Reddit, what the hell is your problem?
So last night I discovered the PunchableFaces subreddit. That’s right, an entire subreddit devoted to posting pictures of people so that Redditors can fantasize about doing them bodily harm.
While most of the pictures in the subreddit are of boys and men – some targeted for being “faggots” – the recent posts (as of this writing) with the greatest number of upvotes and comments were, naturally, aimed at women. Specifically, at two outspoken feminists who’ve been singled out by Men’s Rights Activists and #GamerGaters for endless harassment: video game critic Anita Sarkeesian and Canadian feminist activist Chanty Binx, perhaps better known amongst her enemies as “Big Red.”
Here are five of the worst comments I’ve run across in the, er, discussions about these women.
Needless to say, TRIGGER WARNING for explicit threats of violence and rape.
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.
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1) This rapey comment about Anita Sarkeesian:
2) This comment about Sarkeesian with more than two dozen upvotes:
3) This comment about Chanty Binx:
4) This other comment about Chanty Binx:
5) And this other other comment about her:
BONUS: Three comments about much-maligned game designer Zoe Quinn, the subject of another post on the PunchableFaces subreddit:
![fuckyourteam 2 points 2 hours ago Wtf is this cunt looking at? permalink save report give gold reply [–]edu_gon95 [S] 5 points 2 hours ago Hopefully an incoming fist permalink save parent report give gold reply [–]ovenbutt 2 points 2 hours ago I want to pretend it's a fist coming straight for her face.](https://i0.wp.com/www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/quinncomments.png?ssl=1)
One more BONUS Zoe Quinn comment:
Oh, and as an ADDED BONUS, here’s another terrible comment, this one directed at a gay teen boy whose picture is the third-most upvoted one on the subreddit as of this writing.
Why exactly is Reddit providing a forum for hate speech and explicit violent threats directed at, among others, gay teenagers and women who are already the regular targets of widespread harassment and threats?
H/T: r/againstmensrights
I’m not convinced it’s fake. There is no threat there, no “you do this/stop doing this or else nudes will be released,” it’s a countdown. I don’t believe they would have put it up if they couldn’t follow through, otherwise what would be the point?
I hope I’m wrong.
@ kirby
Oh, it gets better than that. After introducing the word “adversarial” to describe his own behavior himself he then demands that hellkell prove that he’s being adversarial. Um, what?
The whole issue of the “derail” is kind of irrelevant. It wasn’t any more what had already been said about Reddit’s free speech policy, yet there was a difference in the way that my comments were being treated addressed when compared to the way the initial comments about address free speech policies were being addressed.
OMG perfect.
Yeah, I’m looking forward to the tinhat wing of the manosphere freaking out over that. OMG Emma Watson must be one of the reptilian Illuminati feminazi agents! Harry Potter is feminist propaganda! Someone save us from the NWO (New Women’s Order)!
*reads the next few comments*
Or we could just do regular, non-funny misogyny. Fucking 4chan.
@Leela, I know how you feel. I work in emergency/critical care at an animal hospital, which is stressful enough on its own (I can only imagine what working with sick humans is like!), and then I have to deal with gossip, backbiting, tattling and just plain rude coworkers and just, ugh. I’ve been crying a lot lately, too.
Please keep in mind that not everyone on Reddit, or here, is in the US.
Um, annoyance is pretty subjective, and you telling someone else that they can’t possibly be annoyed by what you said is kinda gaslighty.
@ kirby
I hope so too. Given her age I’m worried that it’s not and they do have something on her, since most people in that age range seem to have done some sort of sexting and hacking into celebrity phones seems to be commonplace.
Ugh, this reminds me of the creepy countdown they did when the Olsen twins were getting close to 18. Leave the former child stars alone, creepers.
Michael, you just went from “I might have been adversarial” to “how dare you call me adversarial” in like 20 minutes. What are you even doing, and can you please stop?
There’s a difference between acknowledging that one’s behavior could be adversarial and saying that another’s behavior is adversarial.
