Worlds are colliding: Roosh Valizadeh, the reactionary, woman-hating pick-up guru, is starting a #GamerGate inspired game site, just as #GamerGate itself is descending into a morass of mutual recriminations and generalized douchebaggery.
Reaxxion – the title presumably a reference to Roosh’s neo-reactionary political views – doesn’t seem to have officially launched yet, but it is up, and looking a bit threadbare at the moment, with only a handful of articles posted yet. Billed as “a safe space for gamers who support #gamergate,” the site is an obvious attempt to cash in on #GamerGate anger. Roosh’s timing is a little less than perfect; he’s jumping aboard this money train as it seems to be derailing.
Roosh introduces the site in a post that is one of the most inadvertently ridiculous things he’s ever written. He begins by introducing himself, boasting about the page views his sites generate. And then he writes this amazing paragraph:
I have written well over one million words, but less than 2,000 of those have been taken out of context to paint me as an extremist, misogynist, and rapist, accusations that my friends, family, and women I’ve had relationships with can’t understand. I must state that I have never once committed assault against a woman or been accused of assault, but … such accusations are being used as weapons to marginalize speech.
Well, since he brings it up, I might as well quote the 311 of his words that have been, er, “taken out of context” to “paint [him]” as a rapist. In his ebook Bang Iceland, he recalls one of these. er, bangs:
While walking to my place, I realized how drunk she was. In America, having sex with her would have been rape, since she legally couldn’t give her consent. It didn’t help matters that I was relatively sober, but I can’t say I cared or even hesitated. I won’t rationalize my actions, but having sex is what I do.
The context for this passage? A book offering men advice on how best to manipulate women into bed, in Iceland.
Anyway, back to Roosh’s amazing little introduction. After some more complaints about the alleged evils of the SJWs, Roosh drops this little confession:
I’m not a gamer
I’m starting a video game site even though I haven’t played video games seriously since the year 2000 (Starcraft was my jam). I don’t even play mobile games. I won’t blow smoke up your ass by pretending I’m a gamer or have a deep commitment in furthering game technology.
Huh. A dude who couldn’t give two shits about gaming is starting a site to capitalize on #GamerGate. ETHICS, yo!
So why, aside from sheer opportunism, is Roosh starting the site? Well, as he sees it, he’s doing it to stand up for the rights of the truly oppressed.
I aim to protect the interests of heterosexual Western males, a category I’m in.
How are these poor creatures being oppressed? Well, as Roosh sees it,
The far-left is trying to censor and criminalize masculine behaviors that are normal. They want to relabel consensual sex as “rape” and relabel innocent flirting as “harassment,” and as I learned with #gamergate, they’ve successfully infected the gaming industry and gaming journalist sites by damaging the very nature of gaming development to fit their extreme political agenda. So while I don’t play video games, the idea of starting a pro-#gamergate site is compatible with my overall mission.
Apparently he wants to make video gaming safe for … date rapists? Sorry, date consensual-sex-that-has-been-relabeled-as-rape-havers?
He tells the sad story of his younger brother, an actual gamer who likes games with stories to them. If the evil SJWs get their way, Roosh warns, his poor brother will have to endure game narratives that include, you know, girls.
The infiltration of SJW’s into gaming may mean that my brother will have to put up with their narrative in his games. It may mean that his entertainment options become more limited because a developer was subtly threatened unless he inserted another “empowered female” in a game where such a character simply doesn’t fit.
We wouldn’t want to limit his brother’s choices, huh? Like the choices available in Grand Theft Auto V, in which players can switch between three different protagonists, none of whom are icky females.
Roosh acknowledges that he’s got an ideology of his own, but assures readers that he won’t impose it on them like those terrible SJWs do.
[I]f you don’t don’t agree with ROK, that’s fine, because Reaxxion will not try to jam ideology down your throat like the existing gaming sites. We won’t tell you to go to the gym and live in Eastern Europe to sleep with thin women, behaviors that I currently engage in.
But dudes, you totally should go to the gym and move to Eastern Europe to sleep with thin women instead of those uppity Western fatties. Just sayin.
Heck, Roosh’s site is so committed to not shoving ideology down anyone’s throat that it has a special page setting forth a list of prescribed “Reaxxion Community Beliefs,” which include:
1. Men do not become more violent, sexist, or racist because they play video games.Gamers should not be shamed for a hobby that does not cause harm to others.
And:
7. Heterosexual men should not be shamed for enjoying things designed to appeal to heterosexual men. There is non-harmful entertainment value in traditional story lines involving masculine men and feminine women.
Gosh, nothing ideological here!
And since Roosh isn’t going to try to push his ideology on anyone, his site will presumably extend its welcome mat to everyone, huh?
Oh, wait.
Our goal is simple: create a safe space for heterosexual males who play video games. We won’t exclude homosexuals or attractive women from commenting on our articles, and we sincerely hope they find value in what we have to say, but understand that this site will be written by male gamers for male gamers.
Oh.
It aims to be a place where men can be themselves without SJW infiltration, judgement, and influence. In the year 2014, surprisingly, there are very few spaces for men online where their message isn’t attacked by white knights, man-haters, and SJW’s. I know an unmet need when I see one.
Finally, men’s voices will at last be heard!
And unlike some gaming site, Roosh’s Reaxxion will be all about ethics. Heck, he’s even got an official Ethics Policy setting forth how totes ethical his site will be. For example, he pledges that Reaxxion
won’t attempt to ruin individuals or companies. Any critical story is based on facts and properly sourced. We don’t publish articles with the intent to incite a mob.
So, no ruining or mob-inciting. I guess that’s better than the alternative.
