MovieBob has been waiting ages for something like this to happen. Something to "prove" his thesis that gamers are corrupt and toxic as a whole. Something that backs up his finger waving idealism, and makes all of his combined ranting about how we're all one big sexist, racist, xenophobic and petty hive-mind finally look legitimate beyond question.
For a minute, he thought he'd finally gotten it and ran with it, siding with everyone else who agreed with his basic leanings... even if it meant they were heartless dingleberries comparing gamers to terrorists murderers, and needlessly shaming the physically disabled, because it's okay to make fun of a fat white guy if I'm also a fat white guy, right? Just because it wasn't "-ist" (and I refuse to use the word "ableist", so make of that what you will) doesn't mean it was in good taste, and frankly, if Bob owes anyone an apology it's Boogie.
Trouble is, every day this struggle continues to exist is another day that undermines his argument that we were lashing out because... vaginas or something. Every time a new piece of evidence for corruption in the Indie scene is uncovered, him and people like him laughing at our tin foil hats have to eat crow over the "crazies" being right the whole time. Every time a PoC or a woman posts a selfie holding up a scrap of paper with #notyourshield on it, it proves that "gamers" aren't just the people that massive AAA marketers are targeting. It's proving that gaming, and by extension the concept of "nerd culture", has already crossed barriers and been welcoming, and that the handful of bigots and arseholes are just that - a handful of scrubs who don't represent anything but the fact that... well, people can suck sometimes.
I wonder if he scrambled for so long because he was scared. His whole position for the last two years or so has been "The community is toxic! We have to fix it!" GamerGate has proven to be no less mature or diverse as its opposition... where does that leave him as a commentator? If the community has fixed itself - or if it never needed fixing at all - what does he have to point out as a villain and further his own argument? And as others have pointed out, one or two quotes from anyone don't mean much. Bob's a feminist. He also called Megan Fox a blow-up doll. People say dumb sh*t sometimes, and all you can do is weigh the good with the bad.
I've said it before: Magneto was right. The problem is Bob doesn't realize that he's no longer a mutant.
Mind you, I don't think Bob should be fired. It's his job to have an opinion, and if anything, everyone being on the same page would only further the chances that The Escapist becomes a one-sided echo chamber. For all the disagreements I may have with him, he's smart and well spoken, and that's more than I can say for a lot of people with similar jobs concerning "nerd culture". When he talks about comics and B-movies, I still like listening to him. When he talks about games and shaming the players thereof... well, that's kind of why this thread exists, isn't it.
I'd rather Bob be the odd man out and say things I don't care to hear, that be out of a job just because I personally disagree with him. That said, I haven't read or watched anything on the site he's written since his "Rohan" piece, and short of him having something very interesting on this whole topic to say tomorrow, I think I'm done with him. There's enough commentators who don't assume I'm scum to keep me busy on the internet without trying too hard, after all.
The Escapist still gets my love, and I'll be around for a while yet. Don't muzzle MovieBob... just pay attention to how many people are still listening to him when all is said and done. If he's let go because his opinions are contrary to his own target audience, there's not much he can do save flee to the competition that's more in line with his own views.
