What a surreal life Anita Sarkeesian must lead, in which virtually everything she says and does becomes grist for the Great Internet Lady Harassment Machine, Sarkeesian Division.
Take the latest blowup, which followed a few comments Sarkeesian made in the wake of Friday’s school shooting in Marysville, which may have been triggered by the shooter’s angry response to a romantic breakup. On Friday, Sarkeesian posted a few thoughts on the matter on Twitter:
We need to seriously address connections between violence, sexism and toxic ideas of manhood before boys and men commit more mass shootings.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 24, 2014
Not a coincidence it’s always men and boys committing mass shootings. The pattern is connected to ideas of toxic masculinity in our culture.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 24, 2014
While it it not literally true that every single mass shooter in history has been male, we are talking about an almost exclusively male club: one recent attempt at crunching the numbers found that 97% of school shooters have been male, and 79% of them white. (The Maryville shooter was Native American.)
In any case, the notion that a crime so heavily associated with men might have something to do with our society’s notions of masculinity isn’t exactly a radical notion. Indeed, it seems rather obvious.
But to Sarkeesian’s many haters, on Twitter and elsewhere, it was as if Sarkeesian had just posted a video of herself drowning puppies. Cue the twitterstorm.
Here are just a selection of the literally hundreds of lovely comments that Sarkeesian had Tweeted at her on Friday and Saturday after making her original comments.
[Giant TRIGGER WARNING for violent, explicit threats, harassment]
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There were, of course, the explicit threats:
And the implicit threats:
And the sexual harassment:
And those who merely expressed their hope that Sarkeesian would kill herself:
Or die a horrible death:
Or simply die :
But not everyone wished violence on her. Some just told her that the threats and/or harassment she’s already getting is totally justified:
(Apparently by “fishing” Mr. de Alba means “expressing an opinion or making an observation.” Also note that the tweets that set off this latest wave of harassment didn’t contain the #GamerGate hashtag. )
Speaking of harassment, we’re just getting started in our chronicle of the latest wave.
Let’s continue with an assortment of Tweets using the c-word, a favorite slur amongst Sarkeesian’s detractors.
Why, yes, that is Suzanne McCarley, A Voice for Men’s “Assistant Managing Editor” happily adding her voice to the harassment.
Others pulled out the f-word:
She was called a “bitch.”
She was called a “whore.”
She was called a “terrorist.”
And a Nazi:
One fellow said that he thought Sarkeesian’s tweets were actually worse than the shooting itself:
And one even declared her “officially worse than Wil Wheaton,” the former Star Trek:TNG actor who has won mass opprobrium from internet dicks for publicly expressing his belief that people should not be dicks.
To add insult to injury, a few reported Sarkeesian herself to Twitter for various imaginary infractions:
Another asked why she wasn’t in jail for her, er, crimes:
Just to remind you: these tweets are all from TWO DAYS’ worth of harassment and threats on Twitter. And this isn’t all of them.
At this point anyone who claims that Sarkeesian is “making up” the harassment she gets, or writing it herself, or just the work of a “few trolls,” is either disingenuous or delusional.
I’ll leave the last word to Sarkeesian herself.
Our culture is deeply sick when simply asking questions about how toxic forms of masculinity may harm men leads to hours of hate on Twitter.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 25, 2014
EDITED TO ADD:
ATTENTION NEW COMMENTERS! I would like to draw your attention to this bit from my comments policy:
[I]f I’m writing about someone who’s gotten harassed by misogynists on the internet, and you want to talk about how much they deserved it, or what a lying liar they are? Well, fuck you! Your comments go right into the trash.
So take that into consideration. It might save you some time.
CORRECTION: I removed a screenshot of a Tweet that wasn’t threatening but was posted by a troll. See here.
fxc, the examples you’re vaguely referencing have been debunked. It’s one side of the story. It’s fine to “question everything”, if someone answers, then you’ll want to listen to that as well. You’re choices of when you start and stop your critical thinking are telling.
Yeah, I was going to write “you are choosing” then switched mid sentence, and I know I shouldn’t be spamming my edits here, but omg that bugs me.
Yeah, I should read my posts in the preview before I post. It’s early! 🙁
It’s ironic that people who see secret conspiracies and misandrist boogeymen hiding in their morning oatmeal claim to be unable to connect a few large, obvious dots regarding gun violence. “Oh, these are all lone wolves! There is no pattern! No cultural support!”
Of course this is political. Just for being a woman, in the US, you’re at risk of randomly gunned down by some disgruntled lowlife with a permanent chip on his shoulder. Just for being a woman, you’re subject to death threats and harrassment for daring to express an opinion. The NRA has entered us all into their version of The Lottery. Every year, a few parents have to sacrifice their children so that the rest of the village can cling onto their guns and have the option of violent retribution when life goes south for them. If you have a school-aged daughter, the odds of her number coming up in The Lottery go up a little (and even more when you include everyday assault and rape in that statistic, not just “lone gunmen” who GEE I DON’T KNOW WHERE get the idea that women are prizes, and guns confer manhood). And the rest of us are not allowed to talk about this because it’s “unseemly” and might hurt some feelings.