We don’t bully, harass, threaten, SWAT, or dox anyone. Contact us if you see such activity in the comments.
Wait, what? You feel the need to announce publicly that you won’t SWAT people? That is, you won’t maliciously call 911 and report an imaginary crime in order to get a SWAT team sent to your victim’s house? Is this something that happens at other game sites? I mean, does Kotaku regularly send SWAT teams to harass makers of games they don’t like?
We will not publish clickbait with the intent to outrage. Authors will have 100% belief in what they write. Contributors who are found to be “trolling” will be blacklisted.
Yes, the dude behind Return of Kings, the publisher of pieces declaring that tattooed women are “broken” and offering “5 Reasons To Date A Girl With An Eating Disorder” is telling us that he’s not going to publish “clickbait with the intent to outrage.”
Anyway, Roosh apparently feels he’s got all he needs to run a totally kickass gaming site for cool dudes. He’s got a publisher – himself – who knows nothing about gaming. He’s got that ethics policy. He’s got a stable of expert writers … oh, wait, about that. Apparently he might be a little light on writers.
[S]end us your submissions. We want you to inject your DNA, your ideas, and your stories into Reaxxion. Instead of trying to silence you like the other sites, we want to make your voice louder, even if you are not a “professional journalist.”
Yeah, there’s no possible way Roosh’s site could turn into a complete fiasco that embarrasses everyone involved in it. Or is there?
Presumably because “we” plan to hit on persons from at least one of the above categories should they come calling, amirite?
Oh my god. I can’t believe we missed this.
It’s right there in the name: Reaxxion. 2 X’s. XX. What else is XX???
PEOPLE. This is a FALSE FLAG operation hiding under our very noses. The feminazis obviously colluded to create this site to make gamers look STUPID. I mean, the 3 best games? REALLY?? Come on.
Time to doxx this Roosh guy. IF THAT IS HIS REAL NAME. IF HE’S ACTUALLY A GUY. Probably a mangina, or one of Anita’s socks. More feminist lies! DON’T FALL FOR IT!!!!!!1111!!!!
zennurse, yep, that was Roosh “wiping my arse is so haaaarrd” a few weeks back.
That aftershave sounds like next generation (or degeneration, rather) Axe.
Shorter Roosh: I play games, you play games! You got no game, I’ll get you game. Buy my books?
Not only that but the definition of axion is a hypothetical thingummy and that gives away the whole thing.
Well, according to his Wikipedia page his real name is Daryush Valizadeh.
(Yes, I know the post I’m replaying to was a joke… but I’d just found out about that name today, and kind of boggled at it.)
Doxxing also has two XX’s. Just saying.
The image of the Outlaw Jimmy Wales announcing to the Goobergaters “Let the most worthy among you write this entry,” and then retreating, is delicious. It’s so simple, it’s brilliant.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/gallery/popcorn-gifs/tumblr_ljh0puClWT1qfkt17.gif
Just popping in with good news…HT feministprincessbride is a thing, and about a quarter (? ok I didn’t actually count) of the tweets are mocking GG.
Jenora – yeah, Roosh is of Iranian origin. Apparently that’s what the name of his blog refers to (it was this snotbag talking as if he had anything to do with kings that got me when I first read it.)
Yep, this is obviously going to great. Surely it will topple the powerhouses of IGN and Gamespot, there is no way this is going to die in a month or two like GoodGamers. XD
and
Well, I guess I didn’t really need to actually drink the rest of that chai (dab dab dab).
@C.S.Strowbridge
Commodore 64 fistbumps!
Can I get in on this? It was the first computer we had at home, back in the early 80’s. 😀
(alas, for the days when EA was an awesome company.)
Hilariously, in the real world, this actually is a real issue…
…that is, developers get pushed to NOT include female characters and to make it about muscly dudes instead.
Weird how being against this is SJW SJW SJW, but being against the hypothetical opposite that simply isn’t happening is totally about ethics in games journalism.
@Macha:
The Starfox game Dinosaur Planet was originally going to have the female character, Crystal, as the heroine, but it was decided that nobody would want a female heroine so we got Fox as the hero and Crystal as the damsel in distress with skimpy clothing. Woot.
There are numerous cases of developers wanting to create games with female leads, but marketers and publishers nixing them because they don’t think such a game would sell.
I’m sure Doosh would see absolutely nothing wrong with this.
That’s probably the easiest example, but there’s many more. Games with female characters tend to get less marketing, and then having a female character gets blamed for the subsequent failure.
Even when the game itself may have been at fault.
So, it’s for male gamers, but homosexual men are allowed if they behave. Because homosexual men are not male somehow? Well, well, well.
I think it’s that they fear gay men might want to see characters who are also gay men. Everyone knows you can catch teh gay through TV or computer screens if you play a character who’s gay!
So this is almost entirely but not quite off topic, but for whatever reason, since this GamerGate mess blew up my twitter feed, my phone has started autocorrecting MISANDRY to be all caps.
I think I like it.
MINE TOO! I thought it was just my phone and it was the result of some ironic misandrist text I’d written in which I’d typed the word in all caps and my phone had just remembered. Clearly not though.
This is funny. This Cracked listicle is very obviously directed at gamergaters even though they don’t come out and say it. I think our trolls would benefit from this too. http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-tips-angry-internet-commenters/
I have no words.
TIL for every game released featuring an empowered woman, an FPS featuring a white man has to be removed completely from the market.
At least they are consistent… Any time I think GamerGate cannot do more stupid, then, like a magical spell, they manage to pull of something like this. It’s really facinating…
Anyway, what I don’t get… If his brother doesn’t want female characters in a game, that’s totally ok and his basic human right. But if a woman wants female characters in the same game, that’s of course a horrible injustice…