fembot, but I contributed nothing but snark. But [looks down somberly] let us never forget that Kirbywarp gave his life for us all tonight. [Pours one out for Kirbywarp] Kirbywarp is dead. LONG LIVE KIRBYWARP!
*lies underneath liquid being poured out*
*glug glug glug*
*burp*
*pats stomach*
😀
I’d take some cake. Can’t eat it until next week, but I really like cake. Also sandwiches. Cloudiah, are the funeral sandwiches going to be Muffaletta? Because I made some from a recipe book, and it was delicious, but I’ve never been to New Orleans for the genuine thing.
Also, I seem to be kind of manic this evening. I blame the heat.
no the relevant part is was he drafted
when a dog is happy she reads wagazines
if it’s all about the lulz we publish gagazines
Wiccans frequently edit hagazines
feminists write their articles in vagazines
“You’re it!” I cry in tagazines
if they’re corrupted on a computer, they’re fragazines
when they go really fast, they’re dragazines
really boastful ones are bragazines
when i have to do my homework but don’t want to they’re a bit of a dragazine