What is it going to take before enough people say “Enough?”
The majority of parents who lose kids to senseless violence WANT it to be politicized. They want to know why it happened. They want to prevent the same tragedy from happening to other families. They become activists. They speak out. They give statements to the press. They try to get laws passed to make their communities safer. They engage in policy discussions. None of this intrudes on their private grief.
You know what does intrude on private grief? People suggesting that the victim did something to deserve it. People who tacitly endorse the violence by screaming “sit down and shut up, you ” any time someone asks “how can we avoid repeating this tragedy?” Concern trolls who sanctimoniously tweet about “respect for the family”, then go back onto 4chan and post horrible, cretinous posts glorifying misogyny.
Anita Sarkeesian didn’t “use” this tragedy. It speaks for itself, loud and clear. And it goes on speaking with every screamed insult and threat directed at the people who are actually trying to do something to fix the problem.
OMG! There’s a troll who is rational! And of course the first manifestation of this rationality is to lay out a gendered ad hominem! Such rational. So logic. Wow.
She deserves it because: Hitman. Totally an argument that has never been heard before and certainly hasn’t been thoroughly debunked.
Give me a moment while I swoon over the rationality on display here.
Can’t we all think of the poor, misunderstood sea lions? How dare Sarkeesian not scour her mentions and read all of those rape and murder fantasies that star herself, so that she can identify and give personalized attention to the sea lions.
Because we all know that if a dude has taken the time and care to compose a 140-character query about how Sarkeesian is a c— because: Hitman, he is owed, owed, an individualized and thoughtful response! That’s what Plato said. It’s in Critias. So you have to bow to this troll’s rationality.
WHAT ABOUT THE SEA LIONS!!!!
Calling Sarkeesian a c— and telling her that she needs to be raped and/or die (preferably both!) is a much more effective and less disingenuous method to convince someone that OMG HITMAN DO YOU KNOW THAT THING ABOUT HITMAN?????
I am awed by the rationality of this troll. I think we can all agree that this post needs to be disseminated to philosophers the world round and studied by all. Truly, we are in the presence of an intellectual giant here.
What is she exactly “lying” about to fit an agenda, please? Please, with examples, so it is very clear to everyone.
As a scholar, I have to say that there are many conclusions and points she makes which I find either refutable or criticizable. But that is all over academia and critical thinking. You are not going to agree with every conclusion people come too and with every point they make. However, you need to discuss this empirically and not by cyber screaming on twitter.
Some of her analysis is really 101 critical thinking; very basic stuff and some have being pointed out in academia for years. She makes a very good use of the video platform and seems to be doing a lot of research. The amount of negative response she gathers seems completely disproportionate to what she is doing. Criticizing is not casting rocks at things. Pointing out sexism is not pointing at men. I find this entire backlash so unbelievable. I see myself defending her even when I don’t really agree with some of her points just because of the amount of crap she is getting.
I am so angry at all this. I can’t believe it.
I also heard recently someone trying to justify Sarkeesian’s harassment to my face. Oh, please… I told the person to go sleep naked on a cactus.
But, @pineapplecookies, you’re doing it wrong. You should be getting upset with Anita because she isn’t taking time out, whilst fleeing her home for safety, to respond personally to your comments …. fxc says so. /snark
Thanks for the debunking link, PoM. I’m so, SO fucking sick of “But HITMAN therefore everything Sarkeesian made is a LIE!”
It’s pretty easy to tell the ones whose entire hatred of Sarkeesian is based off what thunderd00fus told them to think.
@titianblue
First off, I’m not a troll nor am I trolling. I’m not being rude or emotional, I’m presenting my opinions and being respectful in the process. This is a classic strategy used by people online to try to silence others with opinions you do not agree with and have a hard time arguing against, label them as a troll.
Secondly, I’m not saying that the appropriate response is to attack anyone with any type of threat. Since the very first comment I have left I have not once advocated for or made excuses for the people who have left that garbage. The upset that people feel is because their criticisms to her arguments were being lumped in with the harassment people were posting, that is a valid reason to be upset especially when the person has no intention to harass anyone.
Thirdly, it’s sad that you fall so quickly to online bullying and tossing around of ad homs on a blog post that is talking about how bad online harassment is. Ironic even.
I will gladly provide you with a one notable example of her lying to support her thesis:
In one of her videos (I’m not sure which #) she talks about the game Hitman and a particular scene within the game that takes place in a strip club. During her critique she covers how the developers of the game encourage you to murder, and mutilate the women within the strip club all while in the background she has a play through of the game where whoever is playing is killing both strippers and dragging their bodies around the floor. What is not discussed or even touched upon is that the mission for that level was not to murder the strippers and drag their bodies around, which in fact makes you lose points, the mission, and the level; but the mission was to murder the male bouncer without being noticed by anyone in the club. That paints a completely different story and is a very clear example of examples being fabricated to support her thesis.
