Is there some sort of contest out there to see who can sing the praises of GamerGate in the most floridly self-important, over-the-top and un-self-aware manner possible?
If so, we seem to have a new contender: the racist, woman-hating fantasy author and actual adult human being who goes by the name Vox Day, who may have even out-melodramatized 8chan’s pretentious pontificators in a post on his Vox Popoli blog today.
At this point, #GamerGate is about more than games now. It is a Schwerpunkt in the ongoing cultural war for the West. And the gamers of #GamerGate are the only defenders of freedom and Western civilization who are counterattacking and causing enemy casualties. That is why it is more than important, it is vital to see non-gamers joining the cause rather than sneering from the sidelines.
Because if the pinkshirts haven’t come after you and yours yet, they assuredly will so long as you have not submitted to them.
I know that Vox writes terrible fantasy novels for a living. Does he think he lives in one as well?
You know we fucked up somewhere when the last bastion of western civilization is call of duty.
Theodore Beale has long been known for his abusive attitude and actions. IIRC correctly he has boasted about “cold cocking” (punching without warning) a woman in a martial arts class.
Also check his listing in Fundies say the Darndest Things Vox Day
I’d hope he’s lying about that in an attempt to impress his misogynistic little toadies, because randomly punching a fellow student with no warning would get you kicked out of most martial arts classes unless your teacher is the angry blond dude from Karate Kid (ie, fictional).
Maybee, Vox mean to call his website vox propolis, although I don’t notice that his website has any anti-fungal properties.
Agreed.
His reaction to N. K. Jemisin addressing sexism in the SFF community was to call her uncivilized, savage and illiterate. Ah, he also implied he should be allowed to shoot her.
He’s illiterate in seven languages, as my mom would say (in German).
I learned something new today.
It makes me think that people who dream of the Good Ol’ Days don’t know much about them.
Huh. Last time I looked, the Slavic peoples looked just as European as all the rest. I mean they’re white, they’re often very blond…what arbitrary color bar am I missing here?
@samantha:
*crosses legs* Okay, help me remember never to make you angry.
Huh, I never noticed that it’s called Vox Popoli. Probably because I haven’t paid that much attention to him away from WHTM.
@Bina:
When you find it, could you let me know? It’s been puzzling me, too.
re: Slavic
Best I can figure it’s an arbitrary distinction (aren’t they all) between Western and Eastern European culture. Western European culture came from the Greeks and Romans (and some less “civilized” groups, but we ignore them), while Eastern European culture (Slavic) came via the Byzantines, Turks and Mongol hordes. (We’re willfully ignoring broad swathes of history here to decipher the distinction. I know how wrong this is.)
Totally tangential, every time I hear Slavic now, I can’t help but think about Donatan & Cleo’s Eurovision entry for Poland last year. Nothing says Slavic pride like a synth rap.
Thanks, strivingally!
Well, Hitler thought the Slavic peoples were subhuman, and he planned to starve them into extinction and use their land to expand the “Aryan” race. I’m not gonna say or imply that Vox Day is a Nazi, but unquestionably a lot of Nazi ideas have oozed into reactionary/racist “thought”.
I meant to say: I’m not gonna say or imply that people like Vox Day are Nazis …
Also all the Cold War us vs. them rhetoric tended to established the East-West line at the “Iron Curtain” — the peoples of the Soviet Bloc were largely Slavic.
I believe ‘popoli’ is a legit Italian word, and VD lives in Italy. (On the other hand, “Vox” is Latin, so either he’s mixing languages, or the blog’s title should translate to something like “Ted of the people” or “Vox’s people”, or something like that.)
May I never say anything else in defense of him.
He’s making a double pun (he explained this once on the way to disdaining John Scalzi for not somehow figuring it out), based on “voice of god” in Latin/Italian and “voice of Theo” in Latin/Greek because his name is Theodore… Right. I was a Classics major, speaking/reading Latin, Greek, German and French, and I didn’t catch it. Guess I’m as dumb as Scalzi. (Sarcasm)
Day has also accused women of destroying Western Civilization by not marrying men picked out for them by their fathers (I believe there was a post on that here a few years ago). In fact, he is always accusing someone of destroying Western Civilization by not living the way/doing the things that Day thinks are right, It’s kind of boring sometimes.
“Pink-shirts” started out as his term for Science Fiction writers and fandom which tries to be diverse and inclusive – he believes that “blue” science fiction is that written by straight white males, and is the only “true” science fiction. Of course the Science Fiction Writers of America is full of pink-shirts, because they cruelly booted him out for telling the truth about N.K. Jemison (and he claims she started it, by mentioning his loss of the SFWA presidential election) according to his story. He is trying to divide Science Fiction into two camps, the blue shirts and the pink shirts, with the blue shirts winning of course. He constantly claims to be winning the battle and advocates to his blue-shirts that the pursue a scorched earth policy against us woeful pink-shirts and our “necrobestial media” (i.e. he doesn’t like vampire/werewolf urban fantasy).
I’ve been reading his blogs for about 2 years now and he makes me tired – he’s like an evil Energizer Bunny -he keeps hating and hating and hating…
It’s ok. You’re forgiven. 😉
Necrobestial is the name of my ABBA coverband.
It’s industrial death covers.
