By David Futrelle
Rudy Ferretti was known in the male-dominated retro gaming community as a champion gamer — and as a raging misogynist who ferociously harassed women. He once made a homebrew game in which the goal was to kill women.
Last week, he allegedly gunned down his former girlfriend Amy Molter before turning his gun on himself.
To those he harassed and threatened over the years, this dramatic final act of real-world violence did not come altogether as a surprise.
In a lengthy story on the tragedy, Wired examines his life and his long history of abuse of women online. Cecilia D’Anastasio writes:
Longtime members of the retro and arcade gaming scene say they warned community leaders and even police about Ferretti’s threatening behavior for years. For close to a decade, they say, Ferretti had harassed, stalked, and threatened gamers, particularly women, pushing some out of the niche gaming scene entirely. He flashed guns in tirade YouTube videos, and bragged on Facebook about bringing one to an event at the Museum of Pinball in 2017.
Arcade game collector and researcher Catherine DeSpira and video game historian and storage auction buyer Patrick Scott Patterson—two of Ferretti’s most public targets—say they collectively contacted police in different states a half-dozen times to report Ferretti’s threats against themselves and others. They say those attempts ultimately had no effect. All the while, clusters of retro gamers across the country egged Ferretti on in private messages and on forums, leveraging his apparent instability and misogynist inclinations against women they didn’t want in the scene.
It’s a horrifying story from beginning to end; I urge you all to read it.
H/T — Catherine DeSpira (@CatDeSpira) and Rhuu
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@VP, it’s amazing that in this year of our lord 2020, guys are still acting like women who are into gaming and Star Trek are the rarest of orchids. Not that that’s the most noteworthy thing about that story, because holy shit stalking etc. But, you know, just look around?
@Moggie
Yeah, no kidding. We’ve always been here. We helped save the original Star Trek, for crying out loud.
And indeed create the original Star Trek.
I also found it a bit funny that he mentions Star Wars as an example of nerdery that no non-nerds would get. Literally everyone I know has seen at least one of the movies. I’m not trying to knock Star Wars fans or the movies themselves, but they’re not exactly a secret, and women who like them aren’t rare at all.
O/T but related:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/us/politics/aaron-coleman-kansas.html
In Kansas a 19-year-old Bernie Bro won the Democratic Primary for State House but he has a long history of misogyny. I know some of our regulars live in Kansas, so they might know more about this.
@Ohlmann:
If you’re poor, it’s rape; if you’re rich, it’s “20 minutes of action”?
O/T, but remember how William Shatner had a meltdown over being called “cis” a few weeks ago? Just checked and he’s still at it. Is Will going to be the next Glinner?
To echo earlier comments and add a bit, if it wasn’t for Lucille Ball going to bat for Star Trek TWICE there would be no Star Trek. And of course the Star Trek convention scene was ran by women as well. Unfortunately it doesn’t surprise me how easily they’re erased from the conversation.
@ Moggie
I think you misunderstand me. I’m not trying to excuse the toxic behaviour of these bozos, I’m trying to work out some of the sources of it.
@ Alan
I was under the impression Ferretti’s home brew game dated from 2015, but I may have misread the article.
@ Kevin
Ah gotcha. Maths was never my strong point.
@Naglfar
Re Star Wars, I agree. “May the Force be with you” has been part of popular culture for decades, and you don’t have to have seen even one of the movies to get that it’s akin to saying “good luck” or “God bless” or “fare well.”
I fell in love with Mr. Parasol’s nerdy qualities (and his other fine features) because he’s a Doctor Who fan, liked cyberpunk, and enjoyed learning about new-to-him SF things, which meant I got to introduce him to Babylon 5 in time for us to watch the last episode together and cry about it (‘cos it’s devastating being a newlywed and watching a fictional couple struggle with the knowledge that one of them is dying first).
That Aaron Coleman guy is quitting and has decided to show how much he’s grown by blaming feminism for his woes
https://twitter.com/Aaron4KS37/status/1297413515863625728?s=20
I look forward to the inevitable Intercept article from Glenn Greenwald or Ryan Grim about how feminists hate poor people and are trying to destroy the left and wish Coleman luck in his future career as an MRA and alt-right YouTuber.
@WWTH
I’m expecting any minute some streamed rant from Vaush or Xanderhal talking about how “wokescolds” (the new “SJW” for pseudoleftist bros) ruined his campaign. And the inevitable “ThE lEfT iS eAtInG iTsElF” takes from snake emoji posters.
Maybe they should pause and take a look at how women (at least those who aren’t abusive to others) are making these guys look bad, and try to perhaps emulate these women as role models. I can think of many ways women make these men look pathetic.
I’d say men too, but I worry some men may be complicit in the abuse, regardless of their involvement in gaming.
I’m sorry, but how do we make men (and some of those who aren’t) see that what is deemed normal attitudes for them is downright ugly both on the inside and outside, when taking on more wholesome attitudes are “only for women”? I think men are almost deliberately making themselves look bad for the sake of it. I’m just starting to lose faith in humanity.
@Naglfar
I hope Shatner and the like get the message that “cis” is already normal and they change their minds accordingly or something. I don’t seem to see the same offense taken by straight people when they’re called “heterosexual” and derived terms, although it can confuse people sometimes.
@rv97:
Considering the way Shatner doubled-down after being told by actual autistic people that supporting ‘Autism Speaks’ was a bad way to help, and deliberately went to smear at least one of the people trying to talk sense into him, I don’t hold out much hope for him ‘seeing the light’ on something that’s obviously even more personal to him.
https://respectfulinsolence.com/2017/04/06/its-a-strange-world-after-all-orac-vs-the-shat-and-fake-news-over-autism-speaks/