Even if she herself is some white dude running a "false flag" con (I kind of doubt that, but at this point, would not be shocked), what she has illustrated is that anyone who masters the jargon can tie everyone who's bought into it in knots. She destroyed communities who couldn't just tell her to stop being such an asshole for fear of "silencing a WOC" with a "tone argument."
I've seen other online communities where a clever, charismatic troll ran roughshod for a long time without flying a SJW flag.
Sorry, but I'm not going to start believing the playing field is level and that women, PoC, LGBT people, and the disabled don't face extra challenges just because this professional troll (who may or may not be what she claims to be--who knows, really) poisoned the pot by playing to the enhanced sensitivities of some.
Even now, she has defenders claiming she's a victim because some of the people she attacked are supposedly higher than her (assumed identity) on the privilege axis.
It's not like she's the only one who uses these tactics to win arguments by establishing who's more marginalized - she's just turned it into a particularly vicious and cynical game.
There are amazingly clever people out there who are really good at manipulating others through whatever means they can. It's one of the hallmarks of abusers, actually. The deleting posts and gaslighting victims thing is really, really chilling. Thank god for screenies. That's one thing the internet can give us that is less available in offline abuse. A refutation of that old, "I never said that, you're just making it up/mistaken/crazy" thing.
The behaviors she has exhibited also mesh with many of the hallmarks listed for antisocial personalities, though of course it's impossible for anyone, even psychologists, to diagnose someone they haven't met in person. It's possible she is deliberately imitating these "sociopathic" behaviors for other reasons. Maybe she thought/thinks it's creating an environment that's better for her own work by discrediting the competition (though it's interesting that she was doing this online trolling for so long before she got published. Though the RH blog popped out much more recently).
Or maybe she's one of those insufferable "queen bees" who can't stand to see other people getting attention and accolades for what she regards as her schtick.
Or maybe she's just evil and loves sowing discord and mayhem wherever she goes.
Who knows, really? Unless someone knows who this person really is, it's all speculation and all we can do is have "pet theories" that may or may not be right.
The online environment provides fertile grounds for this, not only because of its anonymity, but because it makes it possible for a person to connect with hundreds, even thousands, of others with the touch of a button.
The point is that this is very likely less about social justice than it is about her. The question is, will the community of writers who care about representation and social justice learn and move on, or will this become a toxic mire that drags everyone down with it?
One thing that's good to see is that there are plenty of people who do seem to be distancing themselves, and others who are coming forward.
I think assaulting the Guest of Honor on a live international broadcast at the Hugo Ceremony is pretty damned offensive.
If he never shows up in another fan space it will be too soon for me.
He's just suffered a major stroke, and has received an outpouring of support,
here on AW and elsewhere. Interesting that once someone becomes ill or dies, no one seems to care what an asshole they were anymore. You automatically become a saint, no matter how many women you groped. Maybe future generations will be able to discuss his behavior more critically, though of course, there will be people who will insist that he was "just a product of his time" when it comes up (just as Lovecraft's racism and misogyny are excused today).
