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From the Archives: Candace Owens meets Gamergate — and things get weird

Candace Owens: Has a thing for terrible dudes

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By David Futrelle

Candace Owens — self-proclaimed “Red Pill Black” conservative — is having a bit of a moment, hanging out with new Trump fan Kanye West, posing for selfies with Don Jr., getting an effusive Twitter shout-out from Don Sr,, threatening to sue people who talk about her in what she considers the wrong way.

A lot of people have been left wondering just where exactly Owens came from. Well, there’s a bit of a story there.

Long-time readers of this blog first met Owens back in the days of Gamergate, after Zoe Quinn criticized her ill-conceived plan for an “anti-bullying” site that would have basically doxed a bunch of teenagers. After Quinn spoke out, Gamergaters spouting conspiracy theories quickly abandoned their own critiques of Owens and  rallied around her. Owens began spouting conspiracy theories of her own, and, well, let’s just say things got very weird very fast, as they generally seem to do when Owens gets involved in anything.

In several posts, I tried my best to make sense of the whole surreal mess. I’m linking them here because I think they may illuminate a few things about Trump World’s newest heroine.

Social Autopsy founder Candace Owens channels GamerGate in bizarre attack on Zoe Quinn (APRIL 20, 2016)

This post describes what happened immediately after Owens first heard from Quinn. Trust me, the headline (and the snippet from the post below) don’t fully capture the weirdness of the story.

Instead of listening to Quinn, Owens declared war on her, spewing forth dozens of angry and accusatory tweets, charging that Quinn and fellow anti-harassment activist Randi Harper … were somehow the puppetmasters behind a barrage of abusive, threatening, and often blatantly racist anonymous messages that Owens (who is black) started getting not long after news of Owens’ plans hit Reddit and 4chan.

Owens quickly began to sound like every other internet crackpot who sees conspiracies in every Twitter mention.

SocialAutopsy-Turvy: Candace Owens’ Twitter Trainwreck, Part One
 (APRIL 24, 2016)

And quite a trainwreck it was. The story continued to get weirder, and at such a pace that I never had a chance to write part two.

In furious post, SocialAutopsy’s Candace Owens attacks a WashPo story that isn’t there APRIL 25, 2016

In this episode, Owens writes an angry diatribe against an article she imagined that Washington Post writer Caitlin Dewey had written about her. No, really. She accused Dewey and her editor of attempting to libel her in an article that the Post never published and that as far as I know Dewey never even wrote.

Giddy Gamergater: Will Candace Owens show the world that we’ve been right all along? (APRIL 28, 2016)

Naturally, Gamergaters were thrilled to have such an, er, original thinker on their side.

NOTE TO READERS: Sorry for being MIA the last couple of days; I’ve been dealing with the double whammy of migraines and some really nasty lower back pain. Doing a little better today.

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littlem
littlem
6 years ago

I’m not ready for any of this. Just, you know, for the record.

PeeVee the Tired
PeeVee the Tired
6 years ago

Candace constantly looks for ways to re-invent herself to keep herself as relevant as possible. When this cycle of relevance falls out of favor, she’ll find some other bandwagon to hitch onto.

That’s about the only consistent thing about her, really.

Hexum7
Hexum7
6 years ago

Candace would be a real horror show if she actually seemed sincere.

, every pore of her act oozes show business.

Moggie
Moggie
6 years ago

Remember when we thought 2016 was really strange and bad? Good times.

peaches
peaches
6 years ago

It’s okay David. I’ve been having a lot of pain too, and have surgery scheduled next Thursday on my ankle. I’m trying to keep still. Hope you feel better soon.

Eldridge the Cleaver
Eldridge the Cleaver
6 years ago

Original thinker. Rhymes with house n*****

Shadowplay
6 years ago

Hear you on the pain. Drove a spike through my hand Tuesday (and it HAD to be my smart hand, of course) – not exactly comfortable.

Take it easy and take care.

weirwoodtreehugger: chief manatee

My back has been really bad lately too. Maybe the Trump presidency is literally making the population sick.

Fluffy Spider
Fluffy Spider
6 years ago

Get well soon David! I know how awful migraines and lower back pain is
Hope all goes well, Fluffy Spider

Periphrase
Periphrase
6 years ago

She seems since then to be blaming the Social Autopsy thing on her having been a liberal at the time and definitely an example of the terrible things liberals want to do.

Bina
Bina
6 years ago

Hang in there, David. Hope you get all the health troubles sorted out soon.

Meanwhile, I knew there was a reason this particular troll’s name looked vaguely familiar. Of course I saw it here first! I had forgotten. But it just seems so…typical, somehow. When sellouts sell out, they have to keep selling out to somewhere. Gamergate has run its course, so now she’s latched onto ToiletPaperUSA. Which is also about to get flushed down the Great Crapper, now that they’ve been connected to actual Nazis in Charlottesville.

I shit you not, they really ARE.

And yeah, I’d love to see her pull a #NotYourShield on THIS one. She’s been nothing BUT a shield…to sexists, racists and now, actual FASCISTS.

peaches
peaches
6 years ago

@weirwoodtreehugger

I think you might be onto something-we’re all under much more stress. My ankle problem stems from an old injury, but my health’s been generally poor.

Z&T
Z&T
6 years ago

Can’t make head nor tail of it either. Self and various pals are long time readers here, it do not make sense. I do think obfuscation is a favored tool of theirs.

