I agree completely those posts are /vile/ and in a perfect world no one would ever be subjected to them. I hope no one reading my own post thinks I was in any way supporting that level of vitriol. I went on to try and posit some of the reasons I believe people generally act like jerks on the internet. Reasons aren't excuses.Vrex360 said:Wow, what spectacular arseholes.
Seriously those responses are some of the most meanspirited and entitled misogynistic crap I have read in a long time and no there is no justifying that.
However about Anita . . . .
Did you note the part where the posts were self-selected and shorn of all context to create a very specific narrative? Because that's what she /does./
She posted to two of the top twitter feeds of the day. Tens of thousands of people were tweeting. You know what most of the gamers were talking about? Gaming-related things. DRM. How much the XBone sucks. Various dudebros being amped about the upcoming sports titles. People were happy and excited and very much focused on gaming.
Yes, posting a feminist plaint was inflammatory - not the content of it but in how it was /bound/ to draw a response - and yes I believe she knew precisely what kind of a response she'd get, because I respect her intellect.
You know what she didn't post on Feminist Frequency that you didn't read? The thousands of tweets supporting her. The tons of people who called those twitter folks out for their idiocy. All of the feminists and non-feminists alike that said, 'you know what, she had a point, and even if she didn't this is out of line.'
Instead she chose the most disgusting and bilious posts and gathered them all carefully together and then immediately sent out a tweet to her supporters saying "look what these gamers said about me."
What you don't know and will never know is what percent of the responses to her tweet were of the type she presents, and what percentage of the responses were more measured, defended her, called out her attackers, or were simply dismissive.
Just as we don't know what percentage of games use the DiD trope.
Context actually /does/ matter to me, perhaps it doesn't to you. Perhaps the mere fact that /any/ hateful things were said to her is sufficient to generate outrage.
I sincerely hope the fact that there are vile, hateful people in the world doesn't come as a surprise to you. It didn't to me.