What is even more disturbing about that is that she had to have been the one that played that play through (or someone close to her that helps shoot/edit her videos), so she was the one mutilating and dragging the bodies around. I have looked for other play throughs of that level and didn’t find the footage she used, so it would be safe to assume she filmed it herself.
Finally, I don’t know why you have instantly become so upset with me, that you would then attack me with insults. I am being respectful of everyone here, I am not using violent or derogatory language and I’m trying to present my opinions in a clear and articulate way. If this is intended to be an echo chamber that I have stumbled upon, then I am sorry to have disturbed you and will leave, but I was under the impression that this was open for dialog.
@strivingally
I didn’t find it. It was posted here a week or so ago on another thread. I can’t remember who did find it, but I can take no credit.
“You can cool your hysteronics, let’s talk rationally please.”
Dumbass who can’t spell “Histrionics” or jerkass deliberately trying to tie it in with the etymology of “Hysterics”? Either way, there are asses involved.
Well, reading these replies I can clearly see that it is indeed an echo chamber that I have walked into. @pineapplecookies seems to be the only one here that is even willing to have a reasonable discussion on the criticisms of the strength of some of her arguments. The rest of you seem to think that any criticism what-so-ever is on par with being fully in support of all the harassing remarks she has received. You guys are perfectly demonstrating the exclusivity in this that causes fervor as opposed to discourse and progress. Sorry I disturbed you, enjoy your pats on the back.
Holy shit, a numbered list!
You are a troll, and you are also a sea lion. Own your shit.
Aristotle talked about this in On the Soul. That’s how classic it is! Calling a troll a troll is an oppressive act. Won’t someone pity the poor trolls?
HITMAN! HAVEN’T YOU HEARD ABOUT HITMAN YET??????
What about the sea lions???????????? AND HITMAN. REMEMBER THE HITMAN.
@fcx, so you do know what “disingenuous” means. Excellent example, there, accusing others of using insults whilst implying everyone else is, ah, what was the word, “hysterionic” (nice combination of hysteria and histrionics, by the way) whilst you are oh, so rational.
I apologise for thinking you didn’t know what the word meant. /sarcasm
Awww, we gave the troll a sad.
C’mon, stick the flounce, stick the flounce…
@fcx, you came to a thread detailing some of the appalling hate-mail received by Anita and all you want to do is disagree with her videos. Nice priorities, there, kiddo.
fxc, I am not sure you are into a “a reasonable discussion on the criticisms of the strength of some of her arguments” from what I have been observing. You said she is lying just to make a point. Using the word “lie” is very problematic here. How can you be sure she did this in bad faith and not just a mistake? One could see in that game that the fact that there is even possible to hurt the women and drag their bodies around as a problematic feature. She can have made a mistake on that one and on many other ones. How many mistakes that were not deliberate have I made while researching or writing a paper? I am not perfect and neither is she. And one can say “actually, the fact you have pointed out is not completely accurate” and then start a discussion; even a discussion directly with her. But by saying “you lie to make a point, here is your lie exposed” is just not the way to present that you found flaws in her work. Especially considering all the ridiculous and disproportionate harassment she has endured since she even began this project.
When people are defending someone, that does not mean that that person is perfect.
Go to any toy store that has pink and blue aisles. Any child can tell you that the guns are in the “boy toys”.
Guns are marketed to little boys. They are taught to associate weapons and violence with maleness. They are often shamed if they so much as step foot in the “girl toys”. Girl things are supposed to be gross to boys and playing with them can get a boy’s ass whipped, sometimes by their peers and other times by their folks.
I have no issue with toy guns or kids who do not want to play with baby dolls. I do think only a very stupid person could pretend that little boys being treated like this…
…doesn’t screw them up.
argh. I meant “that does not mean they think that person is perfect”.
my English is tired today.
When people are defending someone, that does not mean they think that person is perfect.
QFT
May I just present this fact:
Correlation does not equal causation.
And let me leave it at that.
fxc, did you notice the link somebody posted to you that debunks the hitman claims?
There is also a video up from someone called logic bomb that does it as well.
For the rest, I have a question, is M Social Justice Ranger’s comment abelist?
Not just because of the “dumbass” but the whole spelling thing?
This is not an intentionally trolly or rhetorical question, I’m trying to get abelism straight.
You come at me with that opening, then call yourself respectful? Fuck off with this bullshit.
Feeling personally attacked because someone is critiquing stuff you like is not a legitimate response. People who want to voice legitimate criticism of her videos can and have done so. Acting like a whiny baby or joining a hate campaign aren’t really the ways to do it.