David. Migraines. No, I’m not going to give you any advice. I feel for people who suffer with this, because I don’t. And of course I’ve had a few bad headaches here and there, so maybe I can kind of imagine what it’s like.

I will say: Allergies. And, or, one probably does not want a sinus headache on top of anything else. Sinus headache I can surely relate to, and am already chowing down allergy meds like candy.

Friends here are nodding along. We all have bad allergies, and the allergy drug adverts are already running non stop on TV.

If it’s really bad, one might have to go to like “hermetically sealed” and run the AC, to filter the air. There are all sorts of other air filters out there too.

And you have to keep things super clean. This is why our Miss T here was baffled and upset by being bit by a poison spider, because: “I’m super clean! HOW did this happen!?”

Well, you never know. It could’ve jumped on you, it might’ve been in something you brought home from a store.
She’s super paranoid about any and all bug now, and in fact was just asking us to “help her clean”.

Doing another “hard core cleaning” and is looking for people to…..
I guess stand guard with vacuum cleaners in case any bugs pop up?

I hate to tell you, but those bugs can fly and run a hell of a lot faster than me with a vacuum hose! 😀

Anyway, yeah, eliminate the allergens from your environment. But of course most people already know this. Or maybe not, so just some ideas.

Feel better soon, D! 🙂

Bananananana dakry: Short-Haired, Fat, and Deranged
Bananananana dakry: Short-Haired, Fat, and Deranged
6 years ago

@WWTH

Wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Lord knows this infestation in the WH has been stressing me and Mr. Dakry the fuck out.

Redsilkphoenix: Jetpack Vixen, FemiNest Collective agent, Hell Toupee keeper & Intergalactic Meanie
Redsilkphoenix: Jetpack Vixen, FemiNest Collective agent, Hell Toupee keeper & Intergalactic Meanie
6 years ago

Did a fast search on the Turning Point USA thing to refresh my memory of who they were, and found that they share a name with more than a few local charities that also use ‘Turning Point’ in their names. Said charities being ones that focus on stuff like domestic violence recovery services and drug rehab. Hopefully the charities aren’t tarnished by having a similar name to the conservative teen group.

ETA:

@Bina: Which recent troll? The one in the Blankenship thread, or the ‘’Breakfast Soup’ Revolution’ one? Or is there another one I missed recently?

Bina
Bina
6 years ago

@Redsilkphoenix: Candace Owens is the troll. She’s been fronting for Gamergate and TP-USA.

Redsilkphoenix: Jetpack Vixen, FemiNest Collective agent, Hell Toupee keeper & Intergalactic Meanie
Redsilkphoenix: Jetpack Vixen, FemiNest Collective agent, Hell Toupee keeper & Intergalactic Meanie
6 years ago

@Bina:

Ah. Had a brainfart there for a moment.

Sorry about that. :/

PeeVee the Tired
PeeVee the Tired
6 years ago

Eldridge the Cleaver,

No. Stop that.

Contrapangloss
Contrapangloss
6 years ago

Eldridge: WTF?

Don’t. Not acceptable, here or anywhere else.

Edit: Beat to it by PeeVee but the point very much still stands. Also dropping David a line,

Troubelle: Moonbeam Malcontent + Bard of the New Movement
Troubelle: Moonbeam Malcontent + Bard of the New Movement
6 years ago

I was just revisiting this strange series of events!

Awfully fucking strange how the figures of Gamergate are coming up in the face of politics, huh?

Honestly. This timeline is baffling.

Also, @Eldridge, to repeat the sentiment: that’s in no way appropriate. Yes, Owens is a PoS, but that doesn’t give anyone a right to slur her for being a PoC.

Luzbelitx
6 years ago

Sending you good vibes and wishing you get better soon David!

Chronic pain is the worst and migraines are one of the worsest pains, at least in my experience. But maybe it’s because when I get them they usually come with a side of nausea and dizziness.

I don’t know why this post reminded me of Cassey Jaye. I (don’t) wonder what she’s up to.

Also, do any of these Alices ever actually get to the bottom of the of their rabbit hole? Or do they keep falling into ever-lower lows?

Ben
Ben
6 years ago

Luzbelitx:

I think it’s the latter. It takes a lot of personal strength to admit that you were taken in by foolish or evil ideas and that you spent some of your irreplaceable time on this earth making the lives of others worse. I’m sure that there are people whose experiences could prove me wrong, but most people who fall in with internet Nazis because that’s who was flattering them lack that strength, and just flit to a new bandwagon of toxic bullshit to avoid a self-reckoning.

Rattus
Rattus
6 years ago

Hope you feel better soon. I’ve been having severe lower back pains the past couple of weeks so I bought an exercise ball to stretch over and a Homedics Thumper. They are really helping.

Mish of the Catlady Ascendancy

Thanks for those archives, David, and take care.

Owens tweeted a day or so ago that she’s planning to take down The Guardian (on what grounds she didn’t really specify). This at the same time Trump suggested removing credentials from media outlets that were critical of him.
No wonder they get along so well.

For everyone not feeling 100% right now, here is Mei-Mei reading one of my Montaigne books (she has excellent taste):

http://i67.tinypic.com/2cpdilj_th.jpg

Bina
Bina
6 years ago

@Redsilkphoenix:

Ah. Had a brainfart there for a moment.

Sorry about that. :/

‘sawright. I was worried that I hadn’t been entirely clear myself!

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