RE: cassandrakitty
Emma Watson seems like a good egg.
I’ve heard that about most the Harry Potter actor kids. Even though I don’t know them personally, I kinda hope they have happy rewarding lives, just because… well, child actors always seem to get so screwed over, you know? I don’t want that to happen to them.
RE: Michael McG
I’m sorry I don’t see where I have been adversarial
We’re sorry too. But please, keep arguing your case, we’ll succumb and decide you’re not being annoying or adversarial any minute now.
Do you even hear yourself right now? “Gaslighty” is definitely the word for you.
@cassandrakitty:
All I know is that I remember random talk on random sites about Emma Watson nudes, so the threat seems entirely credible to me. If they do follow through, I just hope the police find them quickly.
@ LBT
Considering how poorly most child actors fare the Harry Potter kids seem to have all turned out pretty well. It’s a relief, honestly, cause I was really hoping history wouldn’t repeat itself with them. Keeping them well away from Hollywood for most of their youth probably helped.
This is why we love you lots and missed you while you were gone. Don’t ever leave us again!
Ah, so when you acknowledged that it could be considered adversarial, you didn’t intend for us to confirm that it was indeed adversarial – you didn’t want to actually admit any fault, you just wanted to pretend to so we’d stop bugging you.
@Michael McG:
Stop digging. That being said:
Why yes, yes there is! You win the Language award, for being able to speak a language and realize that using a different word changes the meaning! *golf clap*
One would hope, however, that if you acknowledge that your behavior could be considered adversarial, you would not immediately dig a trench and get super defensive when someone else tells you “why yes, it was adversarial.” To do so would cause one to wonder if your original admission was truthful.
Again there is a difference between acknowledging a general possibility and enumerating a specific instance. I’d also like to note that you just accused me of quasi-abusive behavior which is pretty adversarial in itself.
Fucking A right I’m adversarial towards you.
And there’s nothing “quasi” abusive about gaslighting.
Well this argument became even more tedious than it was before. That’s actually a pretty amazing feat.
RE: cassandrakitty
Considering how poorly most child actors fare the Harry Potter kids seem to have all turned out pretty well. It’s a relief, honestly, cause I was really hoping history wouldn’t repeat itself with them.
No kidding. Child actors seem to have it really rough; I always feel really bad for them.
This is why we love you lots and missed you while you were gone. Don’t ever leave us again!
Aw, shucks. *scuffs shoe in dust*
RE: Michael McG
Again there is a difference between acknowledging a general possibility and enumerating a specific instance.
Yay! You did it! You totally convinced me you aren’t being adversarial or annoying anymore! Let me give you a hand! Have a trophy, son!
Some people have flying or rapid healing as their superpowers, this dude has “make every conversation 75% more tedious”.
OK, I’m sorry that I have been more than more than demonstratively adversarial
I will simply stop trying to justify my adversariality. I have clearly dug quite a furrow with my heels and I apologize for whipping up a few more with my continued justifications for my poor behavior. I guess it didn’t just feels different when someone says something about you then when you said about yourself.
I think I’m going to take a break for a couple hours. I hope I’m still welcome, but I will never show up again if I’m not.
I am truly sorry.
Talk to you later?
Dude, did you even read my comment about how being a pedantic nitpicker is generally agreed by most people to be annoying?
Michael: You really need to stop showing your ass and then apologizing for it.
Shade of Mr. Al.
Michael, Policy of madness had some fine advice for you back one page, at the bottom. Please do read it.
You have been adversarial and a bit ‘splainy, in my opinion. I think you can recover from it, but no more digging. Please and thank you?
RE: Michael McG
I guess it didn’t just feels different when someone says something about you then when you said about yourself.
Well, yes, welcome to being a human. Sometimes people will agree with you when you say your behavior is substandard.
Seriously, go cool off and maybe rethink how you interact here. This is not the first time you’ve pulled this shit, and it is tedious as fuck.