Bonelady, I want to be as dumb as Scalzi. Is there a school for that? 🙂
As to those who believe true science fiction being written only by straight white males, how do these people square this belief with Shelley? I thought Frankenstein was arguably the first science fiction story.
I’m not a classics major but I’m pretty sure nor Latin nor Greek calls Theodore “Day” or “Popoli.”
@Skye: I’m pretty sure they’d be happy to provide any number of (really weak) reasons why Shelley isn’t a science fiction author.
Either that, or they plop her in with the pink shirts. Hey, there’s been Frankenstein’s Monster romance novels (I’m pretty sure).
Talk about beating a dead horse…
Not a linguist, but I did some poking around and apparently Theodore translates to Theódo̱ros in Greek (Θεόδωρος), which means gift of god, or given by god.
Popoli does mean “peoples” in Italian.
But there is no way that Vox popoli means voice of the people. In Italian, this would be “voce del popolo” and in Greek, it would be “i̱ fo̱ní̱ to̱n politó̱n” (η φωνή των πολιτών). There’s no link to either the spelling of his name or the transliteration of his name in these two translations.
Oh, man, I need to get a pink shirt.
Yyyaaaaayyyyyy!!!! 95 Smithing at last!
Sorry, I’ve been working toward that goal for so many months. I just had to post somewhere.
Michelle – what game are you playing?
Great. I’ve had the goal of 95 Smithing for so long, now I can’t remember what I intended to actually do with it. Off to the wiki to see if I can figure out what my goal actually was. LOL
@Puddleglum – Nope. SJW’s wear lavender, don’t ya know. See the official seal on the side-bar of this site.
Also, I’m playing Runescape. Double XP Weekend!
Meanwhile, I announced my costume as a Gamer Girl, intending to scare the #GGs, and my online clan just responded with 2 things:
“You need big boobs. Oh, you’re already have them? OK, costume ready.” Apparently, they mostly think I’m a man. I get the “You’re a dude, right?” fairly frequently.
After that, it was talk about how I’m lucky I can go outside tonight, without freezing my big boobs, off, because it’s 15 degrees outside !!!!!! where one clannie is, and a mere 35 for another clannie, and cheesy crackers! I’m glad I live in the South.
So, just to clarify: Gamer Girls don’t even phase Gamer Guys. It’s only the Gamer Gaters and Gamer Jerks that are frightened and upset by us.
Also, I love my clan.
John Scalzi is AWESOMEEEEEE!
Seriously, I have never read anything he wrote that I did not like. Granted, I haven’t read everything he ever wrote, but still.
He is awesome.
Like, Lego Movie awesome!
@Fibinachi
Will they wear the costumes? I love the costumes. Perhaps in gothic colors, and shredded a bit?
I think it’s supposed to be Vox Populi, latin for voice of the people. Likewise, Vox Day is a play on Vox Dei. I got these references because I’m a recovering pompous asshole myself.
Why he misspells populi as popoli, I don’t know.
@HCK granted, but it still doesn’t explain how Theodore fits in there as a pun. In Latin, Theodore is rendered as Cornelius, which again is nothing like vox populis.
From http://www.behindthename.com/name/cornelius :
So there is no pun on Theodore that I can see, in Latin, Italian, or Greek.
You’re looking for direct logic.
Theodore = God’s Gift
Vox Dei = God’s Voice
Vox Populi = People’s voice
The play on his name is that since he’s God’s Gift, as an author, he’s God’s voice. Then for his blog, he did a play on his pen name.
It’s not really a pun.
HCK, we know all this. It’s just not clever and it doesn’t make sense.
Maybe he went for Vox Day because he can’t spell Vacuous Dipshit.
Better Italian name: sessista tipo razzista
I thought “Vox Day” was the Ferengi phrase for “pompous doucheweasel”.
Falconer, you’re probably right. 🙁 They can’t logic, but they can rationalize.
Congratulations on the smithing, Michelle! Good luck on figuring out what you wanted it for. I certainly know what THAT feels like.
Regarding women SF writers, I’ve long argued that Ayn Rand should be considered one. Atlas Shrugged has distinct hard science elements – Rearden metal, the Thompson Harmonizer, and the miracle motor, for example. There’s also social science; oh goodness, is there. But Objectivists dislike relegating The Book to genre status, and SF fans are horrified by the very thought.
And it sells well.
I’m color confused now. How do the pink and blue shirts fit withe blue and red pill? Blue shirts take red pills? That’s inconsistent!
@dorabella
That’s what you get from awkwardly combining two different popular culture references.
Then why “Day”? Is it because he knows his ignorant audience won’t be able to pronounce his pen name properly?
He still spelled it wrong.
Robert, is it ok if I’m just horrified by Ayn Rand in general?
Skye, that is quite ok.
It’s interesting that there’s Randian objection to calling Atlas shrugged sf, considering how many of them love Heinlein.
As for the pink/blue sf, it’s not just Rand and Shelley – what about Le Guin? Cherryh? Butler? Not to mention Bujold, Aguirre, McGuire … Even ignoring MZB women have always been incredibly important in sf.
Considering his reaction to Jemisin, I’m sure he’s issued some horrible pronouncement about Octavia Butler somewhere but I can’t stomache actually